Metalwork in Morocco: balustrades, security grilles and gates

By Yassine AT-TARASSI, architect · Updated on 23/10/2026 · Reference texts (7)

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Stair and balcony balustrades, security grilles, gates, metal doors: metalwork protects people and the building. Here is how to choose it, who does what and what it costs, according to the CITURBAREA simulator and the materials library, for a house, an apartment building or a facility.

Disclaimer: published costs are indicative outputs of the CITURBAREA estimator (October 2026 version), not binding quotations, technical designs or compliance certificates. Apartment buildings and public-use facilities require project-specific drawings, specialist studies, applicable regulations and contractor quotations.

What does a building's metalwork include?

• Balustrades for stairs, balconies, accessible roofs and openings: aluminium, painted or galvanised steel, stainless steel, glass.
• Handrails for stairs.
• Security grilles for ground-floor and basement windows.
• Gates and side gates: swing or sliding, in steel, wrought iron or aluminium.
• Metal doors: service doors, fire doors for plant rooms or apartment-building car parks.
• Small items: pergolas, canopies, roof-access ladders, copings.

How much do balustrades and grilles cost in 2026?

Method note: CITURBAREA simulator, version 2026-10, calculated on 23/10/2026; contractor selling prices excl. VAT in Kénitra (regional coefficient 0.93), supply, fitting (200 to 650 MAD/lin. m for a balustrade, anchors included) and coordination; incl. VAT = excl. VAT × 1.20; prices rounded to the nearest 5 MAD. Materials: June 2026 records whose VAT treatment is not stated (taken as excl. VAT by assumption), so the supply-only column cannot be compared directly with an installed price excl. VAT. Grilles: price built up by the engine from wrought-iron balustrade prices (approximation; no fitted grille price recorded).

Rounding: amounts excluding and including VAT and quantities are each shown after rounding, so the product of the visible values may differ from the total by a few dirhams. Contract calculations must start from unrounded quantities and unit prices.

These prices assume an ordinary, straight, standard balustrade. To apply the right type to your drawings, finish level and city, run an estimate in the simulator.

What the price includes, and what it excludes

What the simulator prices include:

• supply of the balustrade or grille with its standard finish (powder coating, brushed stainless, safety glass);
• fitting and ordinary anchors into a concrete substrate;
• coordination and a contractor's margin.

What they exclude, unless the quote says otherwise:

• design and calculations for a load-bearing or unusual item (spiral stair, glazed roof, canopy), which are the engineering consultant's job;
• curved shapes, bespoke wrought-iron designs, 316 stainless for coastal sites;
• hot-dip galvanising when not specified, touch-ups after other trades;
• gates, motorisation and masonry piers;
• VAT (excl. VAT column), fees, contingencies and checks by a technical inspection firm.

For a house or villa

For a 150 m² R+1 villa in Kénitra in mid-range finish (VILLA type in the simulator, calculated on 23/10/2026), the metalwork package comes to about 14,000 MAD excl. VAT: 11.3 m² of security grilles (about 7,700 MAD excl. VAT) and 6 lin. m of stainless stair balustrade (about 6,700 MAD excl. VAT). By the sea, 316 stainless is recorded at 750 to 1,200 MAD/lin. m supply only (June 2026, VAT not stated), against 450 to 850 MAD for 304. A balcony or accessible roof adds to the length measured on the drawings.

For a development apartment building

R+4 apartment building: a feasibility estimate, not a bill of quantities. The amounts shown come from a simulation scenario (1,200 m², 11 flats, Kénitra, parameters of 23/10/2026). Before any investment decision, the client needs a fixed brief, a preliminary take-off per trade, soil and structural studies, utility connection conditions and the requirements of the competent services, a contingency allowance and comparable quotations. Items already included in one package must not be added a second time.

For a 1,200 m² R+4 apartment building in Kénitra (IMMEUBLE type, five levels, mid-range finish, calculated on 23/10/2026), the simulator counts about 27,000 MAD excl. VAT (16,000 to 40,000): 24 lin. m of stainless balustrade, the default length for the stair flights. By assumption, the engine counts no security grilles in an apartment building; balcony balustrades are measured on the drawings. In good finish, with toughened glass and stainless posts, the same length comes to about 48,000 MAD excl. VAT.

• Balcony and common-area balustrades repeat on every floor: a difference of 100 MAD/lin. m weighs on the whole scheme.
• Car park, plant room and refuse room doors fall under the fire safety regulation (decree no. 2-14-499): their fire rating is set with the engineering consultant and the inspection firm.
• A building of more than three storeys falls within compulsory contractor's all-risks and ten-year liability insurance, according to the insurance supervisor ACAPS.

To price metalwork in the scheme's bill of quantities and build it into your appraisal, start from a feasibility study and developer's appraisal.

Developers: have the economic feasibility of your plot analysed: saleable areas, common parts, parking options, structure, utility connections, forecast cost per package and permit risks. Ask for an initial scoping review; detailed studies and costings are covered by a contractually defined assignment.

For a facility (school, clinic, hotel, shop)

Schools, clinics, hotels, shops and warehouses: requirements vary. Fire safety, accessibility, sanitary facilities, ventilation, operational safety and permits depend on the precise use, the number of occupants, floor areas, number of storeys and the activity. Regulatory references must be checked for the project concerned. The CITURBAREA simulator offers an indicative estimate by type of building open to the public (school or nursery, clinic or medical practice, hotel or riad, shop, offices, warehouse or workshop), based on a standard brief and on price and ratio assumptions still to be confirmed: no ratio is a quotation for this kind of project.

This guide gives no amount for this package: the simulator's ERP estimate rests on a standard brief and on assumptions still to be confirmed. Here is what changes compared with a house:

• Balustrades: their dimensions and strength are set according to the use (school, hotel, clinic), the approved drawings and the requirements applicable to the project; choosing a non-climbable infill in a school is decided in the brief.
• Accessibility: handrails, ramps and passages in buildings open to the public fall under law no. 10-03 on accessibility, applied by the architect on the drawings.
• Fire safety: fire doors, emergency exits and door closers depend on the building's classification and the fire and panic safety regulation (decree no. 2-14-499), according to the regulation and the opinion of the competent services.
• Inspection and insurance: a technical inspection firm checks these items; commercial, hotel and accommodation buildings fall within compulsory all-risks and ten-year liability insurance according to ACAPS; for a school or clinic, check with your insurer.
• Special packages: entrance canopies, solar shading, playground fences and gates are priced from drawings.

Facility owners: ask for a brief scoping review before any costing: capacity, flows and operation, security and fire safety, maintenance, technical needs, permits and overall operating cost. A specific consultation will determine which studies to commission. For a first order of magnitude, run the simulator's ERP costing, then book a brief scoping appointment.

How much does a gate or metal door cost?

The simulator does not yet have a reliable record for gates. Materials library benchmarks (supply only) give:

• two-leaf aluminium swing gate, 2 to 3 m: 3,500 to 6,500 MAD (June 2026);
• aluminium sliding gate on a rail, 3 to 4 m: 6,500 to 14,000 MAD (June 2026);
• bespoke 3 m wrought-iron gate: 8,500 to 18,000 MAD (June 2026);
• single-leaf EI 60 galvanised steel fire door: about 1,650 to 2,360 MAD (records of 23/10/2026).

Method note: retail prices displayed by Moroccan shops and merchants, recorded on the dates shown; VAT treatment not confirmed; not directly comparable with an installed price excl. VAT. Motorisation, masonry piers and fitting are extra.

To compare models, finishes and supplier prices, browse the materials library (free account).

How do you choose the right balustrade?

• Location: indoor (stairs, mezzanine) or outdoor (balcony, roof terrace), exposed to salt or not.
• Material: powder-coated aluminium (light, low maintenance), galvanised then painted steel (robust, needs repainting), 304 or 316 stainless (316 by the sea), laminated safety glass.
• Infill: vertical balusters, glass, perforated sheet; a climbable infill is not advised where children live.
• Fixing: on top of or on the edge of the slab, into a substrate able to take the loads, as the drawings specify.

Safety dimensions and strength are not chosen from a catalogue: they are set according to the use of the space, the approved drawings and the requirements applicable to the project, and the inspection firm checks them when appointed. We give no dimensions here.

Who does what, from design to fitting?

1. The architect places the balustrades on the drawings, chooses the material and infill with you and states the applicable requirements.
2. The engineering consultant designs load-bearing items (steel stair, canopy, glazed roof) and approves anchors when the substrate is in doubt.
3. The metalworker measures on site after the floors are finished, produces shop drawings, fabricates with the specified corrosion protection and fits to the approved drawings.
4. The inspection firm, when appointed, checks the balustrades against the project requirements.
5. You, the client, approve the finish sample and have snags put right before paying the balance.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Balustrade fitted before the tiling: it ends up too low once the floor is finished.
• Anchors in hollow masonry or too close to the slab edge: the balustrade moves.
• Ungalvanised or poorly protected steel: rust within a few winters, especially by the sea.
• Ordinary glass where toughened or laminated safety glass is required.
• Welds ground on site without touching up the protection.
• A gate too heavy for its hinges or rail, or without a safety stop.

What does the architect check?

The CITURBAREA joinery checklist includes checking balustrades against the approved drawings and the project requirements. During the works, temporary edge protection on slab edges and protection of openings are also part of the site set-up checks. The architect approves shop drawings, the finish sample and the type of glass, and has the anchors checked before acceptance.

Which standards apply?

Standards are paid documents: we give only their reference and subject. The project specification (CPS) states which ones are contractual.

• NM EN 12150-1-2018 (toughened safety glass), NM ISO 12543-2 and -3 (2018) (laminated and laminated safety glass) and NM EN 356-2018 (glazing resistance to manual attack): mandatory for the products concerned (Ministry of Industry and Trade list, updated 09/03/2026).
• NM EN 10025-1 to -6 (2016): hot-rolled structural steel products, mandatory for the products concerned (same list).
• NM 10.2.040 (safety dimensions of balustrades), NM 10.2.041 (mechanical strength), NM 10.2.042 and NM 10.8.057 (tests): approved Moroccan standards, voluntary, contractual if the specification cites them.
• NF P01-012: balustrade dimensions, a voluntary French rule often cited in specifications; it is not Moroccan law.
• NM EN 1090-1 and -2: execution of steel and aluminium structures (approved, not mandatory); EN 1993-1-1 (Eurocode 3), the European reference for the engineer's design of load-bearing items.
• NM 10.2.208: corrosion protection of metal joinery (approved standard).
• NM EN 1634-1 (fire resistance tests for doors) and NM EN 179 (emergency exit devices), approved standards, with decree no. 2-14-499 on fire safety; law no. 10-03 on accessibility for buildings open to the public.

How do you price your metalwork?

Measure balustrade lengths and grille areas on the drawings, and ask for quotes describing the same item (material, finish, anchors, fitting). For a special stair or roof terrace, the architect can review your drawings and quotes with you during a video call with the architect. See also aluminium windows and house construction cost per m².

Frequently asked questions