Although carpeting is common on a small set of basement stairs, when vinyl or tile is placed on both floors above and below, a more cohesive look would be better. This week our Stirling Carpet & Flooring team was installing a rigid core vinyl plank in a new home including a set of stairs – and sent in some candids.

When a stair has a cut surface on it, like ceramic or vinyl, the edging needs to be protected from slipping, tripping, and the tearing of socks. This is where profiles come in. While many vinyl products have their own matching nosing – Schluter has several tough, slip resistant profiles made of aluminum. This is not the shiny gold metal nosing your grandma had on her back stairs.

This week’s staircase has been covered with white melamine risers and Rigid Core Vantage; Embossed Gusty Grey. Despite the action photos complete with tools and dust, the contrast between light and dark is quite striking.

Brian used Schluter^®-VINPRO™-RO as the edging profile for the stairs. Although it only comes in three colours, they are universal enough to work well with many shades of flooring. In the image below you can see it is secured under the tile and forms a symmetrically rounded corner along the surface edge.

Later, when the customer moves into the house, they won’t see a shiny metal strip on the edge of the stairs, nor will they have nicks and chips in a plastic profile from the furniture being moved. This matte aluminum profile is the perfect solution.

Finally, our top summer staff and daughter, Anna, with an encouraging thumbs up on a job well done!