Floating Stairs, Squamish, BC
Custom floating staircases for Squamish custom homes, Garibaldi Highlands, Eaglewind, Newport Beach, and Brackendale. Hybrid and true cantilever designs.
Floating Stairs, Squamish
True cantilevered floating staircases, each tread anchored independently into a structural wall for the "no visible support" look.
Squamish floating staircase work is typically part of custom home builds in Garibaldi Highlands and Eaglewind where modern architectural ambition drives the spec. Hybrid floating stairs are more common than true cantilevers. The Squamish 'timber-and-steel' aesthetic occasionally integrates floating stair elements with exposed structural timber framing. Our Burnaby shop is 1 hour from Squamish.
Squamish sits between the coast and the mountains with aggressive weather on both sides, heavy rain in the valley, higher snow loads at elevation, wind off the Howe Sound. Residential metalwork here leans into the 'timber-and-steel' alpine aesthetic: structural steel brackets, black powder-coated railings, cable systems on view lots in Garibaldi Highlands. Eaglewind and Newport Beach are active new-build areas; Downtown Squamish has ongoing density and commercial work.
Configurations we fabricate
Squamish context
Squamish's climate, building stock, and permit process shape every floating stairs project we deliver here.
Climate
Design snow load for Squamish is roughly 3 kPa ground. Coastal exposure is moderate. Sea-to-Sky seismic zone, higher activity than Vancouver proper. These are the numbers the engineer pulls when sizing steel for a floating stairs here.
Permits
District of Squamish permits 6 to 10 weeks standard. Higher snow load and wind exposure mean engineered drawings are almost always required on canopies and stair structures.
Local neighbourhoods
We work throughout Squamish, including Downtown Squamish, Garibaldi Highlands, Brackendale, Valleycliffe, Hospital Hill, Eaglewind, Newport Beach, Dentville. Most sites are a 1 hour drive from our Burnaby shop.
Cost for Squamish
Installed pricing from our Burnaby shop. Mobilization to Squamish 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 Squamish-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 Squamish
Floating Stairs across Metro Vancouver
FAQs
Answers to the questions we hear most often from Squamish homeowners, architects, and GCs on floating stairs projects.
Squamish floating staircase cost depends on whether the project is a true cantilever or hybrid design, tread material, guard type, and timber-and-steel integration complexity. Hybrid floating stairs are more common in Squamish than true cantilevers. Mobilization from our Burnaby shop adds a meaningful line item because of the 1-hour each-way drive. <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 Squamish 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.
Yes. Timber-and-steel architectural Squamish homes sometimes integrate floating stairs with exposed post-and-beam framing. The integration requires coordination with the timber framer and careful detailing where the floating stair meets the timber structure.
For interior floating stairs, snow load is not a direct engineering factor because the stair is inside the heated envelope. The higher Squamish snow load affects the overall home structural system and may influence the structural wall that supports the floating stair, but that's a home-level engineering issue rather than a stair-level one.
16 to 22 weeks for hybrid designs, 20 to 26 weeks for true cantilever projects. Install is typically a 2 to 3 day crew visit from Burnaby.
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.
