Frameless glass railing and balustrade fixings

A frameless glass balustrade is held at the bottom edge only, so the fixing and the glass do all the work of resisting a person leaning or falling against it. Get the spec from the loading, not the look.

Fixing methods

• Base channel (U-profile): an aluminium channel, top or side fixed, that grips the full bottom edge with wedges or a resin pocket. Cleanest look, strongest, and the usual choice for balconies and terraces.
• Standoffs / patch buttons: round fixings that bolt through holes in the glass into the wall or slab edge. Used for stair sides and where a channel will not fit.
• Spigots: short posts bolted to the slab that clamp the glass at intervals. Quick, but they need a robust slab edge and correct spacing.

Glass

Structural balustrade glass is laminated toughened — usually two toughened plies with a stiff interlayer (SGP or equivalent) so that if one ply breaks the balustrade still stands. Thickness comes from the height and the design line load for the building type (a balcony is higher than a domestic stair). This is a calculation.

The handrail

Some codes and clients require a top handrail that can hold the barrier even if the glass fails. A slotted stainless or aluminium cap rail bonded along the top edge does this and protects the glass edge. Decide this at design stage — the glass size and the channel change with it.

Give us the height, the location (balcony, stair, mezzanine), the building type and whether a handrail is required, and we will spec the channel or standoffs and the glass build-up.