Mono Stringer, Burnaby, BC
Custom mono stringer staircases engineered and fabricated at our Burnaby shop, a single steel beam, cantilevered hardwood treads, and the open modern look that Burnaby custom homes in Deer Lake, Buckingham Heights, and Capitol Hill are built around.
Mono Stringer, Burnaby
Custom mono stringer staircases, a single central steel beam with cantilevered treads, engineered for residential and light commercial projects.
Burnaby is our home city and the largest share of our mono stringer staircase work happens within a 20-minute drive of the shop. The city's building stock splits into two distinct markets: newer custom homes in Buckingham Heights, Deer Lake, and the Burnaby Mountain area that call for clean mono stringer designs as part of an open-concept layout, and older 1960s, 1980s homes in Capitol Hill and Burnaby Heights where a mono stringer replacement is the centrepiece of a full interior renovation. We've built mono stringers ranging from straightforward straight-run installations for Metrotown condo renovations through to curved multi-storey feature stairs for custom homes along the Buckingham Heights ridge. Because our shop is on Douglas Road, mobilization to a Burnaby site is effectively free, crews roll out in the morning and are on-site by 8 AM, which keeps scheduling flexible and makes fit-and-finish adjustments easy on the day of install.
Burnaby is our home city. Our fabrication shop sits at 2544 Douglas Rd #106 in the Douglas Road industrial pocket, five minutes from Metrotown, ten from Brentwood. Burnaby's building mix is unusually wide, 1960s single-family homes in Deer Lake and Burnaby Heights, 50-storey condo towers going up in Metrotown and Brentwood, and institutional work at BCIT and Burnaby Hospital. That means custom metalwork projects here can range from a one-day railing replacement to a multi-month commercial scope.
Configurations we fabricate
Burnaby context
Burnaby's climate, building stock, and permit process shape every mono stringer project we deliver here.
Climate
Design snow load for Burnaby is roughly 1.6 kPa ground. Coastal exposure is none. Vancouver seismic zone, all structural connections per CSA W47.1. These are the numbers the engineer pulls when sizing steel for a mono stringer here.
Permits
City of Burnaby requires building permits for new staircases, structural modifications, and load-bearing guardrail changes. Permit processing runs 4 to 8 weeks.
Local neighbourhoods
We work throughout Burnaby, including Metrotown, Brentwood, Lougheed Town Centre, Edmonds, Burnaby Heights, Capitol Hill, Deer Lake, Forest Hills. Most sites are a 0 to 20 minutes drive from our Burnaby shop.
Cost for Burnaby
Installed pricing from our Burnaby shop. Mobilization to Burnaby is included for standard drive-time sites.
| Type | Installed cost |
|---|---|
| Straight run, 13 to 15 treads, hardwood treads, steel railing Metro Vancouver baseline | $18,000, $25,000 |
| Straight run with cable railing upgrade Cable infill adds $3,000, $5,000 | $22,000, $28,000 |
| L-shape with landing Add $3,000, $6,000 over straight run | $22,000, $32,000 |
| U-shape switchback Add $5,000, $8,000 over straight run | $25,000, $38,000 |
| Curved (partial arc) Rolled beam, per-tread bracket geometry | $30,000, $42,000 |
| Curved multi-storey / tight radius Centrepiece stairs, double-height entries | $42,000, $55,000+ |
All figures include fabrication, finish, and installation. For a Burnaby-specific project quote, request a quote.
Process
1. Site visit and design review. Measurements, floor-to-floor height confirmation, opening-dimension planning, and review of structural connection points.
2. Structural engineering. Sealed drawing from a registered P.Eng., stringer section sizing, connection details, load calculations per NBC 2020.
3. Shop drawings. Fabrication drawings coordinating with the architect and GC. Opening dimensions, tread layout, railing integration, finish schedule.
4. Fabrication. Steel cut, welded, and jigged at our Burnaby shop under CWB supervision. Stringer section, tread brackets, and railing integration completed in the shop.
5. Finishing. Powder coat on a prepared substrate. Matte black (RAL 9005) is the default. Custom colours available. Clear-coat over raw steel for industrial looks.
6. Installation. Crane or hand-set depending on site access. Base plate bolted to slab or embedded in floor. Tread installation and railing integration complete the stair.
Related products in Burnaby
Mono Stringer across Metro Vancouver
FAQs
Answers to the questions we hear most often from Burnaby homeowners, architects, and GCs on mono stringer projects.
Mono stringer staircase cost in Burnaby depends on configuration (straight-run, L-shape, or curved), tread material (white oak, walnut, or stone), railing type (cable, glass, or steel picket), and floor-to-floor height. Projects in Buckingham Heights, Deer Lake, and Capitol Hill span a wide range once cable or glass railing upgrades, multi-directional layouts, and premium tread materials are factored in. Because our shop is 5 to 15 minutes from most Burnaby sites, mobilization adds no meaningful cost. <a href="/request-a-quote/">Request a quote</a> with your site dimensions and we'll follow up with project-specific pricing.
Yes. The City of Burnaby requires a building permit for any new staircase, structural modification, or replacement that changes load paths. A mono stringer is a structural steel element, so the permit application includes a sealed drawing from a registered P.Eng. Our standard scope includes coordinating the engineering and providing the drawings your Burnaby permit application needs. Permit processing at the City of Burnaby currently runs 4 to 8 weeks depending on application completeness.
Yes, we've done mono stringer installs inside Metrotown and Brentwood condos as part of two-storey unit renovations. The challenges are access (elevator size, hallway clearances, strata scheduling for the noise and access), structural (the existing concrete floor has to be confirmed as adequate for the stringer connection), and coordination (strata council approval for the scope). We handle all of it. A typical high-rise condo mono stringer project runs 10 to 14 weeks from initial scope to install.
From approved engineering drawings to completed installation, expect 8 to 12 weeks for a standard residential mono stringer in Burnaby. Engineering runs 2 to 3 weeks, shop drawings 1 to 2 weeks, fabrication 3 to 4 weeks (including powder coating), and installation is a 1 to 2 day on-site visit. For Burnaby projects specifically, we can sometimes compress the installation phase because drive time from our shop is minimal.
White oak is the most popular tread material in the Burnaby custom home market, particularly for modern builds in Buckingham Heights and Deer Lake. Oak handles our climate well, pairs with the neutral interior palettes that dominate newer Burnaby homes, and costs less than walnut or exotic hardwoods. For Capitol Hill and Burnaby Heights character home renovations, we often see walnut or maple to match existing interior trim. Stone and glass treads show up on high-end architectural projects but are rare in the Burnaby market outside the very top tier.
Yes. We're a regular subcontractor for several Burnaby-based custom home builders working in Buckingham Heights, Deer Lake, and the Burnaby Mountain area. We handle shop-drawing coordination, structural engineer submittals, and installation scheduling on behalf of the builder. On multi-project builders, we can schedule mono stringer fabrication across concurrent projects to keep their framing crews moving.
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.
