Frameless glass balustrade on timber decking

T

trippes

New Member
Hi

we recently had some decking installed on a timber frame. Looking at the wood which was used, it looks like it is 120mm x 45mm timber joists. My other half thinks that a glass balustrade would look nice. She really likes the look of the frameless ones which mount in a 'U' shaped aluminium channel. The channel normally fastens through the bottom of the 'U' and into the decking frame. This sounds (to me) like it would not really be able to take any degree of force / wind shear. There is also a side mount option - so the bolts go through the side of one of the legs of 'U' shaped channel into the decking frame - still with me ? :) Sorry if my description isn't great.

I spoke to a few suppliers who basically say that, whilst concrete is the recommended substrate, timber should be ok if fastened on adequately - there is a lot of 'what if's' in the word 'adequately'. I don't know if they are just saying that to get a sale. Glass is heavy - a 1 metre square piece of the specified glass is 30kg. I was wondered about getting the side mount aluminium channel and reinforcing the decking with additional bracing and maybe even some metal straps / plates.

In my mind i have visions of the glass sitting there looking amazing - for about 6 hours - then an almighty wrenching noise - and the front of the decking frame being ripped away.

Anyone got any experience / recommendations / warnings ?

Thanks in advance

Si
 
You will not need 12mm toughened glass so weight will be a lot less the bottom rail is a good way of doing it very strong glass weight is measured length x width x 2.5 per mm of glass
 
ginger tuffs said:
You will not need 12mm toughened glass so weight will be a lot less the bottom rail is a good way of doing it very strong glass weight is measured length x width x 2.5 per mm of glass
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thanks for the response - may i ask why you think i wont need 12mm toughened ? - do you know what i should be looking at ? - gotta be honest - i thought 12mm toughened sounded safer :-) - but as we have established - i know nowt :-)
 
trippes said:
thanks for the response - may i ask why you think i wont need 12mm toughened ? - do you know what i should be looking at ? - gotta be honest - i thought 12mm toughened sounded safer :) - but as we have established - i know nowt :)
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Cheers - photo attached - finished ground level gives no drop greater than 500mm - appreciate your time - Si
 

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Looking at picture have a look at glass fittings that fix into front edge that way you don’t need bottom channel you will need to get glass drilled but looks a better job the fittings are stainless steel
 
Timber can definitely handle a frameless glass balustrade, but only if it's reinforced properly. That "adequately" part you're hearing from suppliers is doing a lot of heavy lifting 😅.

If you're leaning toward the side-mounted channel, adding bracing and maybe some metal plates like you mentioned is a smart move. I've seen some clean installs using that setup, but the structure underneath needs to be rock solid, especially at the fixings.

For inspiration, you might want to check this frameless glass balustrade.
It’s the kind of frameless look your other half would probably love, no top rail, super minimal. Makes a big difference visually, especially on a low deck like yours.
 
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