How to Measure Your Stairs for Custom Nosing
Before you order custom stair nosing, you need four measurements and a plank count. This takes about 10 minutes with a tape measure. Get them right and your order will be fabricated exactly to fit — no back-and-forth, no re-cuts.
Tread length — how wide is each step?
This is the measurement from one wall (or open edge) to the other. It determines how long we cut each nose piece.
- Measure wall-to-wall at the widest point of the step
- For open-sided stairs, measure from the wall to the very edge of the last tread board
- Round down to the nearest ¼ inch
- Example: 47⅝″ rounds down to 47½″
Tread depth — how deep is each step?
Measured from the front nose edge to the back wall (or riser). This determines how wide a plank we need to use for your nose piece.
- Measure from the front edge of the tread to the back wall
- Standard residential depth is 10″ to 11.25″
- If your depth is 9″ or less, flag this — fabrication may differ
- If your depth is 12″ or more, we may need to join two planks
Riser height Only if ordering risers
You only need this measurement if you also want custom-fabricated risers. For nose-only orders, skip this.
- Measure from the floor surface of one tread to the tread directly above it
- Standard riser height is 7″ to 7.75″
- Florida building code allows 4″ to 7¾″
Return length Open-sided stairs only
For open-sided stairs, a return cap wraps around the exposed tread end. The good news: you don't need to measure this separately.
- Return cap length = your tread depth (Measurement 2)
- Return cap height = your plank thickness
- Add 1 extra plank per 6 stairs to account for return cap material
How many planks do you need to bring?
Watch: Taking the 4 measurements on a real staircase
Victor walks through each measurement on a live Tampa Bay staircase — takes about 3 minutes to watch.