Every step deserves to be seen.
Most staircases are designed to move you through a space. The best ones are designed to be noticed in it. Sawtooth stringer stairs are built on that second philosophy — a design that puts each individual step on display, that celebrates the staircase as a whole rather than hiding it behind a solid panel.
At Allwood Stairs, we’ve been crafting sawtooth stringer staircases for homes and buildings across Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle for nearly three decades. These are considered pieces. Purposeful, precise, and rich with design opportunity.
So, what exactly is a sawtooth stringer stair?
Every staircase has a stringer — the structural side panel that runs along the outer edge, supporting the treads from below. In a closed stringer design, that panel is solid and continuous, concealing the steps behind it. A sawtooth stringer takes the opposite approach.
The stringer is cut in a stepped, zigzag profile that follows the exact outline of the treads and risers, exposing that distinctive sawtooth pattern along the side of the staircase. Each tread and riser sits visibly within the cut, rather than being tucked behind a panel. The structure is still fully there — it’s just brought into the open, made part of the design rather than hidden from it.
Also known as open stringer stairs, cut stringer stairs, or simply zigzag stairs, this style is one of the most versatile in timber staircase design. The risers can be left open for a more contemporary, airy look, or kept closed for warmth and solidity — a style sometimes called open stringer with closed riser stairs.
The look: bold, characterful, and rich with design possibility.
Where a closed stringer staircase presents as a single solid form, a sawtooth stringer staircase reveals itself step by step. The zigzag profile along the side draws the eye upward, giving the staircase a visual rhythm and presence that a concealed stringer simply cannot achieve.
It is a design that puts emphasis on every stair. On the quality of each tread. On the depth, the grain, the warmth of the timber. And in doing so, it opens up a world of design opportunity that other staircase styles keep firmly closed.
Sawtooth stringer stairs pair beautifully with carpet runners that follow the centre of each tread — a classic combination that adds warmth, texture and a refined residential character. The exposed stringer frames the carpet on both sides, giving the whole staircase a considered, dressed appearance that is deeply at home in traditional and heritage interiors.
Equally, pair the same stringer profile with a frameless glass balustrade and you have something altogether different: clean, architectural, and unmistakably contemporary. The sawtooth structure becomes a quiet counterpoint to the glass, grounding a modern aesthetic with the warmth and weight of timber.
Few staircase styles cross that range so naturally. Sawtooth stringer stairs are genuinely at home in both worlds.
A staircase that gives your balustrades room to shine.
Of all the reasons to choose a sawtooth stringer design, this might be the most underappreciated. By opening up the side of the staircase, the cut stringer creates a full, uninterrupted canvas for the balustrade. And a balustrade given that kind of space can become something truly special.
The colonial sawtooth: grounded, assured, built to last
Colonial timber balustrades are a natural partner for the sawtooth stringer. The turned profiles of a colonial design sit beautifully against the stepped outline of the stringer, creating a staircase with real presence and a strong sense of foundation. This is the look of a staircase that has always been there, and always will be. Grounded, assured, and made to last. It is the definitive colonial staircase, and one of the most enduring combinations in Australian residential design.
The Hamptons sawtooth: relaxed elegance with coastal character
Paired with a Hamptons-style balustrade, painted white square-profile balusters, a chunky timber handrail and a clean well-spaced rhythm up the flight, the sawtooth stringer staircase takes on a warmth and familiarity that feels instantly at home. The zigzag outline of the stringer grounds the design with natural timber character, while the white balustrade keeps everything bright, light and coastal in feel. It’s a combination that works effortlessly in beachside homes, Hamptons-style new builds and any interior where the palette runs to white walls, natural oak and relaxed refinement.
Sawtooth stringer with timber batten balustrades
Replacing the traditional balustrade with a run of closely spaced vertical timber battens transforms the sawtooth stringer staircase into something genuinely distinctive. The timber batten screen creates rhythm, texture and a sense of enclosure without weight. Light filters through the slats, the staircase remains open in feel, and the overall composition reads as a considered piece of interior design as much as a functional structure. Matching the batten timber to the stair treads ties the whole thing together beautifully. This style suits contemporary homes, architect-designed interiors and any space where the brief calls for something warm but unmistakably modern.
Sawtooth stringer with glass panel balustrades
For a more architectural result, a glass panel balustrade alongside an open stringer staircase creates a look that is genuinely striking. The transparency of the glass draws attention to the structure of the stringer itself, while keeping the space open and the sightlines clear. For homes where light and openness are central to the design brief, this pairing is hard to beat.
Sawtooth Stringer Stairs with Metal Balustrades
Slim metal balusters, wire, or custom timber designs all find their best expression here too. The open stringer staircase is, in this sense, less a fixed design and more a framework for something personal.
The range: classical to contemporary, and everything between.
One of the defining qualities of the sawtooth stringer stair is its breadth. Very few staircase styles can move as convincingly between traditional and modern settings, and do it without compromise in either direction.
In a Federation home, a heritage renovation or a Hamptons-style new build, timber sawtooth stairs with colonial balustrades and a carpet runner create a staircase with genuine architectural authority. These are staircases with history in their bones — designs that feel as though they belong in the home, not simply installed in it.
In a contemporary open plan home, the same stringer profile with open risers, frameless glass and clean-lined handrails becomes a slabless staircase in the truest visual sense — structure present but light passing through, the staircase feeling open and considered rather than heavy.
Heritage or modern. Traditional or architectural. Carpeted or bare. The sawtooth stringer stair meets you where your home is.
With closed risers: warmth, weight and enduring character.
The most popular pairing for a sawtooth stringer is the closed riser, and for good reason. The solid riser face gives the staircase warmth and substance, while the sawtooth stringer brings it to life with visual rhythm and structure. This combination sits across an impressive range of styles.
Sawtooth stringer stairs with closed risers pair beautifully with carpet runners that follow the centre of each tread — a classic combination that adds texture and a refined residential character. The exposed stringer frames the carpet on both sides, giving the whole staircase a considered, dressed appearance that is deeply at home in traditional and heritage interiors.
This is an approach that we took for a past East Lindfield project.
Why Allwood Stairs?
We’ve been building staircases since 1996. In that time we’ve completed more than 25,000 installations for over 6,500 customers across Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle. That’s not a number we take lightly. It’s a track record built one staircase at a time, on every kind of project from high-specification new builds to considered heritage renovations.
Every staircase we make is custom-built to order. Nothing leaves our workshop off the shelf. We measure, design, quote, manufacture and install, managing the full process from first conversation to final fit-out. For builders and architects, that means one accountable partner and no gaps in the chain. For homeowners, it means a staircase made precisely for your space, your home, and your brief.
Our purpose-built workshop runs CNC manufacturing capability, which means tight tolerances, consistent quality, and a clean finish on every job regardless of scale. Premium craftsmanship isn’t a promise we make lightly. It’s built into how we work.
Whether you’re a premium residential builder coordinating a high-end new build, an architect or designer specifying a custom timber staircase, or a homeowner who simply wants it done properly, you’ll find the same standard of care and the same attention to detail at every stage of the process.
28 years. 25,000 staircases. Built to last.
Let’s build yours.
Allwood Stairs designs and builds sawtooth stringer staircases across Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle. Our team can manage the full installation, or supply kit stairs for the qualified carpenter on your project. Get in touch for an obligation-free quote.
Looking for something more open?
If you love the character of a sawtooth stringer but want a lighter, airier result, our open riser stairs remove the riser face entirely — letting light pass freely through the flight. Take that further still with our cantilevered stairs, where the stringer disappears too and each tread floats independently from the wall. The sawtooth spirit, carried to its most contemporary expression.
