Steel stairs, ladders, and catwalks in Orange County
Steel stairs are geometry before they are metalwork. Total rise divided by riser count has to come out even, the tallest riser in a flight cannot exceed the shortest by more than three eighths of an inch, and the tread and riser dimensions have to land inside code. Get that wrong on paper and no amount of good welding fixes it, because the inspector measures the flight, not the welds.
So we field measure the real rise, finished floor to finished floor, and we ask what the finish is going to be before anything gets cut. A half inch of tile on the upper landing that nobody mentioned turns the top riser into a violation. Then we build. Stringers cut or plate formed, treads to suit the finish, and handrail that meets the graspable rules instead of just looking like a rail.
Ladders and catwalks are the same discipline under different rules. Fixed ladders, roof access, equipment platforms, and mezzanine catwalks fall under Cal/OSHA when people work off them, and the requirements for guarding, toeboards, and clearances are not the residential stair rules. Tell us who uses it and what for, and we will build to the rules that actually apply.
What that includes.
- Straight, L, U, and switchback stairs in steel
- Pan treads for concrete fill, checker plate, bar grating, or open stringers for wood
- Rise measured in the field, not taken off the plan
- Handrail and guard welded, returned, and set to code height
- Fixed ladders, roof hatch access, and equipment platforms
- Mezzanine catwalks, landings, and toeboards
Questions we get on this one.
Can you build the stair before the concrete is poured?
We can fabricate to the plan, but we will not cut stringers final until we can measure the real floor to floor. Concrete moves. A quarter inch across a landing is normal, and it comes straight out of the top riser.
What is a pan tread?
A steel tread formed like a shallow tray, so a concrete or tile finish gets poured into it flush after install. It is how you get a steel stair that feels and sounds like a solid stair instead of a metal one.
Do you install the handrail too?
Yes, and we would rather do both. Rail that arrives after the stair, from somebody else, is where the fit problems live. Ends get returned to the wall or the post the way code wants instead of left sticking out.
OC Mobile Welding LLC is licensed, bonded, and insured, and carries $2,000,000 in general liability. Our structural steel work is done under CSLB C-51 #1157116, C-51 Structural Steel. Working out of San Clemente, CA.