While they provide both decorative and practical functions, glass balustrades are typically installed to form a safety barrier where there is a difference in height between floor levels.
When preparing to install a glass balustrade system, you’ll need to make sure you have accurate measurements, so you can confidently order panels with the correct dimensions and the right fittings and fixtures for them.
However, it’s not just the length and width of the area you want to install balustrades around that you need to worry about. Depending on the location of the installation, you must ensure that your balustrades comply with the relevant building regulations and safety standards.
There are various Approved Documents, British and European Standards, and legal codes of practice that you need to consult before planning any type of balustrade installation, whether it will be in a residence or commercial building, along a staircase or a balcony, etc.
If your balustrades need to be able to prevent people falling from a height, these will inform you of the minimum height, thickness, load, and impact resistance requirements you’ll need to meet. In turn, this will inform the materials and design you’ll be able to use.
Making a mistake with any of this can be costly, as your balustrades could end up being the wrong fit and unsafe to use, or legally uncompliant in other ways that result in the local authorities forcing you to remove them.
To avoid this happening, here are some of the things you should take into consideration to make sure your measurements are right and conform with safety regulations.
How thick should a glass balustrade be?
The thickness required will depend on the type of glass you want to use and whether you’ll have to install it with a frame and handrail or not.
The minimum standard is 10mm thick toughened glass, so this is as thin as a glass panel can be if the balustrades are supported by posts and handrails. If the glass breaks, it will fall into pieces with blunter edges, leaving the frame in place as a barrier.
If you want a frameless balustrade system, you must use 15mm thick toughened laminated glass at the least. This type has an interlayer between two panels of glass that will hold the pieces in place if one or both sides breaks; otherwise, there would be no barrier left in place.
These minimum thicknesses and glass types apply if the fall height is 600mm or more above the ground in a residential installation. Balustrades for commercial use typically need to be thicker to withstand higher line loads.
What height should glass balustrades be?
Regulations also specify how tall glass balustrades must be, depending on where they are fitted. For example, those around seating areas with fixed seating must be at least 800mm high, and barriers around seating areas with non-fixed seating must be at least 530mm high.
If you want to install glass balustrades along ramps, staircases, landings, or mezzanines, the minimum height is 900mm. This increases to 1100mm for outdoor balconies, decks, rooftops, etc. – so you can expect the panels to be between 0.9m–1.1m high.
However, the height of a balustrade is measured from the finished floor level to the top of the handrail (or top of the panel if there isn’t a handrail).
This means the minimum height does not take recessed parts into account for those installed via a floor channel, so if you want a balustrade that’s around 1m from the floor level, your measurements should compensate for how high the panel will sit in the floor profile.
How wide can a glass balustrade be?
Glass panels for balustrades are typically available in widths from 1m–1.2m, with panels no wider than 1.1m recommended for single-layer 10mm toughened glass.
It’s possible to go wider, with suppliers providing glass panels up to 3m wide in some cases, but this is typically only suitable for thicker glass. It’s likely safer for glass even several millimetres thicker to not exceed a maximum width of 2.4m for a single panel.
Of course, the larger and thicker the sheet of glass, the more expensive it will be. The glass will be much heavier, meaning you’re likely to need to hire extra labour for mechanical lifting to move and install the panels safely without dropping and cracking them.
Even a seamless-looking frameless balustrade system will be made up of separate panels to a maximum width. If you’ll be installing a framed balustrade system, you also have to account for the posts and avoid leaving gaps larger than 100mm between each panel.
Double-check before you place your order!
You have probably heard the saying, “measure twice, cut once” before – an adage that reminds people of the importance of double-checking your measurements before you make irreversible changes to your materials.
This is crucial for balustrades, too – because once you place your order from a reputable supplier of made-to-measure glass balustrades, they will prepare and cut the glass according to the exact instructions that you’ve provided.
If you made an error in your calculations, they can’t change the glass once it’s been cut, and it won’t be their responsibility if your system doesn’t fit or isn’t legally compliant where you want to install it.
So make sure you double-check everything before you go ahead and start requesting quotes!