Vancouver Stairs vs Penometal.

Both companies fabricate custom metal staircases in Metro Vancouver. Penometal leans toward design-led residential and architectural metalwork; Vancouver Stairs covers the same residential market while also holding the institutional and commercial credentials that ICI bids require.

Factor	Vancouver Stairs	Penometal
CWB-certified welding (CSA W47.1)	✓ Displayed on site	Not listed publicly (May 2026)
Founded	2010 (Burnaby)	2016 (North Vancouver)
Shop location	Burnaby, BC (2544 Douglas Rd)	North Vancouver, BC (103 Bowser Ave)
Institutional portfolio	Surrey Memorial Hospital, BCIT, Collingwood School, Queen Mary School, Guildford Town Centre	Not publicly listed (residential + Jollibee canopy as of May 2026)
Stair categories	Mono-stringer, floating, double-stringer, spiral, curved, straight, commercial egress	Spiral, curved, floating, circular
Beyond stairs	Strata railings, canopies, gates, structural steel, custom metal fabrication	Custom railings, gates, canopies, structural metalwork, decorative iron furniture, feature walls
Finishes offered	Powder coat, galvanized, stainless, primer + paint, patina	Metal and wood combinations; specific finish menu not published
Published turnaround	Quoted per project (typical residential 4–10 weeks)	Not published; free site visit and quote offered
Lead capture	Phone, email, sticky quote modal with file upload	Contact form, free site visit, social media
Pricing transparency	Quote-based (no public pricing)	Quote-based (no public pricing)

• Your project is on the North Shore and you want a local site visit. Penometal's North Vancouver shop at 103 Bowser Avenue gives them a geographic advantage for West Van, North Van, and Deep Cove projects — shorter site measurement visits and easier access during installation.
• You want wrought iron or decorative metalwork bundled with the staircase. Penometal explicitly offers custom iron furniture (dining tables, beds, coffee tables, fireplaces, outdoor furnishings) and decorative feature walls — a scope most stair shops don't touch. If your design calls for a matching iron chandelier bracket or a custom fireplace surround alongside the stair, Penometal is worth asking.
• Your project is purely residential and design-led. Penometal positions itself as creating architectural metalwork for residential construction and renovation. If your project is a private home and you want a smaller shop with a design-first orientation, their portfolio and language aligns with that context.
• You're open to wood-and-metal hybrid construction. Penometal advertises both metal and wooden staircase options, which may suit architects who want mixed-material staircases with wood treads and steel structure integrated by one fabricator.

• Your project requires CWB certification. Institutional, government, healthcare, and most multi-storey commercial bids in BC require CSA W47.1 certification. Vancouver Stairs displays its CWB certification on its site; Penometal does not list it. Confirm this with any shop before submitting a bid package.
• You want a mono-stringer staircase specifically. Mono-stringer is a distinct structural system — a single central spine with treads cantilevered equally on both sides. Vancouver Stairs has dedicated pages, engineering notes, and project galleries for mono-stringer staircases. Penometal's public site does not list mono-stringer by name; ask them explicitly if that is the system you need.
• Your project is institutional, commercial, or strata. Our published portfolio includes Surrey Memorial Hospital, BCIT Burnaby, Collingwood School, Queen Mary School, and Guildford Town Centre — evidence of ongoing work at the compliance level those building types require. Strata railing replacement is also a dedicated service with its own permit and resident-coordination process.
• You need a documented finish specification for a contractor package. Vancouver Stairs publishes a finish menu (powder coat, hot-dip galvanized, stainless 304/316, primer + paint, patina) that maps to spec-sheet language GCs and engineers use. If you are writing a specification, having a fabricator who speaks in the same finish vocabulary reduces coordination friction.
• Your project is in Burnaby, the Tri-Cities, Surrey, or east Metro Van. Penometal's North Vancouver shop is on the far side of the bridges for those communities. Vancouver Stairs' Burnaby location is geographically closer and covers all Metro Van service areas with dedicated city pages.

Going through a general contractor on an institutional or commercial bid? CWB certification is typically a non-negotiable requirement. Confirm it in writing from whichever shop you shortlist before submission.

Building a mono-stringer stair specifically? Ask each shop to describe their stringer construction approach and show photos of completed mono-stringer systems. The structural detail varies significantly between fabricators even when they use the same marketing term.

North Shore residential project with design-led decorative metalwork? Both companies are worth quoting. Penometal's North Van location and decorative iron scope may suit that brief; compare sample shop drawings and timeline commitments before deciding.

Strata railing replacement or multi-family project? Strata-railing work has its own coordination requirements (phased access, strata bylaw documentation, resident notification). Vancouver Stairs runs a dedicated strata railing program with that process built in.

Is Penometal CWB-certified for structural welding?

Penometal's website (penometal.com, checked May 2026) does not list Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) certification or any CSA W47.1 designation. Vancouver Stairs displays CWB certification on its site, which means welders are qualified and the shop undergoes annual bureau audits. CWB certification is typically a hard requirement on institutional bids — schools, hospitals, government buildings, and most multi-storey commercial projects in BC. If your project goes through a general contractor on an ICI bid, confirm certification status directly with any shop you shortlist.

What staircase styles does each company specialize in?

Penometal lists spiral, curved, floating, and circular staircases on their site. Vancouver Stairs fabricates mono-stringer, floating/cantilevered, double-stringer, spiral, curved, straight, and commercial egress systems. The important distinction is mono-stringer: Penometal's site does not feature it by name, while mono-stringer is one of Vancouver Stairs' primary product lines with dedicated design guides, engineering notes, and city-specific pages. If you want a single-beam spine staircase, ask Penometal specifically whether they fabricate mono-stringer stringers or whether they are building what they call 'floating' using a different structural approach.

How does service area compare?

Penometal is based in North Vancouver (103 Bowser Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7P 3H1) and describes its service area as British Columbia generally. Vancouver Stairs operates from a Burnaby shop and has dedicated service pages for Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond, Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Squamish, and Whistler. For North Shore projects, Penometal's location is a geographic advantage. For projects east of Burrard Inlet or south of the Fraser, Vancouver Stairs' Burnaby location is closer.

Which company has more institutional experience?

Vancouver Stairs lists institutional projects on its website including Surrey Memorial Hospital, BCIT Burnaby, Collingwood School, Queen Mary School, and Guildford Town Centre. Penometal's public portfolio does not list named institutional clients as of May 2026 — their portfolio references a residential railing project (Port Moody) and a commercial canopy (Jollibee franchise). Both can work with contractors, but the documented institutional track record sits with Vancouver Stairs.

What does Penometal offer beyond staircases?

Penometal has a broader architectural metalwork scope than some stair-only shops: they fabricate custom railings, gates and fences, canopies and awnings, structural metalwork, and architectural elements including decorative feature walls and wrought iron furniture (tables, beds, fireplaces). Vancouver Stairs offers strata railings, driveway gates, canopy structures, and custom metal fabrication alongside its staircase lines. If your project bundles wrought iron furniture or interior decorative metalwork with a staircase, Penometal's scope is worth asking about.

How long has each company been in business?

Penometal was established in 2016 in North Vancouver. Their site notes the team brings 'over 15 years of industry expertise,' which likely reflects prior experience before founding the company. Vancouver Stairs was founded in 2010 from a Burnaby shop that previously operated under related ironworks branding. Penometal is the newer entity; Vancouver Stairs has been operating its current brand for longer. For institutional and commercial bids where longevity is a shortlist factor, ask both companies for reference contacts on comparable completed projects.