A glass balustrade round a flat roof terrace in Sheffield, with nothing fixed through the waterproof covering. It is our parapet wall glass balustrade, side fixed into the masonry so the roof deck is never drilled, with clear glass to the front and frosted glass to the neighbouring sides.
Designed and detailed in house, made in our Sheffield workshop and installed by us.
Project overview
- Client type: Residential
- Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Scope: Design, AutoCAD detailing, fabrication and installation
- Product: Parapet wall glass balustrade, with no base fixings into the roof
- Fixing: Side fixed wall bracketry into the structural masonry
- Glass: Clear to the front elevation, frosted to the neighbouring sides
- Height: 1100mm guarding
- Design loading: 0.74kN/m horizontal, BS 6180
- Finish: Hot dip galvanised then powdercoated RAL 7016 anthracite grey
- Fabrication: BS EN 1090-2, execution class EXC2
Get a price for something similar
This is our parapet wall glass balustrade, made for guarding a flat roof or terrace without putting fixings through the waterproofing.
The problem Sue had
How do you guard a flat roof without drilling the thing that keeps the water out?
A base fixed balustrade bolts down through the roof deck, and every one of those bolts is a penetration through the membrane that then has to be sealed. If a seal fails it tends to do so quietly, and the first sign is a stain on a ceiling. Putting fixings through a covering also usually ends the roofer's guarantee.
The other obvious answer, fixing into the coping stones on top of the parapet, is rarely sound either. Copings are usually bedded rather than structural, and a guarding load is a horizontal push at the top of a 1.1 metre lever.
Fixing to the wall instead
The system bypasses the roof deck altogether. Side fixed brackets go into the structural masonry of the parapet, and the load goes into the wall rather than into the roof.
The frame is made from substantial box sections, which is what allows it to be rigid off a line of side fixings rather than relying on a base channel bolted down across the whole run. The membrane stays whole, water still runs where it was designed to run, and the roofer's guarantee is not disturbed.
It is the same principle we used on a row of new build houses in Chesterfield. The difference on a retrofit like Sue's is that the roof is already finished, so there is no option to design the detail into the build.
Clear one way, frosted the other
The front panels are clear and the panels facing the neighbours are frosted, which is how most terraces in a street actually want to be glazed.
Clear glass keeps the view that the terrace is for. Frosted glass stops the overlooking in both directions while still letting light through, which a solid screen or a fence does not. Doing both in one run costs very little more than doing one, because it is the same frame either way.
Galvanised, then painted
All the steelwork is hot dip galvanised and then powdercoated in RAL 7016 anthracite grey, which matches most modern window profiles.
Galvanising first matters on a roof. It is one of the wettest places on a building and the hardest to get back to, so the protection has to be in the steel rather than only on top of it. A chip in powder coat over galvanised steel stays cosmetic.
Get a price for something similar
Send photographs of the roof and the parapet, the length of each run and a note of what the covering is, to sales@diomet.co.uk, or call 0114 243 9009. Tell us whether the roof is already finished and who laid it.
- Parapet wall glass balustrade, the system on this job, priced online
- System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade, the frameless way of fixing to a face
- Raised glass wind screens and privacy screens, where the terrace needs screening above guarding height
- System 9 galvanised steel glass balustrade, for an exposed roof in bare galvanised
- System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade, galvanised and painted, for a terrace you can base fix
- 10mm frosted toughened glass panels, if you only need privacy glass for a frame you have
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
- Glass balustrade building regulations
- Balcony building regulations
- Material finishes
- Installation
- Product maintenance
- Our certification and what it covers
Frequently asked questions
Can a balustrade be fitted to a flat roof without drilling the membrane?
Usually yes. Side fixing to the parapet keeps the covering whole and puts the load into the wall. Where there is no parapet the options are fixing to the structure beneath with the membrane dressed over the base, or a ballasted frame.
Will fixings through the roof affect my roof guarantee?
Normally yes, which is the main reason to avoid them. If your roof is already laid and under guarantee, tell us who installed it and we will specify something that does not interfere with it.
Can I fix into the coping stones?
Rarely. Copings are usually bedded rather than structural, and guarding is a horizontal push at the top of a lever. We fix into the masonry of the parapet instead.
Can part of the run be frosted?
Yes, and it is common. Clear where the view is, frosted where the neighbours are. It is the same frame, so mixing them costs very little extra.
What height does the guarding need to be?
1100mm is the usual figure on a domestic roof terrace, and this one is designed for a 0.74kN/m line load to BS 6180. What applies to your building is for your building control officer to confirm.