A walk out balcony in Huddersfield with new tiled flooring and old rusting metal railings round the edge of it. We replaced the railings rather than the balcony, with our System 1 stainless steel and glass balustrade, base mounted on core drilled fixings.
Surveyed, made in our Sheffield workshop and installed by us.
Project overview
- Client type: Residential
- Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
- Scope: Survey, supply and installation
- Product: System 1 stainless steel glass balustrade
- Fixing: Base mounted on core drilled fixings, with cover roses
- Corners: Custom fabricated corner brackets to clear the existing structural bolts
- Replacing: Rusted metal railings on an otherwise sound balcony
- Design standard: 1100mm guarding, no gap over 100mm, 0.74 kN/m line load to BS 6180
- Fabrication: BS EN 1090-2, execution class EXC2, declaration method 3b
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This is our System 1 stainless steel glass balustrade, made to your own runs, including as a replacement on a balcony you are keeping.
Replace the railings, keep the balcony
Lynn's balcony had already been upgraded with new tiled flooring. The structure underneath it was fine. What had gone was the guarding: metal railings that had rusted and worn out while the balcony itself had not.
That is a common situation and it is worth saying clearly, because the first quote people often get is for a whole new balcony. If the platform is sound, replacing the balustrade alone is a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the disruption, and it is the same finished result from the inside of the house.
Whether the structure is sound is the thing to check first, which is what a survey is for. If the frame has gone as well, say so early, because then it is a different job.
The corners, which is where the work was
The existing balcony was bolted together, and those structural bolts sat exactly where the corner balustrade bases needed to land. No standard baluster base would fit over them.
Rather than cut anything or ask the customer to have the balcony modified, we made corner brackets to suit, which pick up clear of the existing bolts while still giving the posts a rigid fixing. From above there is nothing to see: the same cover rose as the rest of the run.
It also kept the installation simple, with no welding and no structural alteration on site. That is the point of surveying a replacement properly. The awkward part of a retrofit is almost never the straight runs.
Why stainless and glass on a replacement
The railings that failed were painted steel. Paint on bare steel outdoors is a maintenance item, and when it stops being maintained it rusts.
Brushed 316 stainless is not painted, so there is nothing to flake and nothing to repaint. Glass infill replaces bars, which on an elevated balcony means the view opens up and the balcony starts getting used.
The run is designed to 1100mm with no gap that will pass a 100mm sphere and a 0.74 kN/m line load to BS 6180, which is the usual domestic specification. What applies to your own balcony is for your building control officer to confirm, and our balcony building regulations guide covers what they will be looking at.
Get a price for something similar
Send photographs of the balcony and the existing railings, the length of each run, and a close up of how the old guarding is fixed, to sales@diomet.co.uk, or call 0114 243 9009. The fixing detail is what tells us whether a replacement is straightforward.
- System 1 stainless steel glass balustrade, the system on this job, priced online
- System 2 stainless steel glass balustrade, the same family with a different post and rail arrangement
- System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade, galvanised and painted, where a colour suits the house
- System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade, where there is no deck to base fix into
- Walk out balcony with glass balustrade, if the structure has gone as well as the railings
- 12mm clear toughened glass panels, if you only need replacement glass in a frame you are keeping
If you are not sure which of those fits, our how to get a price page sets out exactly what we need from you.
Before you order
- Balcony building regulations
- Glass balustrade building regulations
- Material finishes
- Installation
- Product maintenance
- Our certification and what it covers
Frequently asked questions
Can I replace just the balustrade and keep my balcony?
Often yes, and it is far cheaper than a new balcony. It depends on the platform being sound and on there being something solid to fix the new posts into, both of which are checked at survey.
What if the old fixings are in the wrong place?
We work round them. On this job the existing structural bolts sat where the corner bases wanted to go, so we made corner brackets to clear them. It is normal on a retrofit and it is why we look at the fixing detail before quoting.
Will the new balustrade leave visible patching?
The aim is that it does not. New posts are core drilled and finished with cover roses, and old holes are made good. Send a photograph of how the existing railings are fixed and we will tell you what to expect.
Why did the old railings rust?
Almost always because they were painted steel and the paint reached the end of its life. Brushed 316 stainless has no coating to fail, which is why we use it on external replacements.
Does a replacement need building control approval?
It can, because you are replacing guarding to a drop. We design and certify what we make and issue a declaration of performance, but whether your project needs an application is a question for your building control officer.