Education
Durable, compliant steelwork for education buildings.
Durable, compliant steelwork for schools, colleges and university buildings — built to handle constant footfall safely.
What we offer
- Staircases, fire escapes and access steelwork
- Balustrades and handrails to building regulations
- Structural frames and mezzanine floors
- Walkways, canopies and covered areas
Steelwork for schools, colleges and universities
Education settings demand steelwork that is robust, safe and compliant. We design and fabricate staircases, balustrades and structural steel that meet the relevant building regulations and loadings, then install around term times and site constraints.
All work is UKAS-approved to EN1090-1 Execution Level 3 with full traceability.
Balustrades in education buildings are held to a stricter standard than in housing, because the building is used by children and in numbers. That drives the guarding height, the loadings the design has to resist, and the infill: vertical bars at spacings a child cannot pass through or climb, rather than horizontal rails that act as a ladder. Where a stair is an escape route, handrail heights, extensions past the top and bottom nosings and continuity all follow the approved document, and we fabricate to the design your architect or engineer has had approved.
Durability matters as much as compliance, because a school handrail takes more contact in a week than a domestic one takes in a year. We specify heavier sections and welded rather than mechanical joints where an assembly will be leant on and swung from, and finish with powder coat over galvanising on anything external so that chips do not become rust streaks down a wall.
The programme is usually the hardest constraint. Most work has to happen in the summer holiday or a half-term, on a site that must be handed back safe and finished on a fixed date, and any work in term time has to be separated from pupils. We fabricate off site so that the on-site element is as short as possible, survey early so steel arrives right first time, and our installation teams are used to working under a school's safeguarding and site rules.
Frequently asked
Education steelwork — your questions
Yes, and most education work is programmed that way. We fabricate off site so the on-site period is as short as possible and the building can be handed back for the start of term. Work in term time is possible where it can be safely separated from pupils.
We fabricate to the design and the approved building regulations for your project. Buildings used by children have stricter guarding requirements than dwellings, including infill that cannot be climbed or passed through, and we build to the heights and loadings the design specifies.
Our teams are used to working on education sites under the school's safeguarding and site rules. Tell us what your site requires at enquiry stage and we will confirm what we can put in place for your project.
Yes. We survey the existing structure, fabricate the replacement to the measured opening, and install it — including external fire escapes, which are hot-dip galvanised for a long maintenance-free life.
