Things people ask before they ask for a quote.

It depends mainly on any landing or terrace the steps serve. The government's guidance counts a platform more than 0.3 m high as a raised platform, which falls outside householder permitted development. Flats, listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 areas are stricter. We check this for every project during the survey and tell you plainly if an application is needed. The council makes the decision, and a Lawful Development Certificate gives you certainty. Our guide, do garden stairs need planning permission?, explains the rules.

External steps serving a dwelling should still meet the sensible parts of Approved Document K: even risers, adequate going, a handrail where there are more than a couple of steps, and balustrade heights of 900 mm to 1,100 mm where there is a drop. We design to those standards as a matter of course, so the staircase is safe for children, older relatives and wet winter mornings.

A straightforward staircase can go from survey to fitted in as little as a week. Most projects run two to four weeks: survey and drawing in a couple of days, fabrication and painting one to two weeks, and installation is usually a single day, occasionally two for large or split-level staircases. We give you a date at the quote stage and stick to it.

Yes, and it usually gives the best result. We are happy to work from a designer's drawings, coordinate levels with a landscaper's groundworks, and fit at the right point in their programme. Several of our projects are sub-contracted to landscape practices.

Every staircase is professionally spray painted in our workshop after fabrication: cleaned, primed and finished in the colour you choose. Black or anthracite suit most gardens, and any other RAL shade can be matched. Galvanised or powder-coated steel is offered for coastal, industrial or commercial projects that specify them.

Steel chequer plate as standard, or perforated and open-mesh treads where you want rain and leaves to drop through. If your landscaper or designer is supplying oak or stone treads, we design the steel structure to carry them; we don't supply timber or stone ourselves.

That is most of what we do. Split-level, dog-leg and curved staircases follow the ground, and we can combine steps with short retaining sections and landings so the route feels natural rather than a ladder. The survey measures the levels precisely so the drawings are right first time.

Straight painted staircases with steel treads start from a few thousand pounds; spirals, curved designs, split-levels and glass balustrades add to that. Our cost guide page gives honest ranges for each type to give you a feel for the bracket your job falls in before we visit. Every quote is fixed once the survey is done.

Anywhere in the UK: all areas covered. The quickest site visits are across Kent, London, Surrey, Sussex and Essex, and we regularly fit staircases much further afield and price the travel into the fixed quote. Video surveys are also available for convenience.

We answer on the working day your enquiry arrives, usually with a couple of questions, and if the project suits we arrange a free site visit to measure the levels and talk through options. You then receive drawings and a fixed quote. There is no obligation at any point.

Yes. Our workmanship and paint finish are guaranteed, and the guarantee periods are set out in writing on your quotation.