Welder in Bulli: Stairs and Handrails for Sloping Blocks
A welder in Bulli spends a lot of time on steps. The suburb is built on the slope between the highway and the escarpment, so most properties have a level change somewhere between the street and the back door, and most of them have stairs, a landing or a retaining wall edge that needs a rail. We fabricate steel stringers, step rails and handrails to suit the ground, measured on site.
Metalwork We Do in Bulli
Steel Stair Stringers, Bulli
New stringers for timber or steel treads, cut to the rise and going we measure on site rather than to a standard kit. We weld the tread cleats, hot-dip galvanise the stringer, then bolt it to a footing or a bearer.
Retaining Wall Edge Barriers
A retaining wall edge with a fall of a metre or more needs a barrier, and the balusters have to be set so a 125mm sphere cannot pass. We size the posts and fixings for the barrier loads in AS/NZS 1170.1.
Wall-Mounted Handrails into Masonry
A continuous rail along a side path or brick steps is often the simplest answer on a steep block. We mount it off the wall with chemical anchors, because weathered sandstone and old brick will not hold an expansion bolt.
Landings and Walkway Framing, Bulli
Where a run of steps is too long to take in one go, we frame an intermediate landing in steel and deck it in open mesh so it drains and does not stay slippery under the escarpment drip line.
Metalwork From Around the Illawarra
Steel stringer templated to uneven settled brick steps, with the balusters set out on the rake.
Why metalwork in Bulli is different
Bulli's problem is that no two stair runs are the same. The blocks here fall away from the street at different rates, and a lot of the existing steps are old brick, sandstone or poured concrete that has settled unevenly over fifty years. A pre-made rail kit will not sit on them. We template on site and cut the stringer to the actual rise and going, which is the difference between a rail that sits flush and a rail with a gap at the bottom step that a council inspector will pick up.
The compliance side matters more here than on a flat block. Where a deck, landing or retaining wall edge has a drop of a metre or more, the NCC sets a minimum barrier height and the 125mm sphere rule for gaps between balusters, on stepped sites that gap is easy to get wrong, because the opening measures differently on the rake than it does on the level. We set out the balusters on the rake and check them there.
The third Bulli factor is being an old mining town with a lot of sandstone and masonry retaining. Fixing a rail into weathered sandstone is a chemical anchor job, not a dynabolt job, and we price it that way.
More on welding and metal fabrication, gates, handrails and balustrades and custom metal fabrication.
Does a handrail on my own stairs have to meet the disability standard?
No. The access standard that sets out grab rails and continuous handrails is written for public and commercial buildings, and it does not govern the handrail on your own stairs at home. It gets quoted at homeowners more often than it should be. What does apply at home is the barrier side of the NCC: once the fall beside the stairs or a landing reaches a metre or more you need a barrier, at 865mm above the nosing line on the flight and a metre above a landing, with gaps tight enough that a 125mm sphere cannot pass. We set out to that and put the grip height where it actually suits you.
Not sure what your Bulli job needs?
Send a photo and you will get a straight answer on what it needs, what it costs and when it can be done.
Rails, Gates and What the Rules Ask For
Where a rail or balustrade is doing a safety job rather than a decorative one, we set it out to the rules that apply to it. A barrier is required where the fall is a metre or more. Minimum height is 865mm above the nosing line on stairs and ramps and a metre above landings and balconies, and the openings have to be tight enough that a 125mm sphere will not pass through. Above a four-metre drop there is also a no-climb zone. If your job is a replacement on an older place, we will tell you where the existing one sits against that.
Pricing and Getting to Bulli
Every job is quoted on what it actually needs. We look at the access, the condition of what is already there, the material you want and how much of the old work can be saved, then give you a figure before anything starts. Materials move with the steel market and a repair that looks the same in two photos can be two different jobs once we are standing in front of it, so we do not publish a rate card. You get a price for your job, not a bracket, and it does not change once we have agreed it.
Bulli is close to home ground for us, which makes a template visit easy to arrange. Stairs almost always take two trips, one to measure the actual steps and one to fit, usually a few days apart.
Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by licensed partners, not in-house.
Bulli Metalwork Questions
My Bulli back steps are old brick and uneven. Can you still fit a handrail?+
Yes, and uneven is the normal case here. We template the run on site, measure the actual rise and going of every step rather than assuming they are equal, then cut and weld the stringer and rail to match. Where the steps have settled we can either follow the ground with the rail so it stays a consistent height above each tread, or set a straight rake and pack the stanchion bases. We will show you both on site. Fixings into old brick or weathered sandstone go in with chemical anchors, because an expansion bolt in soft masonry will work loose and take a chunk of the step with it.
What height does a balustrade need to be on a Bulli deck above a drop?+
Where the drop below the deck is a metre or more, the NCC sets the minimum barrier height and limits any gap so that a 125mm sphere cannot pass through. That is the rule that catches most older rails, because wide-spaced balusters were normal once and are not now. On a sloping Bulli block the drop can be well over a metre at one end and under at the other, so the barrier requirement can change along the same deck. We measure the drop at the worst point and set the whole rail to that, which is simpler to build and never fails on a technicality.
How do you quote stairs and handrails in Bulli?+
Send photos of the full run from the side and from the bottom step, with a tape in shot and the height of the drop beside it. Text them to 0413 147 335 and we will say whether we need to template first.
Do you take on the timber side of a stair job too?+
Yes. Treads, decking, landing framing and general carpentry are done in-house alongside the steel, which keeps the fit tight. Plumbing and electrical work, step lighting included, is carried out by licensed partners rather than by us.
Other work we do around Bulli: pergolas and property maintenance. In the next suburbs over: welding in Woonona, welding in Thirroul and welding in Corrimal.
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