Finding the best stair builders in Dunedin matters whether you are fitting a straight flight into a new build, replacing a worn set in a villa, or squeezing a spiral into a tight corner. Stair builders in Dunedin design, manufacture and install flights in MDF, plywood, solid timber and steel, and work out the tread and riser sizing that keeps a staircase safe and compliant. Get Stairs and Kirks Joinery are two names worth knowing before you order.
1Get Stairs
Get Stairs is the trading name of Galloway Joinery Ltd, run by Brian Galloway, a qualified joiner and builder who has specialised solely in the manufacture of staircases for more than 25 years. The workshop sits at Allanton, out past Mosgiel, and concentrates on MDF and plywood flights for houses, apartments and duplexes. Clients deal with Brian himself from pricing through to completion, which suits builders who want head clearance and compliance questions identified early.
Services
- MDF interior staircases, with unseen stringers or optional seen false stringers
- Weather resistant plywood interior staircases that can be fitted as soon as the mid floor is down
- Exterior stairs built from H3 treated pine stringers and treads with galvanised or stainless fixings
- Custom stair stringers supplied on their own for overlaying in decking timber
- Twice weekly freight to sites between Christchurch and Invercargill, or collection from the workshop
Highlights
- Brian Galloway is a qualified joiner and builder with more than 25 years spent on staircase manufacture alone
- One point of contact from the quote through to the finished flight
- Repeat sets of identical stairs priced for apartment and duplex projects
- Raking risers available for commercial staircases
- Central stringers and dry mid joins offered on wider flights
Location & Contact
Name: Get Stairs
Address: 2 Grey Street, Allanton, RD 2, Mosgiel 9092
Phone: 027 601 0969
Website: getstairs.co.nz
2Kirks Joinery
Kirks Joinery is a family owned Dunedin joinery firm established in 1990, passed from Ron Kirk to his son Hayden, who owns it with his wife Rachael. Staircases are one of its named service lines, and the team measures, designs, builds and installs bespoke flights to fit the opening, working to the minimum tread and rise the standards require. The Kaikorai Valley Road workshop in Bradford runs CNC machinery alongside a wide array of traditional timber machinery, so it handles modern builds and character homes alike.
Services
- Bespoke staircases measured, designed, built and installed
- Straight flights and landings, kites and triangles
- Carpeted, high use and floating stairs in a wide range of timbers
- Stair balustrades
- Commercial joinery, timber windows and doors, and custom cabinetry
Highlights
- Family owned and operated in Dunedin since 1990, now in its second generation
- Member of Master Joiners, so the work carries the Master Joiners ten year guarantee, terms and conditions apply
- JMF NZ affiliated member building NZS4211 compliant timber joinery
- CNC machinery with CAD and CAM software used alongside traditional hand and machine work
Location & Contact
Name: Kirks Joinery
Address: 403 Kaikorai Valley Road, Bradford, Dunedin
Phone: 03 453 5718
Website: kirksjoinery.co.nz
3Otago Engineering
Otago Engineering is a Dunedin steel and iron fabricator, formerly trading as IRONGEAR by A.J Grant, with over 65 years behind it in the city. Helix and spiral staircases are one of its product lines, generally manufactured in one piece to proprietary design and freighted throughout most of New Zealand. It suits anyone wanting a steel stair to reach a second storey or a room addition, inside or out, where floor space is tight.
Services
- Helix and spiral staircases custom designed and manufactured
- Interior and exterior steel stairs, with treads in native or hardwood timber or galvanised non slip steel
- Internal and external balustrades and handrails
- Measure up and installation across Dunedin and the wider Otago region
Highlights
- Over 65 years as an engineering business in Dunedin, rebranded from A. J Grant in 2019 by Andrew and his sister Lauren
- Spiral stairs usually built in one piece, with sectional builds made before for installation into an existing space
- Forge on site and traditional techniques handed down for historical steel recreations
- Staircases freighted to most of New Zealand, alongside a design, build and install service locally
Location & Contact
Name: Otago Engineering
Address: 395 Kaikorai Valley Road, Dunedin 9011
Phone: 03 453 0777
Website: otagoengineering.co.nz
4Jeffrey Dennison Builders
Jeffrey Dennison Builders, which trades as JD Builders, is an Otago construction and renovation company formed in 2016, with building teams in Dunedin, Palmerston and Oamaru. Stairs are a listed service: the team designs and builds custom stairs in wood or concrete, works through tread and riser sizes for the intended purpose, and can add matching balustrades. It suits a homeowner who wants the staircase handled inside a wider renovation or new build rather than bought in as a separate supply.
Services
- Custom stairs designed and built in wood or concrete
- Tread and riser sizing worked out for the intended purpose
- Custom built balustrades to go with the stairs
- New homes, house extensions, renovations and commercial fitouts
Highlights
- Formed in 2016, with building teams working across Dunedin, Palmerston and Oamaru
- Offers the Master Build 10-Year Guarantee, which only a Registered Master Builder can provide
- Stair projects documented on its own site at Arthur Street in Dunedin and at Karitane
Location & Contact
Name: Jeffrey Dennison Builders
Address: Dunedin
Phone: 027 354 1754
Website: jdbuilders.nz
5Steadfast Joinery
Steadfast Joinery began trading in 2017 from a small shed in Green Island and now designs, manufactures and installs custom joinery from a larger workshop at Kenmure, in Dunedin’s central industrial area. Staircases and balustrades sit within its unique projects work, alongside custom made timber stairs shown in its portfolio, so the same workshop building the kitchen can build the flight. It suits a homeowner who wants the stairs matched to the rest of the joinery in a renovation or new build.
Services
- Custom made timber staircases
- Balustrades
- Kitchens, laundries, wardrobes and bathroom vanities
- Commercial fitouts and shop fitouts
- Specialty pieces including pivot doors, front entrance doors, internal sliding doors and barn doors
Highlights
- Trading since 2017, from a first shed in Green Island to a workshop in Dunedin’s central industrial area
- Free initial design and colour consultation, with the team travelling to the client
- Part of the Trees That Count community, and specialises in timbers from renewable resources
- Will work with client supplied material, such as old flooring planks, and convert it into new joinery
Location & Contact
Name: Steadfast Joinery
Address: 20 McNab Street, Kenmure, Dunedin 9011
Phone: 03 470 1990
Website: steadfastjoinery.co.nz
Stair Builders in Dunedin at a Glance
| Business | Based in | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Get Stairs | Allanton | Brian Galloway is a qualified joiner and builder with more than 25 ye... |
| Kirks Joinery | Bradford | Family owned and operated in Dunedin since 1990 |
| Otago Engineering | Dunedin | Over 65 years as an engineering business in Dunedin, rebranded from A |
| Jeffrey Dennison Builders | Dunedin | Formed in 2016 |
| Steadfast Joinery | Kenmure | Trading since 2017 |
How to Choose the Right Stair Builder in Dunedin
- Check whether the firm manufactures the flight itself, because a workshop cutting its own stringers can size treads and risers to your actual opening
- Check the material before you price it, because MDF and plywood flights are built to be overlaid with carpet or flooring while steel and solid timber are usually left on show
- Check who is responsible for head clearance, because a staircase that fails on headroom is expensive to unpick once the mid floor is down
- Check when the stairs are needed on site, because a plywood flight fitted early gives trades safe access to the next storey
- Check that the balustrade is quoted with the stairs, because the handrail and the infill are part of what gets signed off
- Check whether the firm installs or supplies only, because some workshops freight a finished flight for your own builder to fix in place
Frequently Asked Questions About Dunedin Stair Builders
What does a new staircase cost in Dunedin?
Stairs are quoted to the job rather than off a price list, because the cost turns on the material, the number of treads, whether winders or a landing are involved, and whether the flight is installed or supplied for your builder to fit. Send through your plans or the floor to floor measurement and ask for a written quote.
Do I need building consent for new stairs?
Stairs and the barriers beside them have to meet the New Zealand Building Code, and work that alters the structure of a stairwell will usually need consent from Dunedin City Council. Sort the consent question before you order the flight, since the tread, rise and headroom requirements shape the design. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment sets out the requirements at building.govt.nz.
How do I check a stair builder is licensed?
Restricted building work has to be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner, and you can search anyone’s licence free on the public register at lbp.govt.nz. A joinery workshop that only manufactures and delivers a flight will not necessarily hold a licence itself, because the fixing is done on site by your builder.
What is the difference between a stair builder, a joiner and an engineer?
Stair builders in Dunedin come from three trades. A dedicated stair manufacturer cuts MDF, plywood and timber flights in volume for builders, a joinery firm builds a staircase to match the rest of the joinery in the house, and a steel fabricator makes spiral and helix stairs plus the balustrades that go with them. The right one depends on the material you want.
Where in Dunedin are the stair workshops based?
The workshops on this page are spread across the city and the outskirts: Allanton out beyond Mosgiel, Kaikorai Valley Road at Bradford, and McNab Street at Kenmure. All of them deliver or install across Dunedin, and several cover the wider Otago region as well, so being on the other side of the city from a workshop is rarely a problem.
Can I get a spiral staircase made in Dunedin?
Yes. Steel helix and spiral stairs are custom made in the city and take up little more floor space than their diameter, which makes them a common answer for reaching a second storey or a room addition where a straight flight will not fit. Treads can be timber for an interior or galvanised non slip steel for outdoor use.
Can stairs go in before the roof is on?
Weather resistant plywood flights are made for exactly that. They can be fitted as soon as the mid floor is down, which gives trades safe access to the upper level early in the build, and they are then overlaid in carpet or a flooring product once the house is closed in. Give the workshop early notice so the stairs are ready when the floor is.
How We Chose the Best Stair Builders in Dunedin
Every business in this guide was found by searching for stair builders in Dunedin, then checked against its own website. Names, addresses and phone numbers are taken from the business’s own site rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what they publish themselves. We also check that each one is actually based in or genuinely serving Dunedin, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business with no website of its own is not listed, because there is no primary source to verify it against.