Residential Metal Fabrication

Homeowner projects from a single gate to a full package of railings, stairs and a pergola.

What Homeowners Ask Us For

The pattern is consistent. A homeowner has one thing they need solved, and once it is solved they want the rest of the property to match.

• Driveway and pedestrian gates — the most common first call, usually for security, a dog, or a driveway that has become a shortcut.
• Railings and guards — decks, stairs, balconies and landings, most often because the existing ones failed inspection or failed to hold.
• Interior stairs — steel stringers with timber or steel treads, as the centrepiece of a renovation.
• Pergolas and shade structures — steel frames that hold a span cedar cannot.
• Fireplace surrounds, planters, screens and furniture — the finishing pieces once the structural work is done.

You do not need to know what you want in fabrication terms. Bring us a photograph, a rough sketch or a description and we will translate it.

Budgets and Timelines

We would rather have the budget conversation at the first visit than at the quote.

The honest position is that a custom gate or railing spans a very wide range depending on size, material, complexity and site access, and any number quoted before someone has stood on the site is a guess. What we can do at the consultation is tell you roughly where your idea sits, and where the money is going — because it is often not where clients expect. Complexity and hand-work move a quote far more than the metal itself.

If your number is fixed, say so. We will design to it, or tell you plainly that it will not carry what you are picturing and what would.

On timelines: the shop is scheduled, not instant. Tell us the date you need it and we will tell you at the consultation whether it is realistic. We would rather lose a job than miss a date we promised.

Permits and Strata Approvals

Two approvals catch homeowners out, and both are easier to handle before fabrication than after.

Permits. Most gates, railings and interior stairs on an existing home do not need a building permit, but guard height and infill spacing are governed by the BC Building Code regardless — and a guard that does not comply is a problem at resale even if nobody inspected it. Structural work, anything altering an exit route, and anything on a new build usually does need one. Your municipality decides, and North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam and Surrey each apply it slightly differently.

Strata approval. If you are in a strata, anything visible from outside — a balcony guard, a privacy screen, a gate — almost certainly needs written approval before it is installed, and getting it retroactively is a different experience entirely. We can supply drawings and specifications in a form a council will accept, which is usually what holds these up.

We build to code as a matter of course and we will tell you at the consultation which approvals your project is likely to need.

How the Process Works

Five steps, and you only have to do two of them.

• 1. Free in-house consultation. We come to you, measure, look at access, and talk through options and budget. No charge, no obligation.
• 2. Drawing and quote. You get a drawing of what we propose and a fixed price against it, so you are approving a picture rather than a paragraph.
• 3. Fabrication. Built in our shop at 5128 Francisco Court. Anything that needs a decision from you gets a photo, not a surprise.
• 4. Finishing. Powder coat, galvanising, patina or raw, as specified.
• 5. Installation. Fitted by the same crew that built it, which is why what arrives matches what was drawn.

Free in-house consultation

We come to you, measure the site, and talk through options and budget before you commit to anything. No charge, no obligation.

Call (778) 805-5333 or email sales@trussmetal.com