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When designing a staircase or replacing parts, you have many stair part materials to choose from. A wooden staircase can give the home a traditional feel, whereas a glass staircase can add a modern theme to the home. A sleek, metal staircase, on the other hand, is an unconventional, stylish option for your home. This guide will explain what stair parts are available in each material, providing tips on caring for them and how much you can expect to pay for them.
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Glass balustrade from the Clarity range
A glass panel replaces a traditional spindle, supporting the staircase while creating a modern look. Panels are made from clear, toughened glass which is usually8mm or 10mm thick. They often differ in the width or in the type of brackets used to secure them to the base rail and handrail.
Glass panels are available in various different designs or sizes, with some panels being designed specially to fit onto a landing. Most panels tend to be sized between 200mm and 300mm; however, if you are looking for wider panels, you can consider getting bespoke glass panels.
Here are some examples of the different designs you can choose from:
If you need advice on how to measure panels, read our guide to stair panels.
Glass brackets and clamps should be used when you are attaching a non-grooved handrail and base rail to a glass panel. When using a glass bracket or clamp, it is important to know the thickness of the glass to ensure the clamp has the correct sized rubber insert to hold the glass in place. For example, 8mm thick glass will need an 8mm glass clamp.
You can shop our range of glass clamps here.
The price of glass panels is subject to whether you choose a standard or bespoke style. The cost of our glass panels varies between £19 and £112. Glass panels are normally between 8mm to 10mm thick, which ensures they are strong enough to provide an effective safety system. The thickness of the panel you use should depend on the clamp or glass grooved rails you are using, as they will specify the glass thickness required.
Glass panels tend to be low maintenance, and require the following for cleaning:
For more guidance, you can read our full guide to buying and caring for glass stair parts here.
Black metal Edisto spindles combined with black metal Madison spindles.
Wall-mounted handrails are easily attached to the wall, and can provide your staircase with a modern look and feel. All of our metal handrails are designed to be used with the fittings and accessories in the wall-mounted metal handrail range.
Our metal handrails selection features nickel handrails and chrome handrails.
Example products:
Handrail brackets are designed to attach handrails to a wall. They can range in style, from simple designs to more detailed designs to express your preferred style statement.
Our metal wall brackets are designed from brass, nickel and chrome. You can also find black-coated and white-coated wall brackets in our handrail brackets range.
To find out more about the options available for handrail brackets, read our guide Handrail brackets: what they’re made from, what styles are available and how to install.
You can find metal newel caps designed from chrome, nickel, black metal & gunmetal. Some of these metal caps also feature wood, such as pine, oak and walnut.
Are you looking to replace an existing newel cap? View our guide to replacing newel caps here.
As well as being a vital safety feature, spindles are a key design feature in a staircase. Changing your spindles is a great way to give your staircase a brand-new look. Our metal spindles are available in nickel, chrome & black metal.
Shop our full range of metal spindles here.
Recommended products:
You can find out more about spindles with Your guide to spindles—types, materials, styles, fitting and maintenance.
You can shop our newel base connectors and handrail connectors in our full range of fittings here.
Metal spindles normally cost between £4 to £8; however, some spindles can be bought in packs of 3 such as the Elements Plain Landing Spindle from the Richard Burbidge range. Our metal wall-mounted handrails cost between £15 to £45, with nickel handrails being slightly more expensive.
Metal is tough and durable, making it a good long-term investment. Consider using a disposable dusting cloth or a microfiber cloth to dust your metal staircase safely. When cleaning metal, avoid any products that are too strong and can be damaging. You can ensure your solution is mild by diluting your cleaning solution in warm water. This will be sufficient in getting rid of smudges, fingerprints, footprints and other unwanted marks.
Are you designing a metal staircase? Read our full guide to metal stair parts.
Our wooden stair parts are available in ash, dark hardwood, hemlock, pine, walnut and white oak.
You can choose either grooved or ungrooved base rails or handrails, depending on the type of stair spindles you are attaching to them. Our base rails and handrails are available in pine, white primed, hemlock, dark hardwood, white oak, ash and walnut.
You can read about the different styles of wooden newel posts here.
You can read about the prices you can expect to pay when replacing wood stair parts in our stair parts price list.
Softwoods, such as pine, are often for cheaper than hardwoods such as oak and ash. This is, in part, due to softwood being much quicker to grow than hardwood, meaning the wood is more readily available. White oak stair parts tend to be the most expensive, and can add character and warmth to your staircase. You can read more about oak stair parts here.
Are you designing a wooden staircase? Read our full guide to wooden stair parts here.
Wood stair parts are fairly easy to clean and maintain. Most woods can be polished and may need retreating with varnish over time. Treatex hard wax oil can protect and enhance wooden surfaces with just two coats.
Sanding, painting and varnishing wooden spindles allows you to keep your staircase looking new and give it a bespoke touch.
You can read more about maintaining wooden spindles in our guide Finishing your spindles—sanding, painting and varnishing.
Buy the Treatex Hardwax Clear Gloss Oil now
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