How Iron Timbers Builds and Ships Custom Floating Staircases Nationwide
A custom floating staircase doesn't have to be fabricated by a company down the road from your project.
Iron Timbers designs and fabricates custom floating staircase systems for projects across the continental United States from our shop in Osgood, Indiana. To make that possible, we coordinate the staircase from architectural plans and verified field measurements through CAD drawings, steel fabrication, hardwood production, finishing, packaging, freight, and contractor installation.
The result is a custom staircase built around the actual project, even when our fabrication team may never physically visit the jobsite.
Here is how an IRON Floating Staircase System goes from an initial set of plans to a finished staircase ready for installation hundreds, or thousands, of miles from our shop.
Step 1: It Often Starts With a Set of Plans
Many of our nationwide staircase projects begin before the house is even built.
A builder, contractor, architect, or homeowner may send us a set of architectural plans and ask us to quote the floating staircase shown in the project.
From those plans, we can begin identifying information such as:
Floor-to-floor height
Available stair run
Stair width
Stair configuration
Landings
Approximate railing footage
Tread dimensions
Surrounding conditions
We'll also discuss selections that affect the scope, including hardwood species, railing design, and options such as integrated LED tread lighting.
That gives us enough information to understand the initial staircase concept and develop a quote.
At this stage, however, the house may still exist only on paper.
That's why the dimensions used to quote a staircase aren't necessarily the dimensions we use to fabricate it.
For a closer look at what influences the overall project budget, see our guide, “How Much Does a Floating Staircase Cost in 2026?”
Step 2: The Builder Verifies the Actual Opening
Once the project has been framed, we can work from actual field conditions rather than relying solely on preliminary dimensions from the plans.
For nationwide projects, we are in direct communication with the builder or contractor to collect the measurements we need.
That includes more than simply measuring floor to floor.
We also need to understand details such as finished-floor thickness, framing conditions, landings, mounting locations, and other dimensions that can affect how the staircase fits into the completed space.
This is also when communication about structural blocking becomes particularly important.
A floating staircase has substantial connections at its mounting points. The builder needs to know where adequate structure is required behind those connections before walls and floors are completely finished.
The same applies to railing that attaches to conventionally framed floors or landings.
This builder coordination is one of the most important parts of successfully supplying a custom floating staircase from a distance.
Step 3: We Turn Those Measurements Into CAD Drawings
Once the drawings have been verified, we have a confirmed set of project dimensions to build from.
This is where the staircase moves from a quoted concept into something that can actually be fabricated.
But we don't immediately send those drawings to the shop.
We first send them back to the people on site.
The builder or contractor can compare dimensions shown on our drawings with what they're physically measuring at the project. In particular, they can verify that the overall staircase dimensions and mounting locations correspond with the actual opening.
If something doesn't match, this is when we want to find it, not after several thousand pounds of steel and hardwood arrive at the jobsite.
Once the drawings are approved, we have a verified design to build from.
Step 4: The Approved Drawings Become Our Fabrication Drawings
There is an important detail in our process here.
We aren't creating one drawing for the builder and then starting over with a different interpretation for the fabrication shop.
The approved staircase geometry carries directly into the drawings our shop uses to fabricate the system.
That creates a continuous path:
Field Measurements → CAD Drawings → Builder Verification → Shop Fabrication
The staircase we're building in Indiana is based on the same dimensions the contractor verified at the project.
For a staircase that may be traveling halfway across the country, that continuity matters.
Step 5: Steel Fabrication Begins With the Mono-Stringer
Once the drawings are approved, fabrication begins in our Indiana shop.
The steel mono-stringer is cut on our CNC tube laser using dimensions carried directly from the approved project drawings. The laser cuts the material to the required dimensions while also creating the holes and other features needed for that particular staircase.
The same process is used for the 4" × 4" steel tubing used in our riser/tread support assemblies, while the corresponding steel tread plates are cut on our sheet laser.
Using the project drawings throughout this process allows the individual steel components to be produced specifically for the staircase we are building.
If you're comparing different structural approaches, our guide Mono Stringer vs. Dual Stringer Staircases: What's the Difference? explains how the two systems differ in appearance, structure, and design.
Step 6: The Stringer and Tread Supports Become One System
Once the individual steel components are cut, our fabrication team begins bringing the staircase together.
The riser and tread plate components are fitted and welded into individual assemblies, while the mono-stringer receives its top and bottom mounting plates and the other fabrication required for the project.
Each of these components is designed to work together as part of the IRON Floating Staircase System. Once fabrication is complete, the steel is prepared for its specified powder-coated finish.
This is where the staircase begins making the transition from individual pieces of steel into the finished structural components that will eventually arrive at the jobsite.
Step 7: The Railing Is Fabricated in Our Shop
The railing is fabricated specifically for the same staircase rather than being treated as a separate, off-the-shelf component.
Steel railing material is cut to the required dimensions and then fitted, welded, and finished on our fabrication tables.
Depending on the project, the railing may feature horizontal or vertical steel balusters along with a steel or hardwood handrail.
Building the railing from the same approved project drawings allows its dimensions, mounting locations, and transitions to coordinate with the staircase before anything leaves our shop.
Step 8: Hardwood Treads Are Machined and Finished Alongside the Steel
While the steel side of the staircase moves through fabrication and powder coating, the hardwood components move through their own process.
Once the hardwood treads arrive at our shop, we handle the project-specific machining, sanding, and finishing required for the staircase.
If integrated LED tread lighting is included, the necessary channels and other features are CNC machined into the hardwood before finishing. Hardwood handrails or railing caps can also be prepared and finished to coordinate with the treads.
By the time the steel and hardwood components are complete, the different pieces of the staircase have all been prepared around the same project and are ready to come together as one coordinated IRON System.
Tread dimensions are another important part of the finished staircase. We cover this in more detail in “How Thick Should Floating Staircase Treads Be?”
Step 9: Powder Coating, Finishing, and Final Assembly
Once the steel components return from powder coating and the hardwood components are finished, we bring everything together for the final stages before shipping.
If the staircase includes integrated LED lighting, this is when we run the necessary low-voltage wiring through the steel stringer so it arrives prewired and ready for the lighting components to be connected during installation.
For railing systems that include hardwood handrails or caps, we can also install those components before shipment when appropriate. This allows the railing to arrive as complete as possible rather than requiring the contractor to assemble separate steel and hardwood components on site.
From there, the staircase components are checked, organized, and prepared for packaging.
The goal is to complete as much of the system as possible in our shop so that when the staircase arrives at the project, the contractor is receiving a coordinated system ready for installation.
Step 10: How Do You Ship a Floating Staircase?
Shipping depends on the size and scope of the project.
For larger projects, components may be protectively wrapped, secured, banded, and shipped on heavy-duty pallets. For a typical residential floating staircase, major components can also be protected inside custom-built shipping crates.
These aren't necessarily small shipments. A long straight staircase can require a steel stringer approaching 18 feet in length, which means the finished crate can be a substantial piece of freight.
Hardwood treads are packaged, secured, and palletized separately, while railing components are protected according to their size and configuration.
The objective isn't simply getting the staircase onto a truck. It's making sure the complete system is protected and prepared for the trip to the jobsite.
What Do You Need to Receive a Floating Staircase?
This is something we discuss with customers before freight arrives.
Someone at the project needs a way to safely unload the shipment.
Depending on its size, that may mean having appropriate material-handling equipment available or coordinating liftgate service when the dimensions of the shipment allow it. A pallet of hardwood treads is obviously much different to unload than a long crated steel stringer.
The important part is planning for it beforehand.
If you're receiving a custom floating staircase from across the country, delivery day shouldn't be the first time anyone thinks about how an 18-foot crate is coming off the truck.
Can My General Contractor Install an Iron Timbers Staircase?
Yes. Nationwide installation by the project's contractor is an important part of how we're able to supply custom floating staircases outside our immediate area.
Our process is designed around providing the information the contractor needs throughout the project—from framing and blocking requirements to approved staircase drawings and installation information.
That doesn't mean every carpenter should approach a custom floating staircase without preparation.
These are substantial steel-and-hardwood systems, and proper handling, structural connections, alignment, and installation matter.
But your project does not have to be located near our Indiana shop simply because the staircase was fabricated here.
We also provide an installation guide and remain available to answer questions as the contractor works through the installation.
We'll cover contractor installation in greater detail in our upcoming guide, “Can a General Contractor Install a Custom Floating Staircase?”
From Our Indiana Shop to a Northern Illinois Jobsite
This staircase was designed and fabricated at our shop in Osgood, Indiana, then shipped to Northern Illinois for installation. The steel structure, hardwood treads, railing, mounting details, and finishes were coordinated before shipment so the contractor received the staircase as one complete system.
Why Source the Complete Staircase Through Iron Timbers?
There is an obvious alternative to this process: source the steel from one company, hardwood treads somewhere else, find a railing fabricator near the project, and ask the general contractor to make everything work together.
That's not what we're trying to provide.
Iron Timbers specializes in bringing custom metal fabrication and woodworking together as one coordinated staircase system.
We coordinate the mono-stringer, tread supports, hardwood treads, railing, mounting details, finishes, and optional lighting around the same project before the system reaches the jobsite.
That becomes especially valuable when the project is hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Instead of relying on multiple trades to independently interpret the same staircase design, the major components arrive having been coordinated around one another from the beginning.
How We Build Custom Floating Staircases Nationwide
There is a misconception that a truly custom staircase needs to be fabricated near the project so someone can repeatedly visit the jobsite.
Our process is built differently.
Architectural plans allow us to establish the initial scope. Field measurements allow us to design around actual construction. CAD drawings allow the builder to verify those dimensions. Those approved drawings carry directly into our fabrication process. CNC tube and sheet cutting help us reproduce that geometry in steel, while our woodshop handles the project-specific machining and finishing of the hardwood components. The completed system is then packaged for freight to the project.
That allows us to remain a genuinely custom staircase manufacturer without limiting our work to projects within driving distance of our shop.
Whether your project is in Indiana or across the country, the objective is the same:
Build an IRON Floating Staircase System around the actual project, fabricate it with precision, and deliver a coordinated staircase that's ready for installation.
Planning a Floating Staircase?
If you're in the early stages of a new build or renovation, you don't need to wait until framing is complete to start the conversation.
Send Iron Timbers your architectural plans or preliminary staircase dimensions. We can review the proposed layout, discuss the design and material options, and develop an initial quote while your project is still being planned.
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