Rubber flooring for stairs

Rubber flooring for stairs

Rubber flooring for stairs is fitted by bonding cut-to-size rubber tiles to the horizontal treads and, where risers are present, to the vertical risers. The treads must be load-bearing, clean, dry and free from dust; existing coverings must be removed, and damaged front edges repaired beforehand.

After these repairs, standard square tiles can be cut on site to suit each tread. WARCO can produce a ready-to-install stair covering at the factory from a DXF file containing the exact tread dimensions. An individual stair tile can be up to 103 cm wide; wider treads require several sections, joined with precisely cut puzzle joints that are almost seamless.

The thickness of the stair covering depends on its location. For indoor stairs, rubber tiles 1 to 2 cm thick are suitable. For outdoor stairs, rubber tiles 1.8 to 3 cm thick are recommended. Outdoors, the stair covering must be water-permeable so that rainwater can drain through the rubber tiles.

The thickness of the rubber tiles changes the height relationships at the bottom and top of the staircase. Within the flight, the riser heights remain equal because every tread is raised by the same amount. If the floor in front of the stairs and the upper landing remain uncovered, the height difference between the floor and the first covered tread increases at the bottom, while the height difference between the top covered tread and the landing is reduced. Both adjoining surfaces should therefore be covered as well or structurally aligned.

Installation starts at the lowest tread and continues upwards. The cut-to-size section is bonded to the riser with permanently flexible PU adhesive, followed by the rubber tile on the tread above. The tile on the tread overlaps the upper cut edge of the riser covering. A stair nosing profile is then bonded to the front edge of the tread to protect the rubber covering from premature wear. The staircase must not be used until the adhesive has fully cured.