A metal staircase is usually the most practical way to link the levels of a sloping or split-level garden. A galvanised steel flight will not rot, warp or work loose the way timber steps do, it can be made to follow the exact fall of the ground, and it takes up far less room than a bank of masonry steps. If your garden has a terrace above a lawn, a retaining wall you climb with a ladder, or a back door that sits well above the ground outside, a properly made steel garden staircase turns that awkward change of level into part of the garden you actually use.
Why steel suits garden steps
Gardens are hard on anything built in them. Steps sit in the wet for months, take frost in every joint and carry wheelbarrows, mowers and muddy boots. Timber steps need treating every year or two and still soften at the ground line. Cast concrete is heavy, permanent and awkward to alter later.
Mild steel that has been hot-dip galvanised avoids those problems. Galvanising bonds a layer of zinc to every surface, inside the tubes as well as outside, so the steel is protected where a paintbrush could never reach. A powder coat on top gives the colour you want, in any RAL shade, and a second barrier against the weather. Stainless steel is another option where you want a bare metal finish and are happy to keep it clean.
Steel is also strong in slim sections. Two stringers and a set of treads will span a drop that would need a substantial block wall in masonry, so the staircase can stand clear of the planting and leave the ground beneath it open for drainage.
Where a garden staircase earns its place
- From a raised patio or deck down to the lawn below.
- Alongside a retaining wall on a sloping plot, so the upper and lower gardens connect.
- From a first-floor kitchen or living room door straight into the garden, instead of a route back through the house.
- Down into a basement lightwell or up to a roof terrace.
- Replacing worn timber or brick steps that have become uneven and slippery.
Each calls for a different design, which is why every flight we make at Steel Stairs and Gates is drawn for the site rather than picked from a catalogue. You can see the kind of work involved on our garden staircases and outdoor staircases pages.
Getting the details right
Treads
Outdoor treads need grip and drainage. Open steel treads in perforated plate or grating let rain and leaves fall through, so there is no standing water to freeze. Chequer plate gives a solid tread with a raised pattern for grip. Hardwood treads on steel stringers give a softer look in a traditional garden and can be replaced years later without touching the structure. The rise and going are kept the same from top to bottom, because a single odd step is the one people trip on.
Guarding and handrails
Approved Document K of the Building Regulations sets guarding at 1100 mm for external stairs and landings at a house, against 900 mm for stairs inside. Where young children are likely to use the stairs, it also asks that no gap in the guarding lets a 100 mm sphere pass through. Steps that are purely landscaping, well away from the house, are not normally controlled by the regulations, but we work to the same heights because they are sensible. Infill can be vertical steel bars, horizontal rails, glass or timber, and the options are set out on our balustrading page.
Foundations and fixings
A garden staircase is only as sound as what it stands on. The stringers are usually bolted to concrete pads at the foot and to a wall, deck frame or steel post at the head. Soft ground, old tree roots and the line of drains and cables all affect where those pads can go, so we check them during the survey rather than on installation day.
Planning permission and Building Control
Most garden steps do not need planning permission. The exceptions are listed buildings, where fixing a staircase to the house is likely to need listed building consent, and conservation areas, where the council may take a view on anything visible from the street. If in doubt, a call to the local planning office before ordering saves trouble later.
Building Control is a separate matter. A staircase that forms part of the access to a dwelling, such as a flight from a first-floor door down to the garden, falls under the Building Regulations and may need to be inspected. Where that applies we supply scaled drawings and structural calculations for the application, so the staircase can be signed off without argument.
How the job runs
- Send a photo of the spot, with a rough idea of the drop, and you will have a written estimate the same working day.
- If the figure works for you, we carry out a free site survey, measuring the levels, checking the ground and agreeing the treads, guarding and finish.
- You receive a fixed quotation and a drawing to approve.
- The staircase is fabricated in our workshop, then galvanised and powder coated.
- Our own team installs it, so the people who made it are the people who fit it.
We work from 4 Fort Cottages on Westerham Hill, so most of our garden staircases go into homes across Kent, Surrey and South London, including Sevenoaks, Oxted, Biggin Hill, Bromley, Orpington, Croydon and Caterham.
If your garden has a slope you have been stepping around for years, send a photo to 07861 936 888 or through the quote form and you will have a written estimate the same working day. Someone picks up the phone at any hour, seven days a week, or you can email info@steelstairsandgates.co.uk.