zoe61 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Trying to decide upon a staircase, ideally wanting to go for a frame-less glass balustrade on the stairs and landing as per the example. However having just installed a frame less Juliet glass balustrade on a balcony I'm shocked at how much the glass flexes and I'm not concerned about my choice. For anyone that's installed one or ever seen one in person, do they move? Is it disconcerting? And is there a difference in movement between the bottom mount (u-channel) fixing and the side mount metal stud/buttons option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 The glass in a frameless Juliet balcony should be toughened and laminated. It is likely to be at least 12mm thick. The glass thickness and the location of the fixing points are the main factors concerning how much flex. Are you having a handrail on the stairs? I wouldn't want my mum trying to grab the top of a sheet of glass to steady herself after one too many drinkies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 A local joiner has just made and fitted a staircase for me. The glass balustrade is 'bolted' to the stringer. The glass is 15mm toughened, there is absolutely no movement or flex in the glass. A small handrail was fitted to the top of the glass which adds some overall rigidity, however the handrail is really intended to keep the glass from getting marked with loads of greasy / sticky finger marks.There are a lot of photos on the joiner's Facebook page, I have attached a link to the photos which give a lot more detail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Fantastic job. I really like to see quality craftsmanship and it seems so rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoe61 Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 Thanks @Neil- the staircase looks amazing!! Can I ask what thickness your strings are? Ive been told I need to increase mine to 42mm but im worried its going to look massive! @Mr Punter I wonder if its because we only have 12mm then, and increasing the glass to 15mm just gives it that more rigidity. Ideally I don't want a handrail due to visual appearances. The staircase is a straight flight that divides the open plan ground floor room into two halves, but I want to try keep my options open incase once installed I decide it needs a handrail then at least I can install one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 @zoe61 - the strings are 38mm thick and 250mm deep and the treads are 50mm thick. It looks quite 'chunky' and solid which is the look that we wanted. There is no movement at all in the stairs or glass, however be aware that the glass is extremely heavy. There are lots more photos if you look on the Ashington Timber and Joinery Facebook page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Ours is two sheets of 8mm toughened then laminated and bolted to the steel stringers. Absolutely rock solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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