3 Mistakes Homeowners Make When Adding a Stair to Their Home

There’s probably nothing more exciting than remodeling your home or building it from the ground up, knowing that you’re getting a fresh start; there are always going to be challenges when it comes to constructing your new home, but overall, it’s a very exciting time!

Despite all of the excitement, oftentimes many homeowners run into problem after problem in the home-building process, but we are here to hopefully help solve and provide some clarity to one of these problems that homeowners tend to run into with their new home, and that is:

The Stair

The staircase is the centerpiece of your home, and so often we find that our homeowners end up leaving this beautiful piece for last, and end up opting to spend their time and budget on things like flooring, cabinets, bathrooms, etc.

We know that the stair is not something that’s at the top of the homeowner’s mind, and very often they don’t realize how essential it is until the end of the homebuilding process. Stairs tend to be a last thought when constructing the home, when really it should be one of the first things on the list of things to get constructed.

Why?

Because the stair is the focal point of your home and will be one of your biggest investments.

So here are the Three Mistakes Homeowners Make When Adding a Stair to Their Home:

Mistake #1: Homeowners don’t budget for their stair; arguably one of the more expensive investments in the home-building process

What ends up happening is by the time the homeowner considers their stair railing system, they don’t have the budget for the stair of their dreams. We have found that this causes a lot of stress and urgency in our homeowners as they discover the importance of their stair as the centerpiece of their home and realize they haven’t made it one of their priorities to get accomplished. This leads to either having to settle for a stair they weren’t envisioning because they don’t have the right budget, or they end up having to go over budget for the system they want because they didn’t plan ahead.

Mistake #2: Homeowners don’t allow enough time in their construction process for the stair they want

The home-building process is a tedious one, and it’s so important to have deadlines in place so that your home can get finished (somewhat!) on time. When mapping out your new home, it’s vital to try and get timelines on everything that needs to be done, and very often the stair and/or railing system is not allocated in the timeline of the home’s construction. Homeowners end up waiting until the last minute to begin construction on a stair and then realize that the stair-building process can sometimes be very lengthy, depending on the type of stair, railing system, complexity and materials required for the project. The stair game is a tricky one, and requires precision, detail and complicated math equations to produce a beautiful end-result. Sometimes our homeowners contact us in a frenzy, wanting us to quote, begin construction and complete a stair in an incredibly short amount of time because they didn’t seek out stair builders in the beginning of their process.

Stairs require time, attention to detail and quality craftsmanship to be not only safe and successful, but beautiful. This is why it is so important to get on a schedule with your stair constructor as soon as possible.

Mistake #3: Homeowners end up going with the first (and cheapest) stair builder they come across

Stair building is a speciality and requires high levels of skill and experience to execute a quality result. We have found that many times our homeowners will want to go with what’s cheapest for them, and this often is because they didn’t budget for the focal point of their home. Why is it so important to make sure you find the right company for your stairs? There are several reasons why this is crucial:

1. Safety must always be a priority. If the company you choose for your stairs is all about delivering quick, cheap results, it’s possible that safety may not be their first concern for their product. Houston has code regulations for stairs and if these codes are not met, your beautiful centerpiece can quickly turn into a hazardous nightmare. It is highly important that you find a company dedicated to the safety and functionality of your railing system.

2. Quality has to be important to your stair provider. Are they always delivering their best product? Are they proud to show off their work and have portfolios readily available to do so? If not, this may be cause for concern that the stair company isn’t focused on quality in their work. If they aren’t taking the time to inform you on your railing system, giving you options for various materials that can be used and educating you on what may work best in your home, they may not be the right fit for you as they could deliver a product that’s less than satisfactory.

3. Experience is vital when building a stair or railing system. How long as your potential stair provider been in business for? How long have their installers and experts been constructing stairs? Are they knowledgeable in stair mathematics, systems, materials, codes, licensing, etc.? What do their end results look like? It’s so important that you find stair experts that will be able to work with you on your project and deliver a high-quality railing system because of the level of experience and craftsmanship they have. In the stair business, it takes high levels of experience to be able to construct complex systems. It’s crucial that you ensure you have highly skilled craftsman working on your stair.

4. A beautiful and long-lasting product is key. This one is pretty self-explanatory: does your potential stair provider deliver a gorgeous product? Do you look at their past projects thinking, “Wow, if only I could have a stair like that!” or “Man, I didn’t even know something like that was an option for my home!” If those are things you’re thinking when you see a stair company’s past work, you’re probably on the right track! There are a surprising amount of things you can do with a stair and railing system that a lot of people don’t know is a possibility! When it comes to stairs, the sky’s the limit! Make sure that your stair provider is able to offer an easily accessible portfolio and way to begin your stair-quoting journey! Does this stair provider have a beautiful website displaying their work? Are they able to showcase past projects as examples of what you could have done in your home? Do they have people who can answer questions for you and a way to get you started on an estimate? These are all important things to ask yourself when searching for a quality stair company!

We know that stairs can seem complicated and difficult to figure out, but the stair-building process is so important to the construction and timing of your finished home! Always make sure to do thorough research when it comes to choosing the right stair company for your project!

Thanks so much for reading these tips; we hope that they’ve been helpful and were able to provide some clarity to your home-building journey (or future home-building journey!).

Make sure to leave a comment and check out the rest of our site! Take a look at our past projects under Products + Services, click on the FAQ section for common questions or get started with your stair by clicking on Get My Free Quote!

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed it!

The Houston Stair Team