When clients are looking for a traditional spiral staircase they automatically assume them to be cast iron spiral stairs. The reason for this is that in the past, there were many cast iron foundries. These Iron foundries would produce the necessary castings and parts to be able to make an iron spiral staircase.
Over the past couple of decades the number of cast iron foundries has dwindled as manufacturing looked to move away from steel and iron and use new, effective lightweight products especially in the aerospace and automobile industries.
Cast Aluminium Staircase Vs Iron Spiral Staircase
The traditional view on aluminium was that it was light weight, therefore, it must be flimsier than the cast iron. As standards and quality of aluminium have been regulated and improved. More and more manufacturers have dismissed this myth about using cast aluminium, and moved away from the cast iron products.
British Spirals & Castings often have clients asking for cast iron spiral staircases, not because they need a cast iron staircase but because they associate the traditional spiral staircases and the look of the spiral staircases with being cast iron. However, all British Spirals & Castings products are made from cast aluminium. Why is this?
We have been using cast aluminium since the business was established over 30 years ago and own the foundry that produces the goods. The foundry is a non ferrous foundry which means that it makes castings out of different types of aluminium.
By owning the foundry we are able to control the flow and the delivery of the castings. This ensures that we meet clients timing requirements. It also allows us to modify the patterns to meet our requirements.
We produce bespoke castings whenever required. The main benefit is the controlling the quality of the castings coming in. The aluminium also weights approximately 1/3 of cast iron, therefore it makes it easier to fabricate, transport worldwide and fit.
Are Aluminium Stairs Strong?
Aluminium stairs looks exactly the same as cast iron spiral stairs and are just as durable and strong.
The other benefit of cast aluminium staircases to other staircases products that are available is that all our castings are produced and manufactured in the UK by one team. We do not import any of our castings, therefore quality is checked by us and guaranteed straight to the customer.