We all see on programmes such as Grand Designs, glossy magazines, glass expanses etc, beautiful glass balustrades, some with handrails and some without.

There is a lot of confusion regarding the requirements for a handrail on glass balustrades and glass railings. So what exactly are the legal requirements? As Managing Director at Volarus Special Projects and having met Kevin McLeod at the Grand Designs show I wanted to investigate the legalities as to what can be achieved with glass balustrades while being mindful of safety, especially when creating inspirational properties or areas around the home.

While developing a new structural glass system I had to consider all the design and safety elements alongside regulations while still creating a spectacular finish and look for clients.

According to British Standards 6180-2011 which have superseded British Standards 6180-1999, glass balustrades can be provided on single structure glass such as toughened as long as it complies with the regulation that states it must have a safety handrail in the event that the glass panel fails.

Glass balustrade with a handrail does not provide un-interrupted views. Although in the event that the toughened glass fails, the handrail will remain in position and top any adult falling over the edge. The same rules may not apply for a young child who is under the height of 1100mm and I strongly believe that anyone investing in structural glass balustrade with young children should seriously think about the risks.

Here at Volarus Special Projects we have developed a unique balustrade system which does not require a handrail and which incorporates the standard channel retaining system but is capable of taking glass up to 25mm thick, the benefits of this system is that glass panels can be laminated together giving a typical overall thickness of 21.5mm thick which makes our system 100% completely safe and fully compliant to British Standards.

In the event that a glass panel is impacted with a localised force the panels will not fail as the lamination and the outer glass panel will retain its rigidity and stop any person falling through. In addition, our system can also incorporate our exclusive LED lighting system which offers various options and furthermore, can be enhanced with feature panels such as “cracked ice” and laminated images for that personal touch.

In order to satisfy modern architectural design while offering the required safety levels my aim was to ensure the product we developed not only looked spectacular but offered clients the full confidence of a safe and secure installation.

Author: Paul Revill, Managing Director at Volarus Special Projects.