In new residential and commercial buildings, glass railings for exteriors and interiors are increasingly used.
This trend is required by the new styles and fashions dictated by modern design, because they allow to protect spaces while guaranteeing the new architectural lines.
The main uses concern:
internal open staircases, common stairs in condominium buildings, balconies, terraces and flat roofs, mezzanines, catwalks and pedestrian bridges, open spaces on many floors in shopping centers, convention centers, hotels and office buildings.
There are three main types of glass railing:
- crystal parapets real, or where glass also takes on a structural role
- steel and glass railings, with a metal structure made up of metal uprights and crosspieces and an infill of transparent panels;
- mixed parapets, for example in masonry or concrete with glazed buttonholes variously extended.
Obviously all these solutions must respect the very strict requirements to ensure the user safety.
The standards are mainly of two types: relating to all railings regardless of their material and specific to glass for architecture.
Standards on railings and balustrades
Each balustrade must comply with the regulations that are contained in the
Decree 17 January 2018 (Update of Technical Standards for construction);
Ministerial Decree of 14 January 2008 (Technical standards for construction);
Ministerial Decree 236 of June 14, 1989 on the removal of architectural barriers;
UNI 10809: 1999 standard (Prefabricated railings, balustrades or parapets. Dimensions, mechanical performance and test sequence).
The rules concern the height, shape and strength of the balustrades.
First, it is mandatory to install a parapet in the presence of any difference with height greater than 50 cm: the main purpose of a railing is in fact to protect against falls and a fall from that height can already be dangerous, especially for children and the elderly.
THEminimum height request is instead of:
100 cm negli public buildings and open to the public;
100 centimeters in private buildings like the stairs of an apartment building;
90 cm in private spaces ad secondary use, for example the internal staircase of an apartment.
As for the design, this must prevent thecrossing nowhere in one sphere with diameter greater than 10 cm.
The elements of a balustrade must also disadvantage a can climbing over.
Un glass parapet, being made up of monolithic panels fully complies with these requirements.
While for steel and glass balustrades, great attention must be paid to any empty space between the structure and the glass plates.
Any railing must also ensure one horizontal resistance at the level of the handrail or the upper edge of at least 1 kN / m (100 kg / m) in private spaces for non-common use (for example the external parapets of the balconies of an apartment).
Di 2 kN / m (200 kg / m) for walkways, balconies, ramps and stairs in areas subject to crowding including for example public places, pedestrian walkways, external ramps and common stairs of residential buildings.
Remember that the glass balustrades are subject to the UNI 7697 (Safety criteria in glass applications) which establishes the criteria for choosing glass in building based on their intended use.
A glass parapet must in fact guarantee some fundamental requirements such as impact resistance and the impossibility of provoking wounds in case of accidental breakage: in other words, a glass for parapets must not break or in any case must not produce dangerous splinters and sharp.
The glazing for balcony railings must also ensure adequate weather resistance and to impact from hail and atmospheric phenomena such asimpact with objects heavy carried by a strong wind.
Source: https://www.lavorincasa.it/
