How to purchase and what to look for in glass railings.

The latest contemporary look for many houses now being built or modified employs the use of glass railings to offer a feeling of space and uninhibited views. We have long since left the age of a square box that protects one from the elements to where now houses can be made into a thing of beauty and satisfaction.

There are varying degrees of systems as far as aesthetics, quality, corrosion resistance, price, maintenance, safety and versatility are concerned. These however, are the main points taken into regard in the purchasing of such a system. Of course these are a matter of concern because everybody likes to get value for money and something that is going to last. Obviously aesthetics is the overriding reason why such a system is being used in the first place. Some budget systems tend to defeat the purpose of such a system by the use of clips to retain the glass panels, while these systems do offer a better view than metal railings, many home owners tend to steer away from such products as these clips interfere with view and spoil the overall aesthetics that such systems are trying to achieve. Indeed rejected by some for giving the look of "a child with braces" and none of us liked having to go through that stage.

There are several systems that use glass to provide an often panoramic view out of one's property. As discussed above, cost is a factor in any purchase, systems using only glass for structure with a U shaped shoe at the bottom (cantilever system) generally run 2-3 times the cost of other systems making them a prohibitive purchase and not a cost effective solution. Our system achieves greater strength with an astute design that channels all forces into the frame so the toughened glass is not bearing any load.

With the variety of systems on the market the material that railings are constructed of is noteworthy. You don't want to make an investment into your house just to find that system suffers from oxidation a few years later. Hitchiner has carried out rigorous tests on most stainless steel alloys in environments in both the United States and Europe, these show that in a few years most both rust and white corrosion starts forming on all stainless steels. These tests also revealed that if stainless steel railings are regularly kept clean, they will not corrode for many, many years. This necessitates the regular cleaning and maintenance of stainless steel rails for the prevention of corrosion. Stainless steel after all is a product that has been created out of alloys and modifies a product, steel, which naturally oxidizes.

It is apparent from the above that the ideal material would be a product that naturally doesn't rust nor react negatively to the elements. Aluminum has become a natural choice due to it possessing such qualities. You can also toughen aluminum and give it all the advantages of other metals, but none of the drawbacks. This process is called anodizing and the result is an extremely hard substance called anodized aluminum. Anodized aluminum can be nearly as hard as diamond under the right anodizing process. Because of its strength and durability, anodized aluminum is also used in a number of other applications.

A lot of modern buildings use anodized aluminum in places where the metal framework is exposed to the elements. Also many of the satellites circling the Earth are protected from space debris by layers of anodized aluminum. The automobile industry relies heavily on anodized aluminum for trims and protective housings for exposed parts. You can also process it and give it a shiny finish not dissimilar to stainless steel. Aluminum is also very eco friendly as it is infinitely recyclable. Remelting used aluminum requires only five per cent of the energy needed to produce primary metal. Thus, rather than contributing to society's growing waste problem, aluminum can be remelted and reformed to produce a new generation of building parts.

Aluminum baluster glass railing systems are maintenance free products and leave you with the enjoyment of your now revealed beautiful views, not the hassle of having to wipe down all the surfaces repetitively to avoid corrosion, as in other metals. Due to this fact, this type of product is extremely popular in marine environments. 

We have manufactured our glass railing system specifically to meet and exceed the major points that a person would look for in such a system, which are aesthetics, quality, corrosion resistance, price, maintenance, safety and versatility.

Aesthetics: Our system has a very clean, contemporary look, with no clamps interfering with view. It can span over 12 feet between walls before needing a vertical post. Due to the strength of our system it requires no corner posts and thus provides a more panoramic view.

Quality: Our system is crafted out of anodized aluminum offering a very tough, naturally corrosion resistant product. Due to the quality and strength of our system it is one of the only ones on the market today backed by a 10 year warranty.

Corrosion resistance and maintenance: The product is corrosion resistant and doesn't require being wiped down to prevent the metal from oxidizing.

Price: Though an extremely high quality system, it is very competitively priced and generally runs about a third of the cost of equal lengths of cantilever systems.

Safety: As compared to some system designs, ours is crafted so that the glass is not load-bearing and the structure itself takes in all forces and pressures.

Versatility: Our product can be installed on new builds and existing structures alike and is manufactured specifically with installation in mind. We can manufacture a wide spectrum of radii and curves.

Accompanying this is our 3D downloadable installation video on our web-site showing the ease of installation.

We feel that our product gives a perfect balance of what one would be after in such a system and backing this, our product is being sold internationally in countries around the world.