Best Practices und Bauvorschriften für Glasbalustraden

Der Einbau von Glasbalustraden unterliegt strengen Vorschriften. Erfahren Sie, was Installateure berücksichtigen müssen, um Compliance, Sicherheit und bewährte Verfahren zu gewährleisten.

Wenn die Balustrade rahmenlos ist, muss das Glas mit gehärtetem Glas laminiert werden. Bei Balustraden mit umlaufendem Rahmen gibt es mehr Optionen – diese unterliegen jedoch aus Sicherheitsgründen ebenfalls Vorschriften. 

The exact type of material you should use is covered in Regulation 7, as well as Approved Documents parts A1, K2 and K4.

befestigungen

Glass infill panels need to be fitted with the right number of fixings and these fixings need to be positioned precisely. As with many building regulations relating to glass, we're talking about a matter of millimetres. All the details are available in BS 6180:2011.

Belastungen

Glass balustrades are protective barriers – they need to be able to withstand certain loads. These load requirements are set out in BS 6180:2011 and in the EN Eurocodes. They cover line loads, uniformly distributed loads and concentrated loads.

There's also a specific regulation for glass balustrades in areas where children go. In this instance, a 100-millimetre sphere shouldn't be able to pass between any two glass panels of the installation.

Höhe

The height of a glass balustrade is dictated by Approved Document K. This is to make sure that the finished glazing is enough of a barrier. The measurements are based on what the balustrade will be used for and the level of traffic that's expected.

To take an example from private residential buildings, a balustrade on a balcony will need to be higher than one on a landing.

The height requirements for residential properties differ from those for commercial, assembly and retail spaces.

Handrails

When designing a glass balustrade, architects will often ask whether you want a continuous handrail. This raises the question of whether the handrail needs to be continuous or whether it's a question of taste.

The answer is that it's not a requirement, even in a frameless installation, so long as you use a laminated toughened glass specification that will stay put if a panel fails. 

What are the essential documents?

Here's a list of the essential documents for glass balustrade installations.

• BS 6180:2011 Barriers in and about buildings – Code of Practice
• BS 6262-4: Glazing for building – Part 4: Safety Related to Human Impact – Code of Safety
• BS 6262-6: Glazing for building – Part 6: Code of practice for special applications.
• Building Regulations Approved Document B1
• Building Regulations Approved Document K
• EN 12600 Glass in building – Pendulum test. This is the standard that specifies the impact test method for glass used in buildings
• Eurocode EN 1991-1-1 Part 1-1 General Actions – Densities, self-weight and imposed loads
• Eurocode EN 1991-1-4 Part 1-4 General Actions – Wind actions

If you can't find the answer in these documents, it probably doesn't exist!

Why choose ToughGlaze?

At ToughGlaze, we provide top-of-the-range glass for balustrades. Our high-end CNC machine can profile, drill and polish toughened laminated glass that's both elegant and durable.

Our mission is to be able to meet your requirements without hesitation. This mission can be seen in our design options. If your balustrade needs a logo or other design, we can make it happen with screen printing, digital printing or sandblasting. You can choose from the standard RAL colour palette to create almost limitless combinations. We also offer a choice of fabric, mesh and coloured glass interlayers.

These multitudinous design options mean that you can count on us for balustrade glass that will meet customer requirements and blend in seamlessly with any premises.

But it's not all about looks. You also need to be confident that your materials are robust. That's why all our balustrade glass has the Kitemark stamp of approval and is in line with BS 6180 regulations.

Bei uns erhalten Sie alles aus einer Hand: die Verarbeitung, das Schneiden und die Lieferung von Materialien. Und da wir seit 30 Jahren im Geschäft sind, wissen Sie, dass Sie von uns die Ware erhalten.

Conclusion

Strukturverglasungen können praktisch jedes Gebäude aufwerten. Um die Sicherheit zu gewährleisten, müssen sie jedoch eine Reihe von Vorschriften erfüllen. Als Installateur müssen Sie sicherstellen, dass Sie auf dem neuesten Stand und auf dem Laufenden sind. Andernfalls riskieren Sie die Sicherheit Ihrer Kunden.

You should always invest in high-quality materials – something that we at ToughGlaze provide as standard. If you're looking for balustrade glass, get in touch. We'd love to talk you through your options.