Tag-Archive for ◊ curved balustrades ◊

A fantastic project has been successfully completed with stunning balconies at a flagship development on the river Trent in Nottingham. This development of 150 apartments saw the first ever £1 Million penthouse apartment sell in Nottingham.

Curved glass balustrades

The requirement was for an effective and clean line glass balustrade system that could also be curved. Curved balconies of over 11m in length were achieved without a single post with a clear glass spanning the entire balcony.

Strength and aesthetics

Before installing the developer wanted to see the performance of the balustrades and two load tests of the handrail system were mocked up for them. One test on site and one in the factory. The client and contactor were delighted with the capability of the system and commented they had never seen such an innovative system that combined both strength and aesthetics in a glass railing system.

The original view was to use structural glazed balustrades on the project but with the balcony 2 system the same result was achieved for around half the cost plus half the weight which was also a key factor on the structure of the balconies.

Trent Park developments are looking at using the same system on their next development:

Balcony Systems have completed an amazing project on the sea front promenade in Bognor Regis.

A beautiful apartment block with over four hundred meter of glass balustrades were supplied and installed in this project.

The developer, Hamlet Homes, had previously encountered problems with staining and corrosion on stainless steel balconies they had manufactured on a different project that was also in a marine location nearby.

They chose Balcony Systems Royal Chrome handrail system for the glass balustrades after seeing the advantages both in the look and also in the long term resistance to the salty air environment.

Many complex curves and “S” type bends on the top level terraces required some experienced surveying and precision manufacturing.

The results are delightful and parties are well pleased.

Normal designs of balustrades, or shall we say until Balcony Systems Balustrade system was introduced, have always relied on the strength of posts cantilevering from the floor or relied on the strength of glass clamped at the floor to resist the loads at the top.

This is the traditional and frequently seen solution for balustrades, glass or not.

Resisting the loads

The glass balustrades supplied by balcony systems has broken this routine and introduced a refreshingly innovative approach to resisting the loads. Rather than cantilevering the load and thus needing to design a very rigid base the handrail is designed to take loads direct at the design height.

Fixing the handrail to the falls allow the handrail to work as a rigid element which resists the loads. When corners are introduced the special way the handrail parts are connected and the way the glass is continuously silicone sealed to the glass along the long edge of the glass uses the shearing load of the glass from the handrail right down to the base rail. Again this “out of the box” approach allows for clean glass corners and for cornered balconies to require less posts than ever.

Spreading the resistance across the curve

To top these designs some curved balconies, depending on the radii, are amazingly strong without posts! The curved glass railing is a very stable element to the greater ability of the curve to resist a load by way of spreading the resistance across the curve, similar to a brick arch. In addition the glass itself lends additional horizontal support in a fashion that each curved glass panel cannot bend along the vertical side.

The implementation, installation and manipulation of curved balustrades and curved glass requires a higher level of experience and expertise and may require an experienced professional to correctly install the job, wherever possible we recommend that an experienced installer be employed to install curved balustrades.

It is important to note and be prepared for the following when dealing with curved balustrades:

Installing curved balustrades and curved glass »

When Nigel Slydell, a property developer, decided to build his own home by the shore at Hayling Island, he wanted to make sure the property was able to make the most of the views. With the help of his architect he searched the internet and discovered Balcony Systems. The house, a detached four bedroom 1930s style property, now benefits from a range of Balcony’s products:

Curved glass windows and doors keeping with a 1930s style building »