Stair Balustrades & Handrails
Two jobs, one run
A staircase needs two things that people usually think are one thing: a barrier that stops you falling off the side, and a handrail you can actually grip. They have different requirements and they sit at different heights. We supply and install both as a single run across Auckland and Waikato, indoors or out.
Three ways to do it
What you choose usually comes down to whether the stair is a feature of the house or a way of getting to the washing line.
Glass & Handrail
Toughened glass panels with a separate graspable rail running over the top. Keeps sightlines open through a stairwell, which matters more indoors than people expect — a solid balustrade can make a hallway feel like a corridor. The rail is powder-coated to match the rest of the joinery.
Aluminium Slat
Powder-coated slats between posts, with the handrail integrated. This is the workhorse for exterior steps: it handles weather, it doesn't show marks, and it can be colour-matched to your gates, fence or louvres so the property reads as one thing.
Handrails Only
Sometimes the barrier already exists — a block wall, an existing fence, a solid side to the stair — and what's missing is something to hold. Round or flat profile, wall-mounted or post-mounted, sized so a hand actually closes around it. Also the usual answer for ramps.
Barrier and handrail are not the same thing
This is where most DIY stair jobs come unstuck, and it's worth understanding before you get quotes from anyone.
Stops someone falling off the open side of the flight. It has its own required height, measured from the pitch line of the treads, and its own limits on gaps.
Something you can grip, at a height that suits a hand rather than a hip. It's a different height from the barrier, which is why a single top rail at barrier height often doesn't satisfy both.
A handrail is far less useful if it stops halfway or ends where the flight ends. Runs should be continuous over the flight and finish in a way that doesn't catch a sleeve.
Landings, mid-flight turns and ramps each have their own requirements. A ramp is not a stair, and the rail on it is specified differently.
How it works
Free measure and quote
We come to site and set the run out properly — stairs almost never measure the way a drawing says. Written quote within 24 hours.
Specification
We confirm the system, the fixing method and the rail heights for your stair, and tell you whether the job needs consent.
Made to your measurements
Manufactured to the set-out taken on site and finished in your chosen colour.
Installation
Installed to the system manufacturer's specification, with the rail set out so it runs continuously.
Handover
You get the product documentation, the warranty that applies to your system, and care instructions.
Common questions
Do my steps need a balustrade?
Can't the top rail just be the handrail?
Do I need building consent?
Can you do curved or winder stairs?
Indoor stairs too, or only exterior?
Can it match my existing pergola or fence?
How long does it take?
Do you install outside Auckland?
Get a free measure and quote
Ready to talk about your stairs? All balustrade enquiries go through one place. Tell us what you're dealing with and we'll come out and look at it. No obligation.