Tag-Archive for ◊ Curved glass ◊

Balcony have recently supplied and installed 4 sets of curved sliding doors overlooking the National Trust village of Lacock.

The interesting fact about these doors is that balcony was required to make rails which were over 10 meters in length in one unit so as to maintain a continuous frame around the opening. This required some modification of the standard door system but the results are marvellous.

The curved doors replaced a facetted system originally designed. The curves complement the property and have allowed larger spans of glass than any facetted option could have allowed.

The curved doors were RAL powder coated and the curved glass used was 28mm Low-E double glazing with safety glass on both sides.

Also incorporated into the first floor doors were two sets of curved Juliet Balconies to protect the users from a fall when the doors are open.

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.

Property developer Paul Nash of Kooks Ltd in Hove specified Juliette balconies in his East Grinstead development.

The project

The project is a luxury gated development of three mews houses in the centre of the town. Set back from the main street in a secluded position, each three bedroom house has a large (2.84m) standard Juliette balcony on the master bedroom at the rear of the property and a bespoke 15sq metre balcony with hand rails at the front to the second bedroom, which could also be used as a study or dining room.

Keeping the clean lines and modern look

Juliet balconies for clean lines and modern look »

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 »

Balcony’s stunning curved patio doors and Juliette balconies complement traditional features in a new modern home with spectacular views.

Curved glass doors for panoramic 180° view »

Balcony’s sales staff are commenting on a great increase of enquiries for curved sliding patio doors. These enquiries I am told are mainly coming from architects with a large number of these curved door projects relate to refurbishment projects.

Increase in sales of curved doors »