Railing Subcontractor for East Bay Contractors & Builders
A dependable metal railing sub for general contractors, home builders, and developers across the East Bay. We read your plans, fabricate on schedule, and install clean so inspection passes.
A railing sub you can put on the schedule and forget about
If you run jobs for a living, you know the railing scope is where good projects stall. The sub bids low, disappears for three weeks, shows up with the wrong posts, and then the final inspection kicks it back over guard height or a gap that passes a 4-inch sphere. We built our shop to be the opposite of that. You hand us the plans, we handle the railings start to finish, and you get your certificate of occupancy without a railing headache.
Alameda Custom Railing works as a metal railing subcontractor for general contractors, home builders, developers, and remodelers across Alameda County and the greater East Bay. Residential or light commercial, new construction or renovation, interior or exterior. We fabricate in our own shop, our crews are local, and we communicate like a sub you would actually call back. One good railing relationship beats chasing one-off homeowners.
Bidding a job with railing in the scope? Send us the plans and specs and we will get you a clean per-project number. (510) 390-9618
What we fabricate and install for contractors
We cover the full range of metal railing so you are not juggling three subs on one job. Everything is built to your plans and specs, finished in our shop, and installed by our own crews.
Iron and ornamental steel
Hand-forged and welded wrought iron, mild carbon steel, powder-coated or galvanized for exterior runs. See wrought iron railings.
Cable railing
316 marine-grade stainless cable systems with proper post spacing and tensioning for a clean, code-passing install. See cable railings.
Glass railing
Tempered and laminated glass with standoffs, spigots, or base shoe for premium residential and commercial work. See glass railings.
Handrails and guardrails
Graspable handrails, continuous runs, ADA and commercial handrails with code extensions past the top riser. See ADA and commercial handrails.
We build interior stair rails, exterior deck and balcony guards, and aluminum systems where budget or corrosion calls for it. If your project has a stack of units, our multifamily railings work keeps repeatable units consistent and on schedule.
How we work from your plans and shop drawings
Give us the architectural set and the railing details and we take it from there. We read plans and specs, flag anything that will not clear inspection before it gets fabricated, and produce CAD shop drawings for your approval so there are no surprises on delivery day. We coordinate with your engineer of record when a guard or handrail detail needs a stamp, and we tie our schedule to yours.
Plan and spec review
We take off the railing scope from your set, confirm materials and finishes, and quote the project.
Shop drawings
CAD drawings for your sign-off, with engineering coordination where loads or anchoring need review.
In-shop fabrication
We weld and finish in our own shop. Predictable lead times, consistent quality, no outsourced guesswork.
Install and inspection
Local crews set and anchor the railings clean, then we are there so the final code inspection is a formality.
Because we fabricate under our own roof, we control the schedule. When your framing slips or your finish date moves up, we flex with it.
For the longer version of what a GC should expect from a railing sub on an Oakland job, read hiring a railing subcontractor in Oakland.
Code and inspection, handled
Railing is one of the most-cited scopes at final inspection, and it is almost always avoidable. We build to the California Building Code and the local amendments the East Bay departments enforce, so your jobs clear the first time.
- Guards where the walking surface is more than 30 inches above grade, at 42 inches high (confirmed locally across Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley departments).
- 4-inch sphere rule on all openings and baluster gaps, 6 inches at the stair tread triangle, with cable systems tensioned and spaced to hold the gap.
- Graspable handrails at 34 to 38 inches from the nosing, continuous, with the commercial extensions past the top and bottom risers where the occupancy requires them.
- Loads that resist 50 pounds per linear foot or a 200-pound concentrated load at the top rail, and a 200-pound concentrated handrail load.
We also coordinate on SB 721 and SB 326 work when your scope touches existing balconies, decks, and guardrails on rental and HOA buildings. You tell us the department, we build to it. Codes get amended locally, so we confirm the current requirement with the authority having jurisdiction on every job.
Project types we take on
We are set up for the mix of work a busy East Bay builder runs, from a single custom home to a full multifamily package.
Custom homes
Interior stair rails, exterior deck and balcony guards, and statement entry railings built to the architect's detail.
ADUs
Compact stair and deck railing scopes delivered fast so a small build does not wait on a slow sub.
Multifamily
Repeatable, consistent guard and handrail units across stacks of balconies and common stairs. See multifamily railings.
Light commercial and TI
ADA handrails, code guards, and tenant improvement railing scopes that pass commercial inspection.
We work throughout the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley, and across Alameda County.
Why we are an easy sub to work with
Licensed and insured
Properly licensed and insured for residential and light commercial work, with certificates ready for your file. Licensed & Insured
20+ years in the trade
Two decades of ornamental metal fabrication craftsmanship means we have already solved the detail your job is about to hit.
In-shop fabrication
We build in our own shop, so lead times are predictable and quality is consistent across every unit we deliver. Custom In-Shop Fabrication
Local East Bay crews
Locally owned and operated with crews based here. We show up, we communicate, and we do not leave your job half-finished. Locally Owned & Operated
The short version: we make your railing scope the part of the job you do not have to manage. That is what turns a one-time sub into a repeat partnership.
How to get a bid
Getting a number from us is simple. Send over your plans and specs, or the railing detail sheets, and tell us the schedule and the department. We review the set, flag anything worth catching early, and return a clean per-project bid. We price every job from your plans, so there are no published rates to force your scope into.
Send us your plans and we will get you a quote. Call (510) 390-9618 to set up a plan review, or reach out through our contact page. Let us be the railing sub you stop worrying about.
Questions, Answered
Do you work as a railing subcontractor for general contractors?
Yes. Working as a metal railing sub for GCs, builders, developers, and remodelers is a core part of what we do. You keep the contract with the owner and manage the job, and we handle the entire railing scope under you, from shop drawings through final inspection. We are set up for repeat partnership, so once we are on one of your jobs we aim to be on the next one too.
Can you work from our plans and specs?
Absolutely. Send us the architectural set and the railing details and we take off the scope, confirm materials and finishes, and produce CAD shop drawings for your approval before we fabricate. We coordinate with your engineer of record where a guard or handrail detail needs a stamp, and we flag anything in the set that will not clear inspection before it gets built.
Are you licensed and insured for commercial work?
We are licensed and insured and carry the coverage your office needs for its file, and we take on light commercial and tenant improvement railing scopes alongside residential. We build commercial guards and ADA handrails to the California Building Code, including the graspable profile, height, and extension requirements. For the exact scope you can place with us, call (510) 390-9618.
How do you keep railing from getting red-tagged at final inspection?
We build to code from the shop drawing stage. That means 42-inch guards where the surface is over 30 inches above grade, openings that hold a 4-inch sphere, graspable handrails at 34 to 38 inches with the required extensions, and the correct top-rail and concentrated loads. We confirm the current requirement with the local department on every job and we are on site for the inspection so it goes clean.
What does railing cost on a contractor job?
We bid every project from your plans rather than publishing flat rates, because the real number depends on the material, the run, the finish, the site access, and your schedule. Cable and glass sit at the higher end, powder-coated aluminum and standard iron sit lower, and corners, stairs, and 316 marine-grade stainless push it up. Send us the set and we will give you a clean per-project quote your office can build into its bid.
Ready to get started?
Alameda Custom Railing designs, fabricates, and installs custom railings across Alameda and the East Bay, with free on-site estimates, honest written pricing, and most standard residential railings installed in about a week. Licensed and insured. Call now, request a free estimate or head back to our homepage.