scope:

This document provides recommendations for the installation and use of textile floor coverings on stairs for both residential/domestic and contract/commercial purposes. It covers all products composed of textile material with a pile or non-pile use surface including the use of such products in tile form.

This document is applicable only to carpets that are intended to be installed without the use of protective stair nosings. For carpets that are intended to be installed using protective stair nosings, the overall use class determines the stair suitability.

NOTE 1 The use of stair nosings/edgings in public areas is often the subject of local bye-laws and legislations.

NOTE 2 In many split-level dwellings, a room can have one or two steps between different levels. This situation differs from a stairway in several important respects:

- the steps are usually wider and therefore traffic intensity in any one place is usually lower;

- the carpet can be bent over steps in either the machine direction or the across-machine direction. On a stairway, it is normal practice to lay the carpet with the pile lying down the stairs.