Sculptural staircases
for premium villas.

Yes, in almost all cases. A new staircase, a replacement staircase with a different layout, or a staircase added during a renovation forms part of the building's means of escape, so it falls under the Dubai Municipality building permit. For staircases inside commercial, industrial, and multi-occupancy buildings, Civil Defence approval is also required because the staircase is part of the fire evacuation strategy.

Internal decorative staircases inside a private villa, where the layout does not change, may not need a separate permit if the work is part of an approved renovation package.

• Floating stairs, cantilevered treads on a concealed steel stringer
• Spiral staircases, compact circular layouts around a central stringer
• Dog-legged & landing stairs, two flights joined by an intermediate landing
• Straight flight stairs, linear runs on single or twin stringers, internal and external
• Mono stringer stairs, treads supported from a single central beam
• Helical (curved) staircases, rolled steel stringers for architectural villas and lobbies
• Industrial open-tread stairs for warehouses, plant rooms, and mezzanines
• Fire escape stairs, external, fully compliant with UAE FLSC egress requirements

Staircases in Dubai are designed under:

• Dubai Building Code 2021 (Part B, Architecture) for tread, riser, head clearance, and width geometry
• UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice 2018 for means of escape, fire-rated enclosures, and exit widths
• BS 5395 for the design of stairs, ladders, and walkways
• BS 6180 for barrier loadings on handrails and balustrades
• AISC 360 or Eurocode 3 for the structural steel design of the staircase itself

Reference: Dubai Municipality, Dubai Building Code

For residential stairs, Dubai Building Code 2021 (Part B) sets the baseline geometry:

• Headroom minimum 2,030 mm, measured perpendicular to the pitch line
• Tread depth minimum 280 mm (going)
• Riser height maximum 175 mm
• Stair width minimum 900 mm for single-family villas

Industrial access stairs to BS 5395 use a steeper geometry — typical 230 mm tread / 220 mm riser — with reduced headroom permitted on access-only stairs. Means-of-escape stairs in commercial and assembly occupancies pick up wider minimums under the UAE FLSC. Every stair is designed to the actual use category, not a single template.

References: Dubai Building Code 2021; BS 5395 (BSI)

Handrails and balustrades must resist a defined horizontal load applied at the top of the rail, plus a defined uniformly distributed load. Under BS 6180, typical design loads are:

• Single-family villas, low-occupancy areas: 0.36 kN/m horizontal
• General assembly areas, offices, hotels: 0.74 kN/m
• Areas susceptible to crowd loading (stadia, shopping centres): 3.0 kN/m

Finesse fabricates the steel structure — stringers, mounting plates, and the steel or stainless balustrade frame — to the same loads. Every balustrade is designed for its actual occupancy category, not a generic default. Infill panels, where specified by the architect, are supplied and installed by a separate specialist contractor against our shop drawings.

• Stringers: mild steel sections to BS EN 10025, grade S275JR or S355JR; or stainless steel
• Treads: chequered plate, perforated grating, stone, or carpeted MDF
• Balustrades: mild or stainless steel, cable infill, or solid panel
• Handrails: stainless steel, powder-coated steel, or PVC-coated handrail
• Finishes: hot-dip galvanizing for outdoor stairs, powder coating in any RAL colour, polished or brushed stainless

We fabricate the complete steel staircase structure, including steel handrails and support systems. Where timber treads or other architectural finishes are specified, we coordinate closely with joinery and finishing contractors for smooth integration on site.

Yes. Custom architectural staircases are a regular part of our work. We accept your architect's design, develop the structural shop drawings, run the load checks through a licensed consultant, and coordinate finishes and lighting with the rest of the interior package. Joinery, glazing, and finishing elements supplied by separate contractors are coordinated and fitted onto our steel frame on site. For complex floating or helical stairs, we provide a 3D model for client and architect approval before fabrication starts.

Structural welds on stringers, landings, and connections follow the AWS D1.1/D1.1M Structural Welding Code for Steel. Every weld is visually inspected by our experienced QC team. For permanent staircases in commercial or industrial buildings, or those carrying heavy occupancy loads, we engage accredited third-party testing laboratories for Magnetic Particle Inspection on critical welds, torque tests on bolted connections, and pull-out tests on anchor bolts.

For temporary staircases, light-duty access stairs, or simple low-occupancy residential stairs, this level of third-party NDT is not normally required. We adjust the inspection regime to match the application.

• Stamped structural drawings and calculations
• As-built drawings
• Mill certificates for steel
• Welding procedure specifications (WPS) and weld inspection records
• Third-party NDT and anchor test reports, where applicable
• Galvanizing and paint system certificates
• DM and DCD completion certificates, where applicable

• Designed to code. DBC 2021, UAE FLSC, BS 5395, BS 6180, AISC 360, Eurocode 3.
• In-house fabrication. Laser cutting, bending, welding, finishing, all under one roof.
• Code-compliant welding. All welding follows the AWS D1.1/D1.1M Structural Welding Code, inspected by our experienced QC team.
• Third-party verified for commercial and high-load applications.
• Custom design capable. From industrial escape stairs to feature villa staircases in steel and stainless.
• ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 certified.