Most people ask us which glass balustrade system they want. The honest answer is usually that it depends where it is going, and this job is the clearest example of that we have photographed. One house, two balustrades, two different systems, chosen for two different sets of conditions.
Inside, up the staircase, it is our System 4 frameless glass balustrade in a powdercoated black finish with a handrail over the glass. Outside, guarding a raised terrace, it is our System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade on posts side fixed to the face of the retaining wall.
Surveyed, made in our Sheffield workshop and installed by us.
Project overview
- Client type: Private house
- Location: Rotherham area, South Yorkshire
- Scope: Survey, supply and installation of both balustrades
- Inside: System 4 frameless glass balustrade to the staircase, powdercoated black, with a handrail
- Outside: System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade to the raised terrace, posts side fixed to the wall face
- Outside finish: Galvanised then powder coated anthracite grey
- Terrace handrail: To the steps only, by the client's choice
- Fabrication: BS EN 1090-2, UKCA marked
Get a price for something similar
The staircase balustrade is our System 4 frameless glass, priced online by the metre and available in a powdercoated finish.
Inside: frameless, because nothing is working against it
A staircase in a hallway is the easiest environment a balustrade will ever live in. No wind, no rain, no salt, no frost. Nothing is pushing on the glass except the people using the stairs.
That is the case for going frameless. With no posts along the run, the glass is the balustrade rather than infill between uprights, and the flight stays open to the hall and the kitchen beyond it. On a staircase that matters more than it does almost anywhere else, because a posted balustrade on a flight puts a vertical every metre or so exactly where you are looking.
The black powdercoat is doing a specific job here. The base detail and the handrail read as a single dark line following the pitch of the stairs, against a pale wall and a pale floor. Stainless would have been brighter and busier. Black lets the glass disappear and the line of the rail do the work.
The glass on a raking flight is cut to follow the stairs, so each panel is a shape rather than a rectangle. That is set out from a survey of the finished staircase, not from the drawing, because a stair as built is rarely identical to a stair as drawn.
Get a price for the outside one
The terrace balustrade is our System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade, priced online by the metre with the length, corners and fixing detail in the price.
Outside: posts, because the weather gets a vote
The terrace is a different problem. It is exposed, it wraps around more than one side, and it sits on top of a stone faced retaining wall.
Posts earn their place out here. The load path runs through the posts rather than through the glass and its fixing, which means the panels are infill between supports and can be thinner and lighter than a free standing frameless run of the same height. It is also more forgiving to install on a real wall, and a single damaged panel can be swapped without taking a run apart.
Outside also carries a higher design load than inside. On a domestic job the horizontal line load inside the house is 0.36 kN/m, and the moment you step out onto a balcony, a terrace or the edge of a raised patio it is 0.74 kN/m. The BS 6180 barrier loadings guide sets out why. Two balustrades at the same house, two different numbers, which is another reason they are not the same product.
The metalwork outside is galvanised first and then powder coated anthracite grey, so the corrosion protection does not depend on the paint film alone.
Side fixed, so the paving stays whole
This is the detail worth taking away from the job.
The posts are not drilled down through the terrace. They bracket to the face of the retaining wall, below the paving line, so the porcelain is never cut into and the laid surface runs unbroken to the edge.
On a terrace that has just been paved, that is usually what people want to hear. A core drilled post goes through the slab and into the structure underneath, which is a perfectly good detail and one we use often, but it means putting holes in a surface somebody has just paid to lay. Side fixing moves the fixings into the wall instead.
It also buys a little usable space. The balustrade sits outside the edge rather than standing on it, so the terrace keeps its full width.
What the wall will hold is a separate question from what the balustrade weighs. A sound, well built retaining wall takes a side fixed balustrade comfortably. A wall that is cracked, loose or faced onto something softer behind may not, and that is established on site rather than from a photograph.
Specification is the client's call, and a handrail can be retrofitted
Two things on this job were specified by the client against alternatives we had priced, and both are worth explaining because the same decisions come up constantly.
The terrace runs were supplied without a handrail along the top, with the rail only where the steps come down. We set out what each option involved, the client chose this one, and it is recorded on the drawing they approved before anything was made.
A handrail can be added to a posted run afterwards. The posts are already there and already fixed, so retrofitting a rail later is a much smaller piece of work than changing a balustrade. If you are undecided, that is worth knowing: the posted systems leave the door open in a way a frameless run does not.
The glass was specified as toughened rather than laminated, again at the client's choice and recorded on the approved drawing. Our own position, set out in full on our BS 6180 barrier loadings guide, is that where the glass is the only thing between a person and a drop, laminated is the right answer, because a broken toughened panel leaves an open gap while laminated holds together on the interlayer until it is replaced. Where there is a top rail that would still contain the opening, toughened is a reasonable choice.
We make what is ordered and we put the specification in writing first. What any particular barrier has to satisfy is a matter for the building's designer and its building control body, and nothing on this page is a recommendation for your own job.
Get a price for something similar
Both balustrades on this job are priced online by the metre. Send the lengths and a photograph to sales@diomet.co.uk, or call 0114 243 9009, and we will price the real thing rather than a band.
- System 4 frameless glass balustrade, the staircase balustrade here, available powdercoated
- System 10 powdercoated glass balustrade, the terrace balustrade here, with side fixed as a priced option
- System 7 side fixed frameless glass balustrade, where you want frameless outside and the fixings in the wall face
- System 1 stainless steel glass balustrade, the same posted arrangement in satin stainless rather than powdercoat
- System 5 powdercoated steel and glass with a timber handrail, where a warmer rail suits the house
- Powdercoated handrail and wall rail, for a stair rail on its own
If you are not sure what to send, our how to get a price page sets it out.
Before you order
- Glass balustrade buying guide
- Glass balustrade fixing guide, methods and substrates
- BS 6180 barrier and balustrade loadings
- Glass balustrade building regulations
- Handrail building regulations
- Material finishes
- Installation
Frequently asked questions
Can you fit a balustrade without drilling my new patio?
Often yes. Where there is a sound wall at the edge, the posts can be side fixed to the face of it instead of core drilled down through the paving, which leaves the laid surface untouched. Whether your wall will take it is established on site.
What is the difference between frameless and posted glass?
On a frameless balustrade the glass carries the load and is held at its base, so the run is uninterrupted. On a posted balustrade the posts carry the load and the glass is infill between them, which allows thinner, lighter panels and makes a single pane easy to replace.
Can a handrail be added to a balustrade later?
On a posted system, yes. The posts are the hard part and they are already in, so adding a rail afterwards is a far smaller job than altering the balustrade itself. On a frameless run there is nothing to fix a rail to, so it has to be designed in from the start.
Should the glass be toughened or laminated?
Both are permitted, and the question is what happens if a panel breaks. Toughened collapses into fragments and leaves an open gap. Laminated holds together on its interlayer, so the opening stays contained until it is replaced. Where the glass is the sole containment, with no rail above it, laminated is what we advise. It is specified before the glass is cut, so raise it at enquiry stage.
Can frameless glass follow a staircase?
Yes. The panels are cut to the rake so each one is a shape rather than a rectangle, and the run follows the pitch line. It is set out from a survey of the finished staircase rather than from the drawing.
Does an outside balustrade have to be stronger than an inside one?
On a house, yes. The horizontal line load inside is 0.36 kN/m and outside on a balcony, terrace or raised patio it is 0.74 kN/m, so the metalwork is not the same even where the two look alike.
Can I have black rather than stainless?
Yes. Both systems on this job are powdercoated, and powdercoat is available in any RAL colour. Our material finishes page covers the options and where each one suits.