Vancouver Stairs vs Iron Age Manufacturing.
Two CWB-certified Vancouver custom-metal shops with overlapping skillsets and slightly different portfolio gravity. How to pick the right one for your project. Researched April 2026.
Side-by-side summary.
Both are CWB-certified Vancouver-area shops with custom metal stair, railing, gate, and fabrication scope. The difference shows up in portfolio focus and aesthetic lean.
| Factor | Vancouver Stairs | Iron Age Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|
| CWB-certified welding | ✓ Displayed on site | ✓ Displayed on site |
| Other credentials | CWB | CWB + VRCA member + Consumer Choice Award |
| Stated tenure | Established Metro Van fabricator | 27+ years in metalwork (published) |
| Shop location | Burnaby | 2755 Boundary Rd, Vancouver (East Van / Burnaby border) |
| Aesthetic gravity | Architectural / institutional / clean modern | "Where Steel Meets Design" — feature stairs + artistic metalwork; darker / heavier visual language |
| Institutional portfolio | Surrey Memorial, BCIT, Collingwood, Queen Mary, Guildford Town Centre | Residential + commercial + multi-unit; less institutional emphasis publicly |
| Stair categories | Floating, mono-stringer, double-stringer, spiral, helical, curved, straight | Feature stairs, spiral stairs, custom architectural stairs |
| Beyond stairs | Strata railings, canopies, structural steel, custom metal fab | Railings, gates, window guards, fences, custom fab, repair / upgrade |
| Repair / upgrade service | Custom-built only | Explicit repair / upgrade service line |
Where Iron Age Manufacturing is the right pick.
- You want a feature staircase with strong artistic metalwork. Iron Age's portfolio leans into ironwork-feel, sculptural, dark-finish aesthetics — well-suited for industrial-modern, urban-loft, or warehouse-conversion homes.
- You need to repair or upgrade existing metalwork. Iron Age publishes a repair / upgrade service line. If your project starts with an existing railing, stair, or gate that needs fixing rather than a from-scratch build, that scope match helps.
- VRCA membership matters to your GC. Iron Age is a Vancouver Regional Construction Association member — useful for some commercial RFPs.
- You want a shop with 27+ years of stated continuity. Tenure builds trust. If documented multi-decade history is a deciding factor, Iron Age publishes that explicitly.
Where Vancouver Stairs is the right pick.
- Your project is institutional or large commercial with a published track record requirement. Vancouver Stairs lists specific institutional projects (Surrey Memorial Hospital, BCIT, Collingwood, Queen Mary, Guildford Town Centre) on its homepage — direct evidence to bring to a GC's prequal package.
- Strata railing replacement. A dedicated strata-railings service line means we are tuned around the documentation, permitting, and resident-coordination work strata projects demand.
- Cleaner architectural / contemporary aesthetic. If the visual brief is white-oak treads with thin-profile stringers and bright finishes — not heavy ironwork — that's the centre of gravity in our portfolio.
- Bundled stair + structural steel + canopy work. All in one shop with one set of drawings and one CWB-certified weld trail.
A short way to decide.
Industrial-modern feature staircase as the centrepiece? Iron Age's aesthetic gravity matches that brief.
Clean architectural / contemporary stair, often paired with white oak or glass? Vancouver Stairs is the closer fit.
Institutional or strata-led project requiring published track record? Vancouver Stairs's homepage portfolio is directly relevant.
Repair / upgrade scope on existing metalwork? Iron Age publishes that as a dedicated service.
Common questions about choosing between us and Iron Age.
Both Vancouver Stairs and Iron Age are CWB-certified — what else differs?
Iron Age (2755 Boundary Rd, Vancouver) and Vancouver Stairs both display CWB welding certification (CSA W47.1). Iron Age is also a VRCA member and a Consumer Choice Award recipient. The honest difference is portfolio centre of gravity — Iron Age leans into 'feature staircase' design (their tagline is 'Where Steel Meets Design') with strong custom artistic metalwork. Vancouver Stairs leans more into the institutional / commercial / strata side of the same skillset. Both are credible CWB shops; the choice often comes down to portfolio fit and shop location.
Iron Age has 27+ years of experience. How does Vancouver Stairs compare?
Iron Age publishes 'over 27 years in metalwork' on its site. Vancouver Stairs has been operating in Metro Vancouver as the Vancouver Stairs brand alongside its parent fabrication operation, with an institutional portfolio (Surrey Memorial, BCIT, Collingwood, Queen Mary, Guildford Town Centre) that demonstrates the same scale of bid-grade work. For long-history continuity, Iron Age's longer publicly-stated tenure is a real signal. For institutional-bid track record specifically, Vancouver Stairs publishes the project list.
Where are each company's shops?
Iron Age is at 2755 Boundary Rd in Vancouver (East Vancouver / Burnaby border). Vancouver Stairs is in the Burnaby area — also close to that East Vancouver / Burnaby corridor. For most Metro Vancouver projects neither has a meaningful proximity advantage over the other. For East Van / Burnaby / Tri-Cities work, both shops are similarly close to site.
Iron Age emphasises 'feature staircase' and artistic metalwork. Does Vancouver Stairs do that?
Yes. Vancouver Stairs handles helical, spiral, sculptural cantilever, and architectural feature staircases regularly — alongside the bread-and-butter mono-stringer and floating designs. The visual language differs (Iron Age leans into a darker, heavier, more ironwork-feel aesthetic; we lean cleaner / more architectural). Look at each company's project gallery and pick the look that matches your design intent.
Which has the broader scope beyond stairs?
Iron Age covers railings, gates, fences, custom fabrication, repair / upgrade work, and architectural metalwork. Vancouver Stairs covers strata railings, canopies, structural steel, custom metal fabrication, and full architectural metal scope. Both can bundle related metalwork into a single project — neither is materially narrower than the other in this dimension.
How does institutional / strata work compare?
Vancouver Stairs lists specific institutional projects on its homepage (Surrey Memorial Hospital, BCIT, Collingwood School, Queen Mary School, Guildford Town Centre). Iron Age publishes its VRCA membership and Consumer Choice Award and serves residential plus commercial — its public portfolio leans residential-feature with custom fabrication, but it does take on multi-unit work. For strata-led RFPs specifically, Vancouver Stairs's dedicated strata-railings practice is more directly built around that work.
Sources & methodology. Iron Age Manufacturing facts referenced from ironage.ca as published April 2026. Vancouver Stairs facts are first-party. CWB certification is administered by the Canadian Welding Bureau against the CSA W47.1 standard. We update this page when either company materially changes its public positioning. If anything is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
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