Glass staircase balustrades not only look sleek and stylish, but they also provide a secure protective barrier. Usually, only one of three kinds of safety glass is used in their construction. Which variety suits your staircase is influenced by whether the glass panels are purely decorative or whether they provide structural support. Your expert contractor can advise which to use.
Laminated Glass
Laminated glass is created when two pieces of normal glass are bonded together by heat and pressure with a polymer interlayer in the middle. Sometimes, for specific on-site installations, the glass pieces are put in place while a bonding resin is poured in between. If laminated glass breaks, it doesn't fragment into pointy shards like regular glass. Instead, the interlayer tends to hold the glass in place, even if cracked, depending on the force of impact. The benefit of laminated glass is because the laminate holds everything together, the balustrades still provide some security until they can be replaced. Generally, for staircases, laminated glass can be used when it is fully supported by aluminium, timber or steel frames.
Toughened Glass
Another glass type commonly used for balustrades is toughened glass. Like laminated glass, toughened glass starts out as ordinary glass that undergoes a specific treatment. The method, in this case though, is a tempering process. A furnace heats the glass to extreme temperatures of over 600 degrees; air jets then blast icy air against it. The glass surface cools rapidly while the inner part retains heat for longer, and this temperature difference produces physical reactions that toughen it.
The benefits of toughened glass lie in its strength: it is about four times stronger than ordinary glass. If the toughened glass does break, it fragments into blunt cubelike pieces that are unlikely to injure bystanders — though, of course, in such a case, the toughened glass will no longer provide a protective barrier. Toughened safety glass is typically used as decorative panels on staircase balustrades that are fully framed with wood or metal. This does, however, depend on the height of the staircase.
Toughened And Laminated Glass
A toughened laminated glass is produced by combining both laminated and toughened glass methods; a polymer interlayer bonds two sheets of toughened glass together. Toughened laminated glass is not only harder than toughened glass alone and so less likely to break, but if it fractures, the interlayer will typically hold the cracked pieces in place. Thus, the immediate security and protection provided by the balustrade do not fall away.
Being familiar with the rules and regulations in force, your expert contractor or engineer can advise on which glass staircase balustrade is best. But, no matter which glass you install, all three types will bring a beautiful, sleek aspect to the area.
