If not properly built and maintained, balustrades have the potential to be a serious safety risk. Home and property owners should regularly check and maintain any balustrades, and builders should take great care when planning for balustrade installations.
Safety measures for owners
All homeowners and commercial property owners with balustrades should regularly inspect them for signs of damage or deterioration. You should do a visual check each year using the guides below.
If you are worried about the stability of a balustrade, avoid the area and restrict access. Contact a structural engineer or other suitably qualified building practitioner, who will be able to inspect and determine the full scale of the problem.
Glass Balustrade Handrail Regulations
For structures over 1m from the floor level, a handrail must be fitted. This will act as a supporting barrier if the glass breaks and will prevent people from falling or walking through. Toughened laminated safety glass may however be installed without a handrail.
What are the Australian standards for glass balustrades?
Australian Glass Balustrade Regulations | Demax Arch. As Australian Glass Balustrade Regulations and Standards, the minimum thickness is 10mm toughened safety glass. Heights are required to be at 1000mm minimum (to 1200mm with pool fencing) maximum panel widths as specified in the Standards.
What is the maximum span for a glass balustrade?
This is classed as an “infill panel” but they recommend that the maximum “span” (overall width) is best to not exceed 2100mm for 10mm toughened and 2400mm for 12mm toughened.
Checking balustrades
Balustrades or handrails are often made of concrete, steel and timber. They need to comply with building regulations and standards in terms of height, tension and fixings.
Height
- Balustrades must be at least one metre high, measured from the adjacent finished floor surface. Check the height of your balustrade, particularly if tiles or some other paving may have been applied after the balustrade was installed.
Toughened glass
- When toughened glass panels are used, it’s important to regularly check that it is safely attached to the balustrade structure.
- Any cracked or broken glass panes should be immediately replaced, by a qualified professional like Impact Glass & Glazing.
Fixings
- Make sure that fixings, such as metal stirrups to floors, bolts and screws are tight. Loose fixings on balustrades or handrails are unsafe and can result in injury.
Horizontal climbable elements
- Where it is possible to fall more than 4 metres, check that any horizontal elements of the barrier between 150 mm and 760 mm do not facilitate climbing.
Openings
- Check that there are no openings in the barriers that can permit a 125 mm sphere to pass through the barrier.
This information has been taken from the Victorian Building Authority website.