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Serving Dallas Fort Worth, Texas ★
Industrial steel staircase with welded handrails

Fabrication

Stairs & Handrails

Steel stairs, landings, handrails and guardrails — built to fit the opening you actually have, and to the code your city has adopted.

Access people put their weight on

Stairs and rails are the category where the rules are strictest, and for the obvious reason: these are the things people put their weight on. Stair geometry, rail heights, graspability, the gap a child could pass through and the load a guardrail has to resist are all set by the building code your city has adopted, not by preference.

The other half of the job is fit. Slabs are rarely level, openings are rarely square, and a stair built to a nominal rise will end up with one step out at the top. Measuring the space as it really is — before anything is cut — is what separates a flight that feels solid from one that does not.

Custom welded steel stairs and handrails

What this work covers

Straight, switchback and spiral-access stair flights

Stringers, treads, risers and landings

Handrails, guardrails and grab rails

Mezzanine, platform and catwalk access

Ramps, step units and kerb access

Repairs and extensions to existing stairs and rails

How a stair or rail job runs

Most of the work happens before the welding — in the measuring and the drawing, where changes are still free.

Four Steps

01

Measure

Site visit: rise and going, floor levels, fixings and what the structure can be fixed to. Nothing assumed square.

02

Design & check

A drawing, a material spec and a finish — plus confirming which code requirements apply to your project.

03

Fabricate

Cut, prepare, fit and weld. Powder coating or galvanising goes off site and adds lead time.

04

Install

Set fixings, position and align, adjust, and touch up any protection disturbed on site.

What we typically get asked for

  • New steel stairs to mezzanines, platforms, plant rooms and raised entries
  • Handrails and guardrails for stairs, balconies, walkways and open edges
  • Replacing timber or worn stairs with steel where the traffic has outgrown the original
  • Repairs — cracked welds at stringer connections, rails that have worked loose, corroded base fixings
  • Extensions and modifications where a landing, a gate or an extra flight has to be added

Stairs and handrails across Dallas–Fort Worth

We cover Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Grand Prairie, Plano, Frisco, Garland, Richardson, McKinney, Carrollton and the surrounding metroplex.

Two questions get asked early because they change the design and the price: is this residential or commercial, and will it be inspected. A rail that has to pass inspection is not the same product as one going round a private patio. Full service detail is on the fabrication page, and there is more depth in our guide to custom metal fabrication in DFW.

Common questions

Do stairs and handrails need a permit?

It depends on your city and on the item. Stairs, guardrails and handrails are commonly inspected, especially commercial, rented or public-facing work. Fences and private patio rails often are not. Your city’s building inspection department is the authority, and it is a short call to make before work starts rather than after.

Can you match the style of existing railing?

Usually. Send close photos with a tape or ruler in shot for scale, plus pictures of the joints and the finish. An exact profile match is not always possible if the section is no longer manufactured, but a close visual match nearly always is.

Can you repair a handrail instead of replacing it?

Often, and it is usually cheaper. Rails that have worked loose can be re-fixed and reinforced, cracked welds cut out and rebuilt, and corroded base plates replaced. The point to watch is spread corrosion — if several fixings have rusted through, repairing one just moves the failure along.

What finish lasts longest outdoors?

Hot-dip galvanising gives the longest protection and can be painted or powder coated over for appearance. Powder coating alone gives a hard, even finish. Paint over primer is cheapest and shortest-lived. Whichever you choose, hollow sections need drain holes at the low points.

Do you install, or just fabricate?

Both, and it is worth having the same people do each — installation is where fit problems surface, and whoever built the piece can adjust it. Be aware a stair may need a landing poured or fixings prepared before any steel arrives.

DALLAS–FORT WORTH · FABRICATION

Send measurements and a photo.

Rough dimensions, a picture of the opening and a style you like is enough to get a real quote.