Balcony Balustrades & Privacy screens
Balcony Balustrades & Privacy screens does anyone have a good solution?
Many balcony requirements, in particular retro fits, go through planning permission and when the balcony is thought to overlook into a neighboring property a requirement is put forward for a "privacy screen".
By privacy screen is meant a tall Balustrading element that is not see through. Usually this is required to be at least 1.8 metres tall (6 foot) but sometimes even higher.
Obviously the balcony will have a balustrade to prevent a fall; this is usually made from glass and stainless steel or glass and aluminium elements, but what happens when the stainless steel balustrades now need to turn into screen, this is a very difficult detail to deal with. Stainless steel balustrades are very beautiful and aesthetic whereas the screen is often made from wood panels or other materials that are not see through but are rather unsightly.
So what's the solution; how do you make a nice glass balustrade combine with a screen?
Well there are some solutions out there, some better than others but Balcony systems have two good solutions to this problem.
We obviously make our balustrades from anodized aluminium and royal chrome finished handrails which give the look of stainless steel handrails. One of the solutions has been to turn the corner, which will not require a post on the corner, and then use the same handrail for the screen mitred upwards in a diagonal or slopped fashion and straighten the handrail back out at the 1.8 metres height. The second solution was a special very neat post at the corner which is only 55mm in diameter, this post goes up to the height of 1.8 metres and holds the screen and has a special stainless steel connection for holding the handrail which is at 1.1 metres height.
In both solutions we make use of 10mm satinized toughened glass, instead of the regular clear or tinted glass. This gives the required privacy but also gives the required aesthetics.