Glass balustrade on stainless steel posts

Post balustrade

Aluminium posts with glass infill: the robust answer for long runs.

The product

When the slab cannot take it all

The post takes the load at a point; the glass does nothing but fill.

Swiss Made glazing: made in Switzerland by our partner glassmaker, installed by our own teams.

A balustrade without posts requires a slab able to absorb the whole bending moment at the base, along its entire length. That is not always the case: refurbishment where the waterproofing is not opened up, a thin cantilevered balcony, timber decking on joists, a steel structure. The post system then shifts the question — the load passes through a few point anchors, each sized and verifiable individually.

The consequence is visible: the post shows. It is the one case where we advise owning it rather than hiding it. A post, aligned to a line over thirty metres, reads as a rhythm rather than a fallback — provided the spacing is regular, which is decided at survey and not during installation.

The system we install is a pre-assembled square aluminium post, AbP-tested for 10.76 mm laminated glass, indoors and outdoors.

The posts arrive pre-assembled and ready to install, with or without a handrail.

The load passes through point anchors, calculable and checkable
Pre-assembled aluminium, anodised or powder-coated in the colour of your choice
With or without handrail — the handrail stiffens the whole

The range

Post balustrade, model by model

Each section drawing is that of the system as actually installed. The dimensions beside it are the values the system is approved for, not ballpark figures.

M-13500000000

GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (alu)

AbP-tested
Suitable for 10.76 mm glass
Suitable for indoor and outdoor use

Glass: 10,76 mm

Compare

Choosing your post

A post system is not chosen on a linear load but on a spacing: the spacing, the glass thickness and the available anchorage govern together. We check all three at survey, and the final spacing appears on the quote.

Compared specifications of the profiles in the range
Model	Application	Glass thickness	Approved load	Fixing centres	Lengths	Mill finish	Anodised	Curvable
M-13500000000GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (alu)	—	10,76 mm	—	—	—

The loads shown are those the system is approved for. Final sizing depends on the use of the space and the wind pressure at the site — that is what we check during the survey.

Downloads

The documents for this range

A4 data sheets, one per profile: vertical section, dimensions, finishes. Final dimensions are set at the site survey.

M-13500000000GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (alu)

Non-contractual documents · Current edition

Downloads

System documentation

Mounting instructions, brochures, technical data sheets and certifications for the systems we install, in their original version.

Brochures · 3

Mounting instructions · 2

Certifications · 1

Document	Country	Language	PDF
AbP \| GOTU (P-239909-LGA)	DE	DE	1.1 MB

Swiss compliance

What SIA requires, what the system carries

The load quoted on a product sheet is the one the system has been tested to carry. SIA 261 sets what Switzerland requires according to the use of the space. The two scales do not line up — here is the comparison, done for you.

SIA 261 — horizontal load, measured at 1.20 m at most

Dwellings, offices, retail: 0,8 kN/m
Assembly areas: 1,6 kN/m
Assembly with crowd movement: 3,0 kN/m

SIA 358 — heights and openings

Protection required fromSIA 358: 1.00 m fall height
Minimum balustrade heightSIA 358: 1.00 m from the walking surface
Minimum height on a stair flightSIA 358: 0.90 m
Increase beyond 12 m fall heightrecommandation bpa: + 10 cm, i.e. 1.10 m
Maximum opening, child protectionSIA 358: 12 cm
In built-up areas, to be checked fromSN 640 075 / SN 640 568: 40 cm fall height

Figures taken from the technical brochure of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, which summarises SIA 261 and SIA 358. They frame the choice; they do not replace the engineer's verification, which we ask for as soon as the element falls outside the ordinary case. Final sizing happens at the survey.

The drawing

Drawn before it is installed

Every piece starts from a workshop drawing dimensioned to the half-millimetre. That is what guarantees a true line once on site.

Installed

Post balustrade, once installed

Views of systems equivalent to the ones we install. Our own projects will fill this page as they are handed over.

Frequently asked questions

About post balustrade

01Posts or continuous channel — how do you decide?

On the structure, not on taste. If the slab takes the moment at the base along the whole length and you can cast in or bolt down, the continuous channel gives the cleanest line. As soon as the waterproofing cannot be opened, the slab is thin, or the substrate is decking or a steel structure, the post becomes the honest solution — and often the cheaper one.

02Is a handrail needed?

It is not compulsory on a balcony balustrade, but it stiffens the whole and takes up tolerances at the top of the glass. On a staircase, by contrast, it is required. We quote it systematically as an option: on long runs it markedly changes how rigid the balustrade feels when you lean on it.

03Can posts be fitted on timber decking?

Not on the decking itself: the fixing must pass through and bear on the load-bearing structure, joist or slab. That is exactly what we check at survey, by probing. A post bolted into a deck board holds up to the push of a hand and fails under a crowd load.

04Are the systems certified?

The systems we install are certified, backed by test reports. We attach to the quote the documents for the chosen variant and for the spacing actually installed — it is that combination which is covered, not the post taken on its own.

The systems we install are certified