Unfortunately, Metalwork consistently gets programmed too late. It sits at the back of the trades schedule, behind framing and concrete, and by the time drawings are confirmed and pricing approved, there are four weeks to delivery and eight weeks of work to do.
This may have worked in the past, but with the scale of architectural metalwork scope in modern day award winning builds, it just does not work any more. This post is about how metalwork lead times actually work, so you can programme realistically and avoid the timeline pressure that makes everyone’s life harder.
What drives lead time
Lead time on bespoke architectural metalwork breaks down into three phases:
Design and documentation. If we’re working from concept drawings rather than fully detailed fabrication drawings, we need time to model, resolve connection details and produce shop drawings for sign-off. This phase typically takes two to four weeks.
Material procurement. Most standard steel, aluminium and stainless stock is available locally or within a few days. Specialist materials can take two to four weeks to source. Queenstown is not Auckland.
Fabrication. The actual cut-fold-weld-finish-pack sequence. For a staircase with a custom handrail, balustrade, and associated cladding, allow four to six weeks of workshop time.
Combined, a complex metalwork package from drawing issue to delivery is eight to fourteen weeks. That’s the realistic number, not the optimistic one.
What speeds things up
Fully dimensioned, confirmed drawings. If we don’t need to do design development, the process is faster.
Early booking. If you confirm scope and programme with us before drawings are finalised, we can hold a slot in the schedule.
A single point of contact who can make decisions. Scope changes and approval delays are the most common cause of metalwork being late.
What slows things down
Drawings changing after pricing. Every revision after pricing is approved adds time and usually cost.
Late notification of site conditions. The metalwork is designed to suit the as-built structure. If the slab isn’t at the right level, we need to know before fabrication, not during installation.
Incomplete specifications. “To match sample” is not a specification. “Powder coated in Dulux Weathershield Monument, smooth finish, 60–70 micron DFT” is.
The practical upshot
Book metalwork trades the same way you book your windows or lift. They’re not a late-stage finish item — they’re a fabricated product with a lead time that needs to be in the programme from the start.
If you have a project in planning and want to understand the metalwork scope and timeline, contact us early. An early conversation costs nothing and gives you an accurate number to work with.