Glass in the design of various rooms has been used for a long time and with success, including a huge number of design proposals for combining glass in staircase structures.
All about glass and stairs
It should be noted that glass staircases always create not only an interesting atmosphere, but also a feeling of increasing space. Transparent and seemingly weightless, fences are able to focus on themselves, and they can be used in any type of room.
Requirements
Externally, glass structures are always beautiful, but before you start using glass in the construction of fences for staircases, balconies, verandas, you must meet certain requirements. And first of all, we are talking about laminated glass.
A multi-layer product, it is always complete protection against damage and deformation, with it glass stair railings are durable and functional. In addition, this type of material is used in various areas of decoration, from railings to glass facades, fences for bank tellers, etc.
Before choosing laminated glass for stairs, you need to be aware that manufacturers offer several types of products:
- Simple, capable of withstanding minor mechanical shocks from soft bodies.
- Explosion proof. This type is characterized by increased strength indicators.
- Bulletproof, characterized by both strength and density.
- Frost resistant. Able to withstand frequent temperature changes, as well as severe frost.
- Flame retardant, withstands critical temperatures.
- Noise-proof.
Advice!
When making a glass fence, it is worth choosing the type of glass that most closely matches the operational requirements.
The installation of a staircase with a glass railing always requires full compliance with the project documentation. Various design solutions in working with glass, eventually gave rise to a huge number of requirements.
Even when carrying out work in the private sector, it is necessary to be familiar with the requirements of SNiP in this direction. But there are still norms that are established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the sanitary standards of the Ministry of Health, the rules for fire safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. All these are prerequisites for work, because glass is still an incredibly traumatic material.
Important!
Non-compliance with the norms of the Ministry of Health leads to the imposition of significant fines when it comes to construction in public buildings.
In the private sector, this does not always matter, but personal responsibility comes to the fore.
Railing selection
Since glass railings for stairs, with all the external beauty and excellent performance, it is also a complex element that must combine safety, comfort, and attractiveness..
There are simple technical requirements for glass:
- Uniform thickness over the entire surface.
- The glass should be completely free of drops.
- The difference between the lowest and highest points of the glass should not exceed 0.5 mm, with a thickness of 3.5 mm, and with a thickness of 5 to 7 mm, the difference should not be more than 0.7 mm.
Glass allows you to make a fence for elastic spans in absolutely any shape, depending on the wishes of the customer. At the same time, the glass can be not only completely transparent, but tinting or drawing can be applied to its surface.
Simple glass stair railing can be of several types of glass that are suitable for this type of work:
- Plain, clear glass.
- Patterned.
- Colored, the color is initially set during production.
- Sunscreen, with a special coating.
- Painted.
- Painted and tempered.
- Clarified.
If the choice falls on a railing made of glass and steel, then it is worth mentioning here that such a combination does not allow any stains or iridescent stains, all these defects instantly appear.
Of the requirements before installation, it is worth mentioning separately the ends of the material. Glass with smooth, polished ends can last much longer in operation than a product, the ends of which are prone to chips, and the corners will be somewhat damaged. Moreover, these defects do not tell immediately, but gradually violate the strength of the product.
Any insignificant notches are capable of accumulating stress, while outwardly this will not manifest itself in any way, however, when the critical voltage level is reached, the glass will collapse even from a slight and soft impact.
Arrangement of fences
As a rule, the instructions for use in glass fences suggest that its thickness should not be less than 6 mm.
When installing a fence, a euro-edge is applied to the ends of the glass, this first of all raises the safe use of the product. At the same time, the version of the euro-edging is a processing method, and not a device that is applied to the glass.
When creating any kind of railings, not only safety elements and appearance are taken into account, but also the average proportions of the human body.
And here the following parameters are taken into account:
- The height of the guardrail should be comfortable when climbing stairs.
- The height should be in the form of a fulcrum.
- The railing should exceed the center of gravity for a person of average height to prevent falling over the railing.
Stainless steel
Most often, a staircase with a glass railing is made of stainless steel. It should be said that these are individual projects, with regard to private construction for public buildings, there are developed standard proposals. (see also Single-flight ladder)
Typically, each handrail manufacturing process is as follows:
- An individual design project is created.
- All design documentation is being developed.
- The strength of the structure is calculated.
- Parts of the fencing are made directly from stainless steel.
- Blanks are produced.
- Assembly is in progress.
Important!
As mentioned above, all design calculations must be carried out taking into account the requirements of SNiP, in accordance with the norms and technological requirements.
Assembly of the structure on site is done in two ways:
- Argon arc welding.
- Bolt-on assembly.
In the first case, you need a special welding machine and a specialist with experience, welding by this method is considered one of the most difficult. The product should not lose its visual appeal and retain its aesthetic appearance. (see also Ladder rungs)
The second method assumes that the assembly can be carried out with your own hands, since here the main requirement is to follow clear technical instructions and perform all actions step by step. At the same time, no special tools or assembly skills are required.
The structure will initially be completed with all puzzles, entrances, holes and fixing points. All this will simply need to be assembled and bolted.
Financial question
Any fence using glass is always a rather expensive structure. Moreover, the cost is calculated in linear and square meters, depending on the design features. (see also Two-flight staircase)
The price includes many parameters:
- Cost of materials;
- design development;
- preparation of documentation;
- transportation;
- assembly of the entire structure.
Naturally, the type of glass, its thickness, physical characteristics, and features have a huge impact on the price determination.
You can cite some average figures, according to which the price range of structures starts from 5-6 thousand rubles per one running meter.True, this is the cost of the entire structure, and not its individual parts.
Of course, you can reduce the price if you leave the assembly time for independent work, in this case we can talk about 20-40% savings.
Output
The high price of the product, however, is completely adequate and is due to the technical characteristics and external design data. And in the video presented in this article, you will find additional information on this topic.
