11 Reasons Why Architects, Builders and Flooring Professionals Prefer Latham Stair Tread Nosings

Whenever you are in a public area, the chances are you will encounter stair tread nosings. They are installed for safety and visibility, as well as to protect stairs from damage. Latham Stair Tread Nosings have been the preferred choice of architects, flooring professionals and building managers for decades. Here’s why: 

1. Superb Quality

Latham products are designed and made to the highest quality and when compared side-by-side to other products on the market, the superior quality of Latham Stair Tread Nosing is easily apparent. The Latham profiles are thicker and heavier, and the abrasive profile is deep and permanently bonded to the metal profile. Latham products exude quality that is simply not found in cheap, lightweight imitations.  

If you want to see for yourself, contact Latham and request a sample. We challenge you to find a higher-quality product. 

2. Unprecedented Durability

The heavy-duty metal profile of Latham Nosing is specifically designed to support the insert. Unlike cheap imitations, Latham profiles have interior flutes that form a permanent bond with the abrasive insert and there will be no possibility of the strip itself lifting out of the channel it is set into.  

This ensures that the abrasive surface will be beautifully level with slip resistance at the right grade for years of safe usage. 

Poor quality nosing is easy to see, particularly in the months and years after installation. The profile will lift and warp and will rattle when walked on. The abrasive insert will quickly deteriorate and, rather than enhancing safety and visibility, the nosing becomes a tripping hazard. 

Latham Stair Tread Nosing is supplied pre-drilled and countersunk, and all abrasive styles now come with colour matched screws. Properly installed, glued and screw-fixed to the stair treads, Latham Nosings will stay in place doing the job for years and years, no matter how much foot traffic they bear.  

3. Vast Range

Latham produce a vast range of surface mounted and recessed profiles in both aluminium and brass for every application, including curved and LED illuminated profiles, and supported by the industry’s widest range of insert colours. As they are made locally to order, every profile is available in any Latham insert colour, resulting in a vast range of product options.

4. Standards Compliance

Stair tread nosings and other floor surface materials must comply with Australian Standard AS1428.1.2021 and compliance with the Standard is mandatory under the Building Code of Australia. 

Critical compliance factors when selecting stair tread nosings are luminance contrast and the exact position of the high-contrast part of a stair tread nosing relative to the front edge of the stair itself.  

Latham has been adapting and evolving its designs as the Standard has changed over time, and all products are routinely assessed to ensure continued compliance. Latham has a team of technical experts who will help you ensure that compliant stair tread nosings are specified that will meet your contrast requirements. 

5. Design and Aesthetics

Latham products have been awarded numerous design awards. As Latham Stair Tread Nosings will retain their appearance and performance in high wear environments, Latham is the preferred choice for buildings with high-quality architectural finishes.

6. Inventory and Availability 

Latham use smart forecasting to source and purchase raw materials and inputs from a wide range of long-standing and trusted suppliers, and maintain a vast inventory of critical material inputs to manufacture every product in its range. For every order, the raw materials are simply drawn from stock and the product is manufactured right here in Gladesville. You can rely on the right product being available, on-site, and ready to install, when you need it. 

Other product suppliers will often have limited stock of limited styles, and a product order often involves waiting for a shipment, and the buyer is subject to quality and supply chain uncertainty that can disrupt project schedules. 

7. Product Customisation

Architects and engineers need to ensure that all elements of a building contribute to the look and functionality of the finished project.  

While Latham offer an extensive range of products in an enormous variety, all of which can be made to measure, sometimes a project needs something different. Our in-house engineers have many years of experience working with architects and engineers to design and manufacture new versions of our award-winning products to achieve the exact form and function they want for their design brief.  

8. Expert Support

Latham has an extraordinary team of engineering, compliance, production, and customer service specialists based in Gladesville. If you have any question related to stair tread nosings, our expert team will have the answer.  

9. Reliable Warranty

End-to-end control and oversight of procurement, manufacturing, and quality control results in the industry’s most reliable and high-performing products. Latham product warranties do not have any tricky wording or buried fine print. They are simple and transparent, and in the very unlikely event of a claim, Latham will honour its warranty commitments.

10. Minimal Risk 

One Australian company, substantial inventory, flexible manufacturing, ability to customise, standards compliance, extraordinary quality, over 20,000 product variations, expert support, no-fuss warranty and on-site when you need it.  

Zero project risk. 

11. Australian-made

Latham Australia has been making Stair Tread Nosing at its workshop in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville for over 70 years. When you select Latham products, you are working with an Australian family-owned business that employs locally and exports globally.

To find out more about Latham products, please visit www.latham-australia.com. To talk to a Latham product expert, call 1300 LATHAM (528 426) or email sales@latham-australia.com.