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.

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.

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.