cheapest glass balustrade

Cheapest Glass Balustrade

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Cheapest Glass Balustrade

Our biggest recommendation for saving money on your glass balustrade is the installation itself! Installing a balustrade is not complicated. Why not install it yourself? If not any half decent builder will be able to help

 A good proportion of our customers are DIY enthusiasts. If you think that you will need some help then any competent builder should be able to install any of our systems. We have installation videos for most of our products and if you have any problems at all then our technical team is always on hand to help!

What are the primary factors determining a glass balustrade’s cost?

The single biggest thing that will determine the cost of your glass balustrade is the glass thickness. The thinner the glass, the cheaper the balustrade. Systems such as stainless steel posts which usually use a thinner glass are more often than not cheaper than systems such as frameless glass which usually use thicker, structural glass.  

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Once you start to use different types of glass, it will usually increase the price. If price is your most important starting point, then you should opt for systems that can accommodate thinner, toughened glass. Usually this is 10mm toughened glass.

  • We certainly think so! An elegant solution that is structurally sound, we think that a glass balustrade really adds that wow factor to your home or office! We can help you to minimise the costs.

  • The maintenance costs really are minimal for any budget friendly glass balustrades. If you are using stainless steel posts all you need to do is to wipe down the stainless steel a few times a year to prevent residue building up on the stainless steel that can cause it to discolour. The frequency of cleaning depends on where your balustrade is installed. For example, if your balustrade is next to the sea or a swimming pool, you may have to clean the stainless steel more frequently.

  • Safety is and always will be our number one priority when it comes to advising you on your installation. Depending on your application, you need to ensure that you comply with Building Regulations. The key regulation to always consider is that if your balustrade is protecting a fall of 600mm or more you should either have a laminate glass and/or a handrail.

  • Installing the balustrade yourself will give you your biggest saving! A good proportion of our customers are DIY enthusiasts. We want to take the mystery out of installing your balustrade. Be it our easy to install systems, our installation videos or the fact that our technical team are always on hand to help, it really isn’t that complicated!

  • It is the glass thickness that will have the greatest impact on the cost of any balustrade. The thicker the glass, the greater the cost. The biggest jump in cost is between toughened glass and laminate glass. By way of example, 10mm toughened glass is usually more then twice the cost of 10mm toughened glass.

  • It is sensible to always try and get a cost for your fixings. More often that not the fixings are not material to the overall cost. When fixing stainless steel posts, the cost is not enormous. This is however not always the case particularly when fixing frameless channel to concrete. We stock the vast majority of fixings and can quickly provide you with a quote.

  • Building regulations can impact the cost of a balustrade particularly as they may impact the thickness and subsequently the cost of the glass. Building regulations are there to ensure that your balustrade is safe and we would always encourage you to follow them where possible. In our experience different building control officers can interpret the regulations in different ways. If you are in any doubt, we would always encourage to you to consult with your building control officer before buying and installing your balustrade.

  • You can of course always build an alternative that is cheaper than glass balustrade. Glass balustrade need not however be expensive. If you combine installing the balustrade yourself (or have a decent builder that can hep) with using 10mm glass thickness in post and rail it really can be cost effective!

  • It may not always be cheaper to not have a top rail for you glass balustrade. To meet building regulations for a balustrade that is protecting a fall of 600mm or more, you will need to either have a handrail or a laminate glass. For certain applications such as stainless steel posts, it is usually cheaper to have a handrail with 10mm toughened glass than it is to have a laminate glass such as 13.5mm toughened laminate.

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Building Regulations

The building regulations that apply to your balustrade will vary depending on the use of the balustrade and the how the building in which the balustrade is used is occupied.We set our below the most commonly asked questions to help you to ensure that your balustrade meets building regulations. You can call our technical team who can answer any questions that you may have.

How high should my balustrade be?

In a domestic single occupancy house, the height of a balustrade for a landing, ramp, edge of internal floor or stairs should be 900 mm from floor level. For external balconies(including Juliet balconies), decking and edges of roofs, the height of the balustrade should be 1100 mm from floor level. The height of the balustrade is measured from finished floor level to the top of the balustrade.

Do I need a handrail?

You will need a handrail if the balustrade protects a fall that is 600 mm or more unless laminated glass is used.Laminated glass is two pieces of glass that are bonded together with an interlayer. If one panel fails, the other panel will remain in place.It is considered to be safer than toughened glass. If a handrail is used, it should be properly secured to the glass.

What is a line load test?

A line load test is the pressure per meter that the balustrade can withstand before it starts to move within the fixing.Once that pressure is applied it should not move more than 25 mm. The amount of pressure is usually expressed in kilo newtons per meter.

Will my balustrade meet the required line load test?

A number of our balustrade systems are tested.Our technical team can advise you on whether or not your balustrade is tested to the required line load test and provide you with a test certificate on request. Whether or not your balustrade is tested will usually depend on the type of balustrade used and which material you are fixing to.

What line load test will my balustrade be required to meet?

The line load test that your balustrade will be required to meet will depend on type of building and the level of occupancy of that building. There follows a table which sets out the line load test that your balustrade will be required to meet.

How to Measure for your Balustrade

Stainless steel posts – Metalwork

You should start by setting out the centre line measurement for your posts. We would recommend setting out your posts 75mm in from the edge of the reveal. This excludes any overhang.

The space between each post (and therefore the width between each panel) depends on wind factor, glass type and glass thickness. If the panel is too wide, it will put too much pressure on the glass clamp and could cause the balustrade to fail. For most applications, we suggest having a gap of around a meter between each post. This may be slightly more or less depending on the configuration of your balustrade.

Stainless steel posts – Glass Width

When measuring the width of your glass panel, you should measure from inside of one post to the inside of the next post. You should then deduct from that measurement the width of the metal section at the back of the clamp that sits between the outside edge of the glass and the inside edge of the post. This deduction should be made for each post.

For a 10mm glass clamp, this measurement is usually 20mm as per the drawing below. The total deduction to be made from the measurement of inside of post to inside of post to calculate your glass width would subsequently be 40mm. By way of example, if you were using a 10mm glass clamp as per the drawing below and the measurement from inside of post to inside of post was 1000mm, the width of the panel would be 960mm.

The thickness of the meal section at the back of the clamp may vary depending on the spec of the clamp that you have been supplied. If you have any concerns as to what that measurement is, please speak to our technical team.

Stainless Steel posts – Glass Height

The height of the glass panel will depend on a number of factors such as glass thickness, whether or not you have a handrail, the thickness of the tube that has been used to manufacture the posts and the line load test that the posts are required to meet.

For a 42mm diameter post with an end cap, where the height of the post is 1100mm from bottom of post to the top of the end cap, we would usually recommend the height the panel being 1010mm, leaving a 900mm gap from the bottom of the glass to the floor. This may vary depending on the application of your balustrade.

For a 42mm diameter post with a handrail bracket and 42mm diameter handrail, where the height of the post is 1100mm from the bottom of the base plate to the top of the handrail we would recommend the height of the panel as 898mm. This leaves an 80mm gap from the finished floor level to bottom of glass and an 80mm gap from top of post to bottom of handrail.

Stainless Steel Posts – Safety Pins

All of our glass clamps are supplied with safety pins. The purpose of the pin is to provide an additional safety measure to prevent the glass from slipping through the clamp once the glass clamp is tightened. We can supply the glass with a hole through which the safety pin will sit if specified at point of ordering.

There are three measurements which need to be taken into account:

Firstly, the distance from the right/left side of the glass needs to the centre of the hole should reflect the mould of the glass clamp. For the clamp below this would be 28mm.

Secondly, the distance from the top/bottom of the panel should match the distance from the top/bottom of the post.

Thirdly, the diameter of the hole should be slightly larger than the pin. For a standard 10mm glass clamp, we would usually recommend a diameter of 9mm.

Glass

Laminated Glass

Laminated glass is two or more thicknesses of glass bonded together by an interlayer. At Origin we supply toughened laminated glass. This is two pieces of toughened glass that are laminated together. We use what is called a PVB laminate as an interlayer which is at least 1.52mm thick and creates a considerable barrier to penetration. When broken the pieces are retained by the interlayer and if well supported the glass has an increased likelihood of staying in place. If you are using laminated glass in your balustrade you usually will not require a handrail although having a handrail will greatly improve the structural integrity of the balustrade. Laminated glass is usually more expensive than toughened glass.

Toughened Glass

This is glass that has been heat treated after it has been formed to a particular shape. The glass is heated to approximately 700 degrees centigrade and then rapidly cooled. If it is ever broken, toughened glass fractures into small relatively harmless fragments and will no longer support a load.

If you are using toughened glass in your balustrade and you are protecting a fall of 600mm or more, you will require a handrail.

Frequently Asked Questions

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For Your Glass Balustrade System

Customise your glass balustrade to match your style with premium powder coating, ensuring a perfect match to your color scheme. Explore our diverse range of systems tailored to your preferences: choose contemporary frameless designs, classic post and rail systems, or modern spigot, glass button, and glass balustrades with a top handrail.