An elevated tiled patio in Banstead, Surrey, guarded with frameless glass fixed to the outside face of the wall rather than standing on the patio surface. It is our System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade.
Designed, made in our Sheffield workshop and installed by us.
Project overview
- Client type: Residential
- Location: Banstead, Surrey
- Scope: Design, manufacture and installation
- Product: System 7 frameless glass balustrade, side fixed
- Fixings: Side mounted structural glass clamps on offset stand offs, satin polished
- Anchors: Chemical anchors into the structural masonry of the patio edge
- Glass: Toughened and laminated, no capping handrail
- Design loading: 0.74kN/m line load, BS 6180
- Fabrication: BS EN 1090-2, UKCA marked
Get a price for something similar
This is our System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade, made to your own runs, fixed to the face of the structure rather than the top of it.
Not drilling the new tiles
Mike's patio had just been tiled, and that is the practical reason this run is side fixed rather than base channelled.
A base channel sits on top of the slab, which means drilling through a brand new tiled surface, and expensive porcelain near an edge is not something anybody wants a hammer drill near. It also eats floor area along the whole length of the run.
Side fixing moves the entire balustrade outside the patio. The clamps bolt into the face of the wall below the tiles, on offset stand offs that let the glass sit clear of the tile overhang. Nothing is drilled through the finished surface and nothing stands on it, so every inch of the patio is still usable.
Where the load goes
The common worry about frameless glass is deflection: the slight movement you feel when you lean on a panel with no posts either side of it.
The answer is in what the fixings are anchored into. A base channel is bolted into the top surface of a slab, often fairly close to its edge. Face fixing goes into the brickwork or concrete of the patio edge itself, which is a deeper and more solid anchor, with chemical anchors rather than expansion bolts so there is no outward pressure near a free edge.
That is what lets a run like this be designed to the 0.74kN/m domestic line load in BS 6180 without a capping handrail along the top. It is also why the condition of the wall is the first thing we look at, and why we would rather survey than quote from a photograph.
Why the glass is laminated
There is no handrail across the top, so the glass is the entire barrier.
That is why the panels are toughened and laminated rather than toughened alone. Toughening gives the strength; the laminate interlayer means a broken pane stays in place and upright rather than disappearing, which on an elevated patio with children about is the point.
On a run with a capping rail, toughened glass on its own is normally accepted because the rail remains. Whether your own balustrade can go without one is a decision for your designer and your building control officer, taken against BS 6180 and Approved Document K. Our glass balustrade building regulations guide covers what they will be looking at.
Get a price for something similar
Send photographs of the patio and the wall below it, the length of each run and the height of the drop, to sales@diomet.co.uk, or call 0114 243 9009. Tell us what the edge is built from and whether the surface is already finished.
- System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade, the system on this job, priced online
- System 4 frameless glass balustrade, the base channel version where the surface can be drilled
- Parapet wall glass balustrade, a framed side fixed arrangement for a flat roof
- Round glass spigot balustrade, frameless on individual spigots
- System 1 stainless steel glass balustrade, the posted alternative, which costs less per metre
- System 11 patio glass fencing, for a screen or boundary rather than a guarded drop
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
- Glass quality standards
- Material finishes
- Installation
- Product maintenance
- Our certification and what it covers
Frequently asked questions
Can a balustrade be fitted without drilling my patio?
Yes, that is what side fixing is for. The clamps go into the face of the wall below the surface, so new tiles or paving are left alone and the whole patio area stays usable.
Does frameless glass move when you lean on it?
Properly anchored, no more than any guarding does. What matters is what the fixings go into: face fixing into the structural masonry of the edge gives a deeper anchor than bolting into the top of a slab near its edge.
Why chemical anchors rather than expansion bolts?
Because an expansion anchor works by pushing outwards inside the hole, and the edge of a patio wall is the worst place for outward pressure. A chemical anchor bonds along its length instead.
Can side fixed glass go without a handrail?
It can where the glass is toughened and laminated, so a broken pane stays in place. Whether your own run can is for your designer and building control officer to decide.
Will it work on my wall?
That is the question a survey answers. Side fixing needs something solid to anchor into. Send photographs of the edge and tell us what it is built from and we will say whether it suits.