Floating Stairs, Richmond, BC
Custom floating staircases for Richmond custom homes, Steveston, Terra Nova, Thompson, and Seafair. True cantilever and hybrid floating stairs engineered at our Burnaby shop.
Floating Stairs, Richmond
True cantilevered floating staircases, each tread anchored independently into a structural wall for the "no visible support" look.
Richmond floating staircase work concentrates on west-side custom homes in Steveston, Terra Nova, Thompson, and Seafair where budgets and modern architectural style support the scope. Hybrid floating stairs are more common than true cantilevers in the Richmond market. Our Burnaby shop is 25 to 40 minutes from Richmond.
Richmond is an island city built on the Fraser delta, flat, windy, with aggressive saltwater exposure at Steveston and along the Fraser River dike. Most of our residential work here is on the west side: Steveston, Terra Nova, and the custom home corridors overlooking the river. High-rise density in City Centre and Brighouse keeps commercial metalwork active, and the airport corridor has steady industrial demand.
Configurations we fabricate
Richmond context
Richmond's climate, building stock, and permit process shape every floating stairs project we deliver here.
Climate
Design snow load for Richmond is roughly 1.5 kPa ground. Coastal exposure is high. Vancouver seismic zone, delta soils require additional geotechnical review on some sites. These are the numbers the engineer pulls when sizing steel for a floating stairs here.
Permits
City of Richmond permits standard 4 to 8 weeks. Flood construction level (FCL) requirements apply to low-elevation properties along the Fraser River.
Local neighbourhoods
We work throughout Richmond, including Steveston, Terra Nova, Thompson, Seafair, Riverdale, Hamilton, Broadmoor, Richmond City Centre. Most sites are a 25 to 40 minutes drive from our Burnaby shop.
Cost for Richmond
Installed pricing from our Burnaby shop. Mobilization to Richmond is included for standard drive-time sites.
| Type | Installed cost |
|---|---|
| Standard hybrid floating stair Concealed stringer at one edge | $25,000, $40,000 |
| True cantilever floating stair, straight run Engineered wall pocket required | $35,000, $55,000 |
| True cantilever with glass guards Glass panels add structural glass spec | $45,000, $75,000 |
| True cantilever L-shape with landing Additional engineering at the landing | $50,000, $85,000 |
All figures include fabrication, finish, and installation. For a Richmond-specific project quote, request a quote.
Process
1. Early design coordination. Because wall pocket framing has to be in place before drywall, floating stairs must be scoped during architectural design, not after.
2. Engineering. Structural engineering including wall pocket sizing, tread anchor specification, and connection details.
3. Framing coordination. We work with the GC and framer to ensure the wall pockets are built correctly before drywall goes up.
4. Fabrication. Tread armatures and hardware fabricated at our Burnaby shop.
5. Finishing. Powder coat on the steel armatures. Tread material (typically hardwood) finished separately.
6. Installation. Tread armatures installed into the wall pockets, treads mounted, and guards integrated.
Related products in Richmond
Floating Stairs across Metro Vancouver
FAQs
Answers to the questions we hear most often from Richmond homeowners, architects, and GCs on floating stairs projects.
Richmond floating staircase cost depends on whether the project is a true cantilever or hybrid design, tread material, and guard type. Steveston and Terra Nova luxury custom homes tend toward true cantilever designs; hybrid floating stairs are more common across the broader Richmond market. Our Burnaby shop is 25 to 40 minutes from Richmond over the Oak Street or Knight Street Bridge. <a href="/request-a-quote/">Request a quote</a> with your site dimensions and we'll follow up with project-specific pricing.
True cantilever floating staircase cost in Richmond depends on configuration (straight-run, L-shape, or curved), tread material (white oak, walnut, or stone), guard type (glass, cable, or none), and the complexity of the wall-pocket framing coordination. Hybrid floating stairs with a concealed stringer are a more economical alternative when the pure cantilever look is not strictly required. Engineering, wall-pocket framing coordination, fabrication, and install are all included in the project scope. <a href="/request-a-quote/">Request a quote</a> with your site dimensions and we'll follow up with project-specific pricing.
A mono stringer stair uses one central steel beam running under the treads. A true cantilever floating stair has no stringer at all, each tread is independently anchored into a structural wall pocket. The result is a stair where the treads appear to project from the wall with no visible support. True cantilever floating stairs are significantly more demanding structurally and require architectural coordination months before fabrication because the wall pocket framing has to be in place before drywall goes up.
In most cases, no, not as a true cantilever. Retrofitting requires tearing open the wall to install the structural backing for tread pockets, which means removing drywall, insulation, and sometimes wall framing, then reinforcing the studs with steel or heavy blocking. It is possible but expensive. Hybrid floating stairs (cantilever treads with a concealed stringer at one edge) are a more practical retrofit option.
FCL affects floor-to-floor dimensions on lower-elevation lots but not floating stair engineering directly. The stair geometry is adjusted for specific floor-to-floor dimensions during shop drawings.
Yes. West-side Richmond custom home builders active in Steveston, Terra Nova, and Thompson specify floating stairs regularly. We coordinate during schematic design for true cantilever projects.
Hybrid floating stairs occasionally appear in Steveston and Terra Nova townhouse projects where a modern architectural stair is specified. The hybrid approach coordinates better with standard townhouse construction timing than true cantilever.
Get in touch
Send us drawings, photos, or a project description. We will review the scope and follow up with a quote covering engineering, fabrication, and installation from our Burnaby shop.
