Where District 2 is now, and where we polish stairs
The former District 2 is now three wards, An Khanh, Binh Trung and Cat Lai, under Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15, in force since 1 July 2025. Wards are the city's local administrative units and have taken the place of districts in addresses. Documents issued before the change remain valid, so either form of address will do.
An Khanh and Binh Trung are scheduled regularly, 07:00 to 20:00 all week; our office is at 72 Nguyen Co Thach in Sala. For Cat Lai, call first.
- An Khanh ward — regular
- Garden villas along Nguyen Van Huong and Quoc Huong and the gated compounds of Thao Dien; the Saroma villas and SariTown townhouses in Sala; penthouses and duplexes in the Thu Thiem and Thao Dien towers.
- Binh Trung ward — regular
- The SOHO townhouses already handed over at The Global City, and the townhouses and semi-detached villas of Lakeview City and Palm City.
- Cat Lai ward — by arrangement
- Riverside townhouses and garden houses near Vista Verde and Feliz en Vista.
Thao Dien villas, Sala houses, SOHO townhouses, duplexes: four kinds of staircase
A stone staircase in a garden villa and a timber-clad one inside a duplex are different jobs. The survey records the material, the number of steps, the landings and the state of the nosings (the front edge of each step) and handrails, then turns to the house itself.
- Garden villas in Thao Dien
- Several storeys, often with natural stone floors. Sand comes in from the garden underfoot, so the foot of the stairs is usually the first part to dull.
- Saroma villas and Sala townhouses
- Newer homes with large-format stone and wide glazing, where timber floors and timber-clad stairs are still found. Timber is only cleaned and conditioned on its existing finish: no sanding, no recoating.
- SOHO townhouses at The Global City
- Several floors, with stairs that are usually narrow and few other routes. Tools are divided between floors, and each flight is worked from the top down with a dry route kept open.
- Penthouses and duplexes in Thu Thiem and Thao Dien
- The staircase is inside an apartment, so building rules apply: contractor registration, the lift that management assigns for equipment, and permitted working hours.
Marble, granite, terrazzo or timber: how each is treated
The material decides the method. Before committing to the whole staircase, the Up specialist reads the veining, checks how the stone reacts in an out-of-sight spot and treats a single step. Dull steps usually do not need grinding: a deep clean and a polish make a clear difference. Honing, wet grinding with diamond pads, is reserved for deep scratches, a worn walking line or marble etched by acid.
| Material | Method and limits |
|---|---|
| Marble | Softer than granite: it scratches easily and loses its shine to lemon, vinegar and acidic cleaners. All three treatments are open to it: honing, polishing and crystallisation. Nosings wear earliest and get separate attention with a hand-held machine. |
| Granite | Hard and resistant to wear, and household acids have little effect on it. It has no crystallising reaction, so powders and pads for hard stone bring up the shine and a sealer follows. If honing is needed, it takes longer. |
| Terrazzo | Chips of stone in a binder that takes in water more readily than the chips. Stairs cast in one piece tend to have rounded corners, which are honed by hand. With calcium-based chips it crystallises as marble does. |
| Timber | The gaps between steps are vacuumed, shoe marks and dirt come off with a solution meant for coated wood, and the surface is conditioned, with very little water. Peeled lacquer, deep scratches and steps that sag or creak are written up in the Up Report, the photo report you receive after the visit. |
Handrails and balustrades, and what stays outside the scope
The service covers the whole staircase: treads, risers, nosings, landings, skirting, handrails and balustrades. The exact scope, one flight or three floors with their rails, is written into the quote.
- Wooden handrails: the film of hand oils is wiped away, with extra care at the turns and the newel post, and the wood is conditioned. Nothing is sanded, and no solvent that could dull the finish is used.
- Glass balustrades: both sides of each panel, the clamps and the silicone joints. On a tall stairwell wall we stop at what can be reached safely from the steps; higher glass is surveyed separately.
- Steel: stainless steel is cleaned, then polished in the direction of its grain, without chlorine-based cleaners or metal scourers; deep rust and heavy scratches may only lighten. Powder-coated steel is wiped with a mild solution.
- Outside the scope: mending a broken step, changing an edge trim, repainting a rail. Each is listed separately for you to arrange.
How glossy? The test step and slip safety
Shine and grip pull in opposite directions: the glossier a stone step, the more slippery it is when wet or under socks. That is why two finishes are usually put side by side on your test step, a mirror gloss and a moderate satin. Where grandparents, small children or pets use the stairs, the moderate finish on the treads tends to be the sensible middle.
Once approved, the test step is what the job is measured against, and anything below it is redone at no charge within 48 hours of your receiving the Up Report. It also makes the limits plain: chips, breaks and cracks do not polish out. Each is shown to you and photographed before work begins, and repairing them is a job for a stone contractor. Anti-slip strips that are already fitted are left in place and cleaned along with the tread.
Stair polishing prices in District 2, with worked examples
The price follows the number of steps and the treatment each step receives: stone deep clean and seal 120,000 VND; marble or terrazzo polishing 180,000 VND; granite polishing 200,000 VND; honing worn stone steps 280,000 VND; cleaning and conditioning timber stairs 60,000 VND. Landings are 220,000 VND per m², wooden or stainless steel handrails 40,000 VND per metre and glass balustrades 50,000 VND per panel. Curved and winder steps take longer and add 20%, and the minimum for a visit is 2,500,000 VND.
Which price applies to which flight is settled after the test step; photos or a video sent first get you a provisional figure. The step counts and lengths below are assumptions for illustration. The written, all-inclusive quote changes only with your written agreement.
- Thao Dien villa, straight marble staircase
- 22 steps polished, one 2 m² landing and 9 m of wooden handrail: 4,760,000 VND.
- Sala villa, curved marble staircase
- 20 curved steps polished, with 20% added to the step charge, and 10 glass panels: 4,820,000 VND.
- SOHO townhouse, granite stairs in three flights
- 48 steps polished, 4 m² of landing and 16 m of steel handrail: 11,120,000 VND; it can be split over several visits.
- Duplex with timber stairs
- 16 timber steps cleaned and conditioned and 8 glass panels: 2,500,000 VND (1,360,000 VND by the price list, so the minimum per visit applies).
Working in a lived-in home: order, access, dust and building rules
A staircase cannot simply be closed, so the work is organised around the household. Walls, handrails and the floor below are protected, each flight is photographed, and work runs from the top down.
- Using the stairs: a dry route is always open under an agreed plan, and wet steps carry warning signs. Keep young children and pets off the stairs during the work.
- Dust and noise: honing is done wet and the slurry, the water and stone fines it produces, is vacuumed up at the step being worked. Hand-held machines are noisy, so sessions follow hours that suit you and the house rules.
- Duration: it follows the step count, the material and the degree of wear and is written into the quote; long staircases can be done over more than one visit.
- Compounds and towers: Thao Dien compounds log visitors at the gate, and most premium apartment buildings in District 2 have contractor rules, commonly registration, ID at the lobby, the service lift and fixed hours. We ask first.
- Afterwards: steps can be used gently once dry. Newly sealed steps must stay dry for a period stated at handover and recorded in the Up Report. For weekly care, vacuum and wipe with a pH-neutral cleaner.
International residents: English, access, payment and booking
- English
- Tuoi Tre newspaper reported in 2020 that nearly 6,000 foreign residents of 102 nationalities lived in Thao Dien. Everything in writing can be in English: your enquiry, the quote, the booking confirmation and the Up Report. For a specialist who speaks English in the house, ask at booking; if that is not possible, we tell you beforehand and assist by phone or message.
- Access
- You receive the specialist's name, photo and contact number before the visit, for the compound gate or building management. If you are out, a key can be left with building management, reception or family; only the assigned specialist handles it and it is never copied.
- Payment and booking
- Payment follows the walk-through, by bank transfer or cash, and invoices are issued on request. To book the free survey, message 0968 726 135 on WhatsApp or Zalo with photos of the staircase.
What does UpClean's stair polishing include?
- Assessment of stone or timber, step count, landings, nosings and handrails
- A test step so you can approve the finish before we continue
- Walls, lower floors, handrails and nearby furniture protected
- Deep cleaning of treads, risers, nosings, skirting and grout
- Honing, polishing or crystallisation and sealing for stone stairs
- Cleaning and conditioning of finished timber stairs — no sanding
- Cleaning of wooden handrails, glass balustrades and stainless steel rails
- Slurry collection, every step dried, furniture returned and an Up Report sent
Written by the UpClean technical team, reviewed by Trần Nguyễn Hữu Nhật — Founder of UpClean.
