WITH OR WITHOUT BUILDING WORK
The first thing you see
Why renovate the staircase?
The staircase is one of the few things in a house used several times a day that almost nobody thinks of touching. And yet a seventies terrazzo staircase with its original balustrade ages a whole house, is slippery in socks and is usually badly lit exactly where light is most needed. Renewing it has an enormous visual impact for how little space it takes: it changes the hallway, it changes the sense of space and, above all, it changes the safety of everyone going up and down every day. There are two ways of getting there, and the more expensive one isn’t always necessary.
Tread by tread
What our staircase renovation includes
We work on interior and exterior staircases, complete or only where it’s needed.
Cladding the treads
We clad the existing treads in timber, porcelain or technical vinyl, without demolishing the structure.
Balustrades and handrails
We replace old balustrades with steel, glass or timber, meeting safe heights and spacings.
Slip resistance and safety
Nosing profiles, anti-slip treatments and detailing that stops you slipping in socks.
Lighting
Light in the tread, at skirting level or sensor-activated markers: the improvement you appreciate most at night.
Structural changes
When the staircase is genuinely uncomfortable, we rebuild the treads and risers or rethink the opening.
Exterior staircases
Entrance steps, porches and garden staircases in materials that stand up to the weather.
Staircase renovation with or without building work?
The internet is full of tutorials for cladding stairs with vinyl, and in certain cases they work. These are the two real routes, with their limits.
Clad over the existing treads.
- What's doneCladding in timber, thin porcelain or technical vinyl over what's there.
- TimescaleOne to three days, depending on the number of treads.
- RubbleVirtually none: nothing is demolished.
- Its limitIt won't correct uneven treads or a badly proportioned staircase.
- When it suitsA sound, correctly built staircase; only the look has tired.
The structure is corrected, not just the surface.
- What's doneRebuilding treads and risers, correcting heights and rethinking the staircase.
- TimescaleOne to three weeks depending on the scope.
- RubbleYes: there's demolition and waste to take away.
- Its limitThe structure has to be assessed and sometimes a professional involved.
- When it suitsUneven treads, shallow goings or an unsafe staircase.
Not sure? We'll look at it on a visit, explain it without the jargon and you decide with all the information. At no obligation.
Safety before looks
Balustrades and regulations: what you need to know
There’s one detail worth checking without fail whenever a staircase is touched: the balustrade. Many older staircases have low protective heights and gaps between balusters a small child could get through, something that wouldn’t be accepted today. Using the renovation to bring the protection up to standard costs little more and changes how relaxed the house feels, especially with children or older people around. In private homes the regulations work as a technical reference rather than an obligation, but it’s a reference worth respecting; we’ll explain it on the visit.
A quote made for you
How much does a staircase renovation cost?
The quote is normally worked out per tread and per metre of balustrade. This is what matters most:
That’s why we don’t publish fixed rates: every case is different and we’d rather see it before giving a figure. Write or call us and we’ll arrange a no-obligation visit, with a detailed quote broken down line by line, free of charge.
How we handle staircases
Little space, lots of detail: on a staircase it's all about the finishing. This is how we work.
Visit and measuring up
We measure tread by tread, check the structure and assess whether your case needs building work or not. No obligation and no cost.
Proposal and quote
We choose material and balustrade with real samples and you get an itemised quote per tread and per metre.
Work with access kept open
We organise access so you can carry on using the house while the work lasts.
Snagging and handover
We check the detailing, the slip resistance and the firmness of the balustrade with you before calling the job done.
Renovated staircases: before and after
This is what the change looks like on a staircase renovation. These examples show the kind of result we achieve; once we have photos of your own projects, we’ll add them here.
Frequently asked questions about staircase renovations
Here are the questions we get asked most before starting. If you still have one, write to us and we’ll help, at no obligation.
It’s quoted per tread and per metre of balustrade, and it varies a lot between cladding what’s there and rebuilding the treads. The material matters too: technical vinyl isn’t the same as solid timber or porcelain. We look at it on a visit and give you a detailed quote, at no obligation.
Yes, and it’s the usual route: the existing treads are clad in timber, thin porcelain or technical vinyl, with nothing demolished and in one to three days. That said, cladding won’t correct uneven treads or goings that are too shallow; if the problem is how it climbs, building work is needed.
On a simple staircase and with a steady hand, it can turn out well and it’s an economical option. Where it usually goes wrong is the cuts against the strings, the nosing detail and the slip resistance: exactly the things that decide whether the result lasts and is safe. If you’re in doubt, get a price before buying the material.
Solid or engineered timber for warmth, thin porcelain for maximum durability, technical vinyl for speed and a keen price, and microcement for a continuous finish. Each behaves differently with wear and with the sound of footsteps; we show you samples on the visit.
Of course. Replacing an old balustrade with steel, glass or timber transforms the staircase even if the treads stay as they are, and it’s usually the job with the best ratio of cost to visual change. It’s also the moment to bring the protection up to standard.
Cladding without building work takes one to three days. Changing the balustrade, one or two days. Rebuilding the treads with building work stretches to one to three weeks depending on the scope and the drying times. We give you firm dates in the quote.
No. Cladding a staircase or changing a balustrade is among the jobs we take on with the same seriousness as a big renovation: a visit, a written quote and a professional finish. We know these are exactly the jobs it’s hardest to get anyone to take on.
Yes: treads, balustrades, lighting and slip resistance in entrance halls and communal staircases, with an itemised quote to present at a residents’ meeting and the work organised to disturb the neighbours as little as possible.