External steel staircases and fire escapes in Dublin
An external stair lives outdoors for decades with no shelter, gets used in the rain, and may one day have to work perfectly during an evacuation. The details that matter are not the same as for an internal stair.
Galvanising is not optional
Paint on an external stair will fail at the edges and fixings within a few years, and once water sits in a tread it will rot from the inside out. Hot dip galvanising after fabrication is the standard we work to for anything permanently outside.
Galvanising also drives the detailing. Every hollow section needs vent and drain holes so the zinc can flow in and out, and those same holes stop water being trapped later. This is designed in, not drilled afterwards.
Treads, drainage and slip resistance
Open mesh or grating treads are the usual choice because rain and leaves fall straight through and there is no standing water to freeze. Where a solid tread is wanted for appearance, it should be laid with a fall and given a slip resistant nosing.
In an Irish winter the risk is ice rather than rain, so a tread that sheds water is a safety feature, not a preference.
Fixing back to the building
The connection into the structure is where external stairs succeed or fail. Fixings need to be stainless or galvanised, isolated from dissimilar metals, and anchored into something structural rather than into render or a single skin of block.
Where the stair serves as a fire escape, the landing arrangement, the door swing and the route at the bottom all come from the fire strategy for the building. We fabricate to what the fire consultant and engineer set out.
Maintenance and inspection
Galvanised external stairs need very little, but an annual look at the fixings, the base plates and the landing junctions is sensible, particularly on coastal sites around Dublin Bay.
We also repair and replace existing fire escapes, which often means matching a new flight to old fixing points. That is a site measure job rather than a drawing job.
Want this priced for your own job? Send us your drawings or a photo and we will come back with a fixed price, usually within one working day.
Common questions
Need this done properly? Talk to the workshop.
Send us drawings, a sketch or a site photo. We come back with a fixed price and a firm lead time, usually within one working day.