Glass Balustrades & Glass Balconies

In the following Q & A Mr. Effi Wolff Managing Director and founder of the UK branch of Balcony Systems Solutions Limited, he explains what everyone is hyped up about and why Balcony Systems proprietary glass balustrade system fits the bill.

Even with glass there are many options, are there not?

Yes, but I would try to say there are mainly three categories:

1. Structural Glass systems which employ very thick glass and do not use vertical metal posts.
2. Posted systems which use “glass clamps” or “plugs” and will have a post every metre or so
3. The Balcony Glass Balustrade System which can in some instances be applied with no vertical supports, and if required they are not very frequent, that is every two metres or so, and when vertical members are present they are clean and have no “Mickey mouse” clamps or plugs.

Now you have confused me, what’s “Structural glass”?

Structural glass means the glass is the “structure” and the actual resistance to people, wind and pressure is being taken up through the glass. The glass is cantilevered from the bottom. The main advantage to structural glass is that in all cases it will not have any vertical posts, the main downsides are that it imposes a great stress on the structure both in weights and load and off course it is very dear.”

Here are some pictures of structural Glass Balustrades we have supplied to a project in Jersey. Note there are no vertical posts.

That looks very similar to your company’s product though?

It does, as in some cases our glass balustrades do not require any posts. In those cases they look very similar to frameless glass balustrades.

Why would you recommend your glass balustrade product as opposed to structural glass then?

First because it’s my job too; but seriously from customer feedback we have learned that the price of our system is between half to a third of the cost of structural glass, yet the end result is very similar. One important aspect is future replacement of glass panels. This is very difficult with structural glass, whereas with the Balcony balustrade system it is very easy.

Here are some pictures of Balcony system Glass Balustrades we have supplied to a project in Bognor Regis. On the balconies we were able to make the glass balustrades without any vertical posts and use 10mm glass.

Can you give me an idea of market prices for the three categories you mentioned?

Well from my experience:

• The traditional “posted” system, with 10mm clear toughened glasses, will cost approximately £350-£450 per linear metre in stainless steel.
• Structural glass balustrade system, with 15mm clear toughened glasses, will cost approximately £700-£950 per linear metre
• We sell our Balcony system glass balustrade, with 10mm clear toughened glasses, at close to £300 a metre."

Does weight pose a factor when choosing a system? Can you give me an idea of what weight factor the three categories impose?

Weight can in many instances be an important element; particularly on “cantilevered” balconies as on these the weight becomes a critical factor in calculating the “reaction load” of the balcony structure.  In any case an axiom is the more weight the more structure to counter the weight.

• The traditional “posted” system, with 10mm clear toughened glasses, will weight appx: 40-50 kg per metre.
• Structural glass balustrade system, with 15mm clear toughened glasses, will weight appx: 70-80 kg per metre.  (Depending largely on what is used to “clamp” the glass, this may be more.
• Balcony system glass balustrade, with 10mm clear toughened glasses, will weight appx: 30 kg per metre.

For more information on the Balcony Balustrade System including their online quoting system/shop, technical data and installation guides and videos you can visit : www.Balconette.co.uk