Best practices and building regulations for glass balustrades
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Glass balustrade installations are strictly regulated. Find out what installers need to take into account to ensure compliance, safety and best practice.
Over the years, glass balustrades have become a staple of structural glazing. But like all kinds of architectural glass, they're strictly regulated to ensure safety and best practices.
There are three things that balustrade installers need to take into account:
- The type of glass used
- The fixings used for glass infill panels
- The weight of the loads involved
These are all covered by official building regulations and Approved Documents.
Before we take a closer look at these regulations, it's important to note a couple of things. First, this article is a guide to what you should consider – it doesn't constitute official advice. And second, additional standards may apply when installing laminated glass in external residential balconies.
All the appropriate documentation is available online. This article is intended only to point you in the right direction. We hope it helps you to source and install the best glass for the job.
Are you using the right type of glass?
First up, the correct type of materials is paramount for balustrade installations – especially in public spaces.
The glass must be safety glass. If it fell, would it shatter? If so, you need something more robust. Glass balustrades should be made from toughened or laminated glass that won't cause injuries in the event of an accident. This could be caused by a fault with the fixings – one reason why suitable fixings are a must.
If the balustrade is frameless, the glass needs to be laminated using toughened glass. Those with surrounding frames have more options – but these are still regulated to ensure safety.
The exact type of material you should use is covered in
Regulation 7, as well as Approved Documents parts
A1,
K2 and K4.
Fixings
Glass infill panels need to be fitted with the right number of fixings and these fixings need to be positioned precisely. As with many building regulations relating to glass, we're talking about a matter of millimetres. All the details are available in BS 6180:2011.
Loads
Glass balustrades are protective barriers – they need to be able to withstand certain loads. These load requirements are set out in BS 6180:2011 and in the EN
Eurocodes. They cover line loads, uniformly distributed loads and concentrated loads.
There's also a specific regulation for glass balustrades in areas where children go. In this instance, a 100-millimetre sphere shouldn't be able to pass between any two glass panels of the installation.
Height
The height of a glass balustrade is dictated by
Approved Document K. This is to make sure that the finished glazing is enough of a barrier. The measurements are based on what the balustrade will be used for and the level of traffic that's expected.
To take an example from private residential buildings, a balustrade on a balcony will need to be higher than one on a landing.
The height requirements for residential properties differ from those for commercial, assembly and retail spaces.
Handrails
When designing a glass balustrade, architects will often ask whether you want a continuous handrail. This raises the question of whether the handrail
needs to be continuous or whether it's a question of taste.
The answer is that it's not a requirement, even in a frameless installation, so long as you use a laminated toughened glass specification that will stay put if a panel fails.
What are the essential documents?
Here's a list of the essential documents for glass balustrade installations.
- BS 6180:2011 Barriers in and about buildings – Code of Practice
- BS 6262-4: Glazing for building – Part 4: Safety Related to Human Impact – Code of Safety
- BS 6262-6: Glazing for building – Part 6: Code of practice for special applications.
- Building Regulations Approved Document B1
- Building Regulations Approved Document K
- EN 12600 Glass in building – Pendulum test. This is the standard that specifies the impact test method for glass used in buildings
- Eurocode EN 1991-1-1 Part 1-1 General Actions – Densities, self-weight and imposed loads
- Eurocode EN 1991-1-4 Part 1-4 General Actions – Wind actions
If you can't find the answer in these documents, it probably doesn't exist!
Why choose ToughGlaze?
At ToughGlaze, we provide top-of-the-range
glass for balustrades. Our high-end CNC machine can profile, drill and polish toughened laminated glass that's both elegant and durable.
Our mission is to be able to meet your requirements without hesitation. This mission can be seen in our design options. If your balustrade needs a logo or other design, we can make it happen with
screen printing,
digital printing or
sandblasting. You can choose from the standard RAL colour palette to create almost limitless combinations. We also offer a choice of
fabric,
mesh and
coloured glass interlayers.
These multitudinous design options mean that you can count on us for balustrade glass that will meet customer requirements and blend in seamlessly with any premises.
But it's not all about looks. You also need to be confident that your materials are robust. That's why all our
balustrade glass has the Kitemark stamp of approval and is in line with BS 6180 regulations.
We're a one-stop shop for processing, cutting and delivering materials – and with 30 years in the game, you know we can give you the goods.
Conclusion
Structural glazing can enhance pretty much any building. But to ensure safety, it needs to comply with a range of regulations. If you're an installer, you need to make sure that you're up to date and in the loop. The alternative is to risk the safety of your customers.
You should always invest in high-quality materials – something that we at ToughGlaze provide as standard. If you're looking for balustrade glass,
get in touch. We'd love to talk you through your options.
