Hi all, I am building an addition for some clients that will have a deck with living space below. The deck will have a torch on water proofing layer and a deck surface of cedar decking on sleepers. The view is absolutely amazing and they would like a glass guard rail that has as much glass as possible and definitely no top rails. We talked about maybe having a concrete topping instead that had a channel in it to accept and support glass panels with no other material in the system. Or other options discussed was a lower metal rail that supported the glass. Obviously the glass would have to withstand the leverage and would require a very thick glass but that is the look they are going for. Metal and glass or all glass guards and cedar or concrete over torch on membrane. Very modern look.
I was wondering if anyone out there had done such a guard before or might point me to some pre-engineered brackets. Thanks Angus
Replies
This type of system is everywhere in So. Calif. ie Malibu. My friend uses a system that is just SS verticles with solid glass panels. Don't know the manufacturers name but could get it. Try googleing it.
did one for a customer last fall , the posts were aluminum and the glass was tempered
the glass came in several different sizes ,in stock
the spaces left from the glass to the posts were filled using alominum pickets
got the whole works at Home Depot
Just a thought, but here is an application where I would rather (if it were for me) have laminated glass like is used in car windshields, so even if it were to break, it still holds together. Hate to be leaning against tempered glass enjoying the view of the ocean when something breaks it and it disitegrates into harmless little cubelike pieces and I end up 200 feet down on the rocks saying to myself "Thank goodness it was tempered, otherwise I could have been cut!" But, that's me--paranoid. If there's any possible way something bad can happen, it will!
If he inspected the type of glass will likely be dictated by the BI.
glass to begin with is code height , and to cut down on wind due to fact home is on a hill open to fields
there is a pool about 25' from deck and a view was wanted of the pool for safety reasons . when kids are around
to lean against the glass you would need to be on your knees
PS> the clients dont drink
PS> the clients dont drink
Well, to put a fine point on it the building code does not care if these specific clients are mannequins--deck railing rules are about safety for any visitor, and over the life of the building.
Now, with tempered glass, I'd be more than a bit worried about having an unprotected edge. The edges of tempered glass are where it is most vunerable. Hit from the sturdy corner of something on the edge can crack the entire sheet.
Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
there are no unprotected edges as you have a top and bottom rail and each end is butted against a picket
the whole thing was sturdier than i expected it to turn out however it was not cheap
Thanks that would be great if you could find me the name of the company.
Go online to CR Laurence.com. They are the leading supplier to the glass industry of just about anything that you might need.
Thanks for the name, this company has so many options that that I think will fit the bill. Now I just have to find out if the stuff is available here.
Thanks all for the responses. The cable system wouldn't work here due to the climbability. That is what they originally wanted both outside and on there interior guards and hand rails.
I definatly like the shock collor idea easy to install and no worrys about any blocked view. I wonder if workers comp would allow those to keep workers away from edges as well.
no problem. Hope you find what you need
Cleaning is a point to consider. I read an article a while back (in FHB I think but maybe JLC), or maybe it was a thread here. Regardless, the point was that glass is great, until it gets dirty, then it looks like c**p which will screw up any view. If they are willing to clean regularly that's fine. Otherwise, there are some nice cable systems that barely impact the view, and do not require frequent washing. Just a thought.
Cable railings which run horizontally will not meet the building code in many areas. It creates a ladder for children to climb.
Just put up an "electronic" fence ("invisible" fence--like for dogs) and have you and your guests wear shock collars! Think the BI would go for that?
Great idea, wonderful way to maintain the view. Still laughing...........
Most likely, if they can afford the location of the house and the glass system for the view, THEY ain't gonna be the ones cleaning it. They will have PEOPLE to do that.
See if you can find this thread 95980.20
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
Thank you that had some good stuff in it as well.
Our beach house has 1/2" acrylic panels with no railing on top. This is not a glass wall application but view panels in the stucco railing/wall. The clips were custom made with rubber bushings isolating the plastic from the stainless steel clips. After 15 years they have withstood storms and drunks without breaking. It is hard to keep them clean and there are some scratches but the beach is hard on everything.
The new ski cabin wanted a glass wall around the deck. The BI would not let us have glass with no top hand rail. Other houses in the area have railing free glass walls but he was adamant. If we had called it a windscreen and made the glass taller it would have been OK for us to omit a top rail but we custom built a metal rail with a small top handrail and 1/2" tempered glass panels. I think we used CR Lawrence clips but there were lots of options. While it was not cheap, it was not outrageous either. It looks pretty good. We haven't had it long enough to assess durability or cleaning.
If we had gone with the windscreen railless system, the bottom shoe (to hold the glass) would have intruded on the view a bit. Also shoveling snow off the deck would have been difficult as there would have been no lower gap to sweep the deck clear. But there were lots of options, get a good glass guy.
Eric
Good to know about the acrylic panels. I am going show them the options for the clips and products suggested here as well as some of the pics from suppliers web site. hopefully they see what they had in mind. Thanks
Note that the plastic has really gone up in price. We are doing an artistic panel stair barrier out of 1/2" polycarbonate and it is quite a bit more expensive than tempered glass. Acrylic was almost as much as the polycarbonate and not quite as good on impact. Plastic is a lot easier to cut and carve than tempered glass so this application favors the plastic. I will replace the beach house panels with tempered (or maybe laminated) glass if I have to replace them (unless the price of plastic drops again).
Eric
Since cutting tempered glass is physically impossible (without ending up with a pile of little glass pieces all over the floor), cutting plastic or laminated glass is definitely going to be a lot easier. ;-)
I sell a few glass rail jobs a year. So far none with the no top rail design but in the southern US it is more popular. Check your local code but in many areas three glass panels or "balustrades" must be jointed together in case one breaks. This can be a very small bent stainless channel which is less obtrusive than a big top rail. The idea to look at the CR Laurence product line was a great idea and R B Wagner is another. You guys in Canada have different rules than us and the so called ladder effect is more of an issue for you than many areas in the US so you are probably not able to use a cable system.
We are installing a glass rail in a library next week that uses the heavy aluminum shoe like you have probably seen in commercial applications but it will use mechanical fittings to hold the glass, not poured grout. The aluminum shoe does form a curb along the deck edge unless you sink it below in which case your glass comes all the way to the walking surface. Either way not good for drainage or snow removal.