Glass under the handrail is being used in an increasing number of railings. This solution is highly attractive from an aesthetic standpoint, and it allows you to make incredibly clear railings with natural or opaque glass.
However, we must remember that a railing is first and foremost a safety feature, and it should be designed accordingly. As a result, the thickness of the glass as well as the fastening mechanisms must provide the desired security.
It’s very common to see projects with rectangular pieces of glass, usually of 1.20mts width by 0.80mts height, fastened by four bolts, and on the technical specifications, they indicate laminated glass.
Well, the laminated glass is composed of two equal glass parts fitted with a central resistant film, which means that in the case the glass breaks it remains joined by this film (such as cars glass), the problem is you can’t make a hole in laminated glass, thus you can’t fit the support system for the railing. For that kind of use, we need tempered glass, this glass goes through a process of tempering heat, acquiring great strength. But, at the same time, it is not advisable to use tempered glass plates hanging on a balcony in height, in the case of rupture of one of those, the glass would fall in the form of grains of salt, creating a risk to bystanders.
As a result, to achieve the great look of a glass railing and at the same time the necessary amount of security we would have to think of some of the following alternatives:
1) In order to be able to dig holes into glass pieces a secure solution would be to use tempered glass, they would be used by joining to parts and then making a laminate process on them, in that way, we produce a Tempered Laminated Glass, this kind of glass is secure and can be manipulated to fit different support systems.
2) Another alternative is to use laminated glass but hold it in another way, through “U” shaped profiles placed on top and bottom, so the glass can rest its weight throughout the base.
3) There is an option to take a laminated glass from the point without the hassle of drilling, this method is called “UV stuck”. It adheres to the glass disks around metal fasteners through this type of adhesive that is very powerful.
4) Finally, there are sophisticated stainless steel fasteners that take the glass like a clip.
The recommended thickness of the glass depends on the glass measures.
* To spaces up to 0.50 meters, 3+3 can be used.
* To support higher spaces, between 0.50 to 0.90 and up, 4+4 can be used.
* To support spaces from above 0.90 to 1.30, 5+5 can be used.