The Balcony Systems Balustrade

Balcony Systems balustrade is a type of a hybrid system meaning it’s combining two types in one. Our balustrade combines the strength of the handrail, glass and when needed posts, it is unique in nature and no other system on the market works in this fashion, and as such it allows different options than the other systems. 

Balustrade that combines the strength of the handrail and glass

Balustrade that combines strength of the handrail, glass and posts

Understanding the balcony Systems Balustrade and how it works

There are a number of principles that the Balcony Systems Balustrade is built upon, the main ones are listed here below, these are sometimes used in combination withone another:



a) Using the handrail strength to resist loading


b) Fixing the handrail at the ends


c) Using the glass panels as a form of “diaphragm panel” (a structural term simply meaning a panel used to transfer loads by fixing along the periphery of an element)



d) Using a strong structural “primary” posts

Two part post system (structural primary & cover post)

e) Mechanical fixing of the corners of the handrails

The ability of the handrail to span

The Balcony system balustrade, when the handrail is allowed to be fixed at the ends to the walls or the structure, is reliant on the strength of the handrail.  So again, when the handrail is fixed at the ends to the walls it will be taking the load at the handrail height. This allows our system to span rather large, and we’ll elaborate later more exactly how large, but it can take spans which are large without the need for vertical posts because when you resist the load at the handrail height the load is considerably less than the resulting load if resisted at the bottom part. This is because the load at the bottom has a lever going from the top to the bottom. You have a lever of the height of the balustrade.  

So, for instance, a structural glass balustrade which is only connected at the bottom this will mean the loads applied to the channel at the bottom are much larger than the load applied at the handrail height If you design, and this is what we’ve done, the system to be able to resist those loads at the handrail height and you make a strong handrail which can be retained between two walls, then the handrail can in itself work as the resistor to the main load and this is what we’ve done with our system.  Obviously you cannot do this for an infinite distance and therefore there are limits to the ability of the handrail to span and that is when we introduce posts.  

Basically one unit

We call the point where the handrail is fixed to the wall (in our generic structural calculation) a “point of support”.  We also consider a point of support being a corner joint (90’ turn) where the return is at least a metre long.  Why do we do that?  Again, we have developed and introduced a way of using the glass differently than in a structural glass balustrade but using the glass along the vertical length of it by bonding it continuously to the handrail, using silicone.  You have the glass glued top and bottom. 

Imagine a corner with a handrail spanning one side and a handrail spanning the other side which are mechanically fixed at the corners so the handrail is basically one unit.  Then you have the glasses which go in one direction and the glasses which go in the other direction.  The glasses going in direction A will be supporting direction B in the direction of the loading and vice versa.  That is again another combination, another element of our balustrade which doesn’t exist in other systems which makes it so unique.  This is again what makes it able to have no corner posts.  Any other system that you meet other than structural glass balustrades will require corner posts because the glass is not able in any other system to support the corners, like in ours. 

Rule 1: In order to use the Balcony system Balustrade and not need to use any vertical posts three elements must exist(a)That handrail can be fixed at both ends to the walls/structure (not with an end post), ***the only situation where (a) can be relaxed is when the balustrade closes in on itself and creates a closed run of handrail

(a)

(b)

(c)

The lengths of the runs do not surpass the maximum ability of the handrail to support the loads(b)

(c) If the shape employs corners, these are always 90’, every run conforms to (b) above is never shorter than 1000mm (1.0m) long.(c)