ᐅ Concrete staircase – handrail?

Hello everyone,

so many decisions to make.
We will have two concrete staircases (ground floor to first floor to attic). The lower flight is straight, the upper flight has a 1/4 turn.
I like brick or masonry half-walls, but my partner prefers stainless steel railings. Of course, price is also a factor. Does anyone know roughly the price difference between these two options? Or does anyone have a "mix" of both? For example, masonry at the bottom and railings at the top or something similar?
I find it difficult to find information online because most houses only have one staircase or narrower staircases.

Good luck

milkie

We have also recently dealt with this question. We solved it by having the handrail of our concrete staircase from the ground floor to the upper floor built masonry-style. The balustrade on the upper floor will be done the same way. However, due to structural requirements, we cannot install another concrete staircase to the attic (only a wooden ceiling), so we will install a better space-saving staircase there instead. This will be made of beech wood and without risers, as will the railing. I think it will look quite good.

Hello Milkie,

I think it’s definitely possible to mix them. Although I also like a continuous masonry parapet. I’ve seen several houses where the wall went from the basement all the way up to the attic and was only about half-height in the attic. (Otherwise, a railing was usually mounted on the wall.)

Many also have a door to the basement, so the stairwell would be separated anyway.

We will probably go with a concrete staircase all the way from the bottom to the top. However, I prefer a wooden or stainless steel railing. Partly because of the light coming through, and if the railing is only half-height on each floor, it’s easier to carry things up to the upper floor than if the wall is fully continuous masonry on the ground floor.