Service · Interior Glass for Stairs & Landings

Glass Stair Railings & Interior Glass in St. Catharines & the Niagara Region

Glass turns a stairwell into light. On an open staircase, the guard disappears into the sightline: the treads float, the landing stays visible, and the entry reads bigger without moving a single wall. We design and install interior glass for staircases and landings across the Niagara Region: every panel templated to the rake of its flight, handrails made in our St. Catharines shop, and hardware chosen to be ignored for decades.

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Frameless glass guard and floating oak handrail around an open stair in a Niagara home

Where interior glass works

An open-stringer stair in a modern foyer, a landing guarding a stairwell in an open plan, a flight down to a finished lower level, a half-wall that closes in the hallway: these are the four cases we see most across the region, from St. Catharines to Niagara-on-the-Lake. In older homes, trading a solid guard for glass is often the single change that makes an entry feel twice its size; in new builds, it is the detail that keeps an open plan genuinely open. The staircase itself does not change: what changes is everything you can see through it.

Systems for stairs and landings

Interior stair work uses the same three families as our exterior glass systems, trimmed for tighter geometry: base-shoe frameless, point-fixed spigot or standoff, and capped systems where a continuous rail suits the design. On a raked run the panels are trapezoids, not rectangles: each one measured after the framing is in place and tempered to its own angle, so the glass follows the pitch of the flight with an even gap at every tread.

For stairs, we usually pair the glass with a handrail rather than a top rail: a floating oak or white oak rail on standoffs keeps the sightline open while giving hands something to grip. Fittings come in matte black or brushed stainless: the installation shown on this page is the combination we build most for open foyers: black standoffs, frameless glass, and a single oak rail sweeping down the flight.

Safety and code

Every installation is specified as a guard system under the current Ontario Building Code (O. Reg. 163/24). Interior guards sit at 1,070 mm; handrails between 865 and 965 mm above the nosing line; no opening in the guard may pass a 100 mm sphere; and the assembly must resist a 1.0 kN concentrated load at the top. Glass is fully tempered Class A at minimum, stepping up to 13.52 mm laminated tempered where a panel stands above an occupied space or where an inspector wants fail-safe behaviour. We check the anchor substrate before quoting: glass is only as strong as what it is fastened to. For the full walkthrough, read our glass railing code guide.

Process and timeline

With glass, the sequence matters more than anything: framing first, then measure and template, then tempering (every panel is cut and drilled before it goes into the oven, and there is no field cutting, ever), then installation. Plan on three to four weeks from sign-off for fabrication, and one day on site for a typical flight. When the staircase itself is new, we coordinate the glass with the build from the start (see custom staircases) so templating happens the moment the framing is ready. Once installed, the stair is immediately usable: no curing, no odour, no return visit.

Care and longevity

Interior glass is close to maintenance-free: an ammonia-free cleaner and a soft cloth, twice a year, keeps it invisible. We use stainless fittings rather than plated zinc so the hardware holds its finish in humid entries and below-grade flights, and offer low-iron glass where absolute clarity matters. Hardware is warranted for 10 years against corrosion; labour, for 5.

From a recent install

The three photographs on this page are from one recent interior project: an open foyer with a raked guard and a floating oak handrail. More interior work lives in our project gallery, including a glass panel balustrade with a hardwood cap rail from an earlier build.

Frameless glass panels with black standoffs and a raked oak handrail at a stair opening
Frameless panels on black standoffs, with a raked oak handrail returning over the guard.
Glass stair railing with a wood handrail on a staircase down to a finished lower level
Raked glass alongside the flight: open sightlines down to a finished lower level.

Last updated: October 6, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can you add glass to my existing staircase, or does the whole stair need replacing?

In most homes, no. The staircase you have is already the best substrate. Glass guards mount to existing stringers, landings or floor framing through a base shoe, side-mounted standoffs or spigots, and every panel is templated to the finished geometry. If the stair also needs structural work, that gets scoped first and the glass follows the framing: one project, one sequence, no re-measuring twice.

Is glass safe around kids and pets?

Yes, when it is specified the way a guard should be. We use fully tempered Class A safety glass, which breaks into small granular pieces rather than shards, and each panel is engineered as part of a system: glass, fittings and anchors together. Interior guards must resist a 1.0 kN concentrated load under the Ontario Building Code, and we specify with margin on top of that.

Frameless or point-fixed: which system suits a staircase?

It depends on the structure and the sightline you want. A base-shoe frameless system hides all hardware in a channel at the floor line, giving an uninterrupted glass plane. Point-fixed (spigot or standoff) systems use small stainless fittings on the floor or stringer: the right answer when a continuous shoe is not possible, or when you want the glass to read as floating. On raked runs, both are templated panel by panel so the glass follows the pitch exactly.

Do I still need a handrail if I install glass?

On stairs, yes: a graspable handrail is a separate requirement from the guard, and glass alone is not considered graspable. The most common solution is what you can see in the photos on this page: a wood handrail mounted over the glass on standoffs, which keeps the open look and satisfies the 865–965 mm handrail height. On landings and openings that only need a guard, glass on its own is typical.

Can glass follow a curved or angled staircase?

Yes. Each panel is measured after the framing is in place and tempered to its own radius or pitch, which is exactly why panels cannot be modified on site afterward. Tighter curves use laminated glass with more fittings; gentler geometry can often be covered in fewer, larger panels. We work the panel breaks out with you before anything is ordered.

How is the glass attached to the staircase?

Three ways, chosen at the measuring visit: a continuous aluminum base shoe set on the treads or floor; stainless standoffs side-mounted into the stringer; or spigots anchored to structural framing below. In every case the anchor goes into structure (never just finish millwork), and the installation is inspected as a complete guard system.

Thinking about glass on your staircase?

Send a photo of the stair or landing and we’ll come back with the system we would use. Free on-site measure across the Niagara Region.

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Grant's Stairs and Railings · 152 Lakeshore Rd, St. Catharines, ON · (905) 360-0081