Direct answer: The stringer is the inclined structural spine that carries every stair tread. A custom mild steel stringer is fabricated to your on-site measurements, then primed and painted for indoor or outdoor exposure, starting from RM 420 per linear foot.
This guide explains the Staircase Stringer Fabrication scope under welding and metal fabrication services. A staircase is a load-bearing structure, so measurement and support conditions are established before any steel is cut.
When This Service Is the Right Choice
Custom stringer fabrication suits:
- Replacement of a rotted timber staircase or a rusted-out steel one.
- New stairs for a shoplot mezzanine, duplex link, loft, deck or outdoor access.
- Outdoor and fire-escape style stairs that need steel rather than timber for weather and durability.
- Sites where an off-the-shelf staircase simply does not fit the floor height or projection.
Where the existing staircase is fundamentally sound but has localised damage — a cracked bracket, a rusted patch, a loose railing — on-site welding repair is the smaller scope. Where the project is part of wider metalwork, a main gate or grille can be quoted in the same visit.
Design Choices: Mono-Stringer or Double Stringer
| Design | When it makes sense |
|---|---|
| Single central (mono) stringer | a modern look with one spine; treads cantilever to both sides; widths kept moderate. |
| Double side stringers | wider or heavier-duty stairs, outdoor stairs, or where timber treads span between two supports. |
The choice is driven by stair width, tread material, expected load — household use versus a shop's daily foot traffic — and the fixing points your building actually offers.
What Should Be Established Before Work
- Floor-to-floor height and available run — these set the rise and going of every step; comfortable steps come from getting this right, not from guesswork.
- Finished floor levels — tiles or flooring added after fabrication change the first and last riser if not allowed for at measurement.
- Support points — what the stringer bolts or welds to at top and bottom, and whether those substrates are sound concrete or steel, or need strengthening.
- Tread material — timber boards, steel chequer plate or grating; outdoors, anti-slip is not optional in monsoon weather.
- Indoor or outdoor exposure — which drives the coating specification, primer and paint system.
- Approvals — for mezzanines and structural alterations in commercial premises, involve your designer or engineer where the local authority expects it; fabricating to someone else's verified drawing is normal practice.
Typical Work Process
- Site measurement of heights, run, widths and support points, with photos.
- Confirm drawing and details — step count, riser height, tread type, railing interface and finish.
- Workshop fabrication — stringers cut, brackets welded, holes drilled, edges dressed.
- Priming and painting to the specified system before delivery.
- Delivery and installation — position, anchor and fix to the verified support points; welding on site handles the final joints.
- Treads and railings fitted, then a load and wobble check before handover.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Measuring before finished floor levels are known, producing an uncomfortable first or last step forever.
- Choosing indoor-grade primer and paint for an outdoor stringer — rust starts at the welds within a season.
- Anchoring into weak render or hollow block instead of structural substrate.
- Leaving railing heights and fixings as an afterthought instead of designing them with the stringer.
- Skipping the drawing confirmation step and discovering mid-fabrication that the stair clashes with a door swing or beam.
Cost and Quotation Factors
- Published starting price: from RM 420 per linear foot.
- Total stringer length and whether mono or double.
- Tread material choice and any supply of timber or plate.
- Coating system for indoor versus outdoor exposure.
- Site access, anchoring complexity and railing extent.
The parent service publishes a 12-Month Welding & Fabrication Warranty, subject to its stated scope and terms.
Safety and Maintenance
A staircase is used hundreds of times a week, so the acceptance check is simple and honest: no wobble, no creak, treads firm, railing solid. Outdoors, re-coat worn paint before rust starts, and keep drainage clear where stringers meet slabs. Indoors, normal cleaning and prompt touch-up of chips keep the steel sound for decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you match an existing staircase design?
Yes — bring photos and measurements of what you have, and the fabrication drawing will replicate or improve it. Failures in the old design (for example rust traps) are corrected in the new one.
Do I need an engineer for a mezzanine staircase?
For commercial premises and structural mezzanines, treat professional drawings and authority requirements as part of the project — we fabricate accurately to verified dimensions either way, and will say so at quotation stage.
Timber treads on a steel stringer — possible?
Very common. Steel stringers with timber treads give the strength of steel with a warmer finish, and the tread fixing method is settled in the drawing before fabrication.
Request a Site-Specific Quotation
Tell us the floor-to-floor height, the space available for the run, preferred tread material and whether the stair is indoor or outdoor. KL Servis Rumah fabricates custom staircase stringers across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor — measured on site, drawn before cutting, and warranted in writing.