Glass clamp

Four per panel is the usual rule on a balustrade, two on simple infill. The final number comes out of the calculation: it depends on the load of the category of the space, the panel width and the glass thickness. That calculation is attached to the quote; it is not read off a catalogue.

8 mm toughened to 12.76 mm laminated on standard clamps. 10 to 21.52 mm on floor spigots. 12, 13.52 or 15 mm on illuminated spigots, whose groove is dedicated. Going outside those ranges means changing product, not adding a packer.

In a balustrade, laminated is mandatory: it is the interlayer that holds the fragments and the panel in the event of breakage. Monolithic toughened glass is reserved for infill with no risk of falling — a spandrel, a division, a privacy screen.

No for a clamp, which grips the glass by its faces. Yes for a through-bolted point fixing — and in that case the drilling is done before toughening. Toughened glass can no longer be drilled, it shatters: a wrong survey is paid for in new glass, not in reworking.

Cradle Ø 42.4 mm or Ø 48.3 mm, or flat back for mounting on a plate, on a stringer or on a concrete upstand. The cradle has to match the tube: a Ø 42.4 clamp on a Ø 48.3 tube cannot be made good by tightening — it marks and it slips.

0.74 kN or 1.5 kN depending on the glass thickness, as tested. The weak link is almost never the spigot but its anchorage: embedment depth, concrete quality and cover are checked before ordering. On a doubtful substrate, we carry out a pull-out test.

Not on a floating screed and not on bonded tiling: you have to reach the structure. On timber it is possible with a plate and reinforcement beneath the floor. That is decided at survey, while you can still open up — afterwards it is a floor rebuild.

By sets of packers, playing on their thickness. The rubber inserts are not adjustment packers: crushing them to take up three millimetres is preparing a breakage at the first temperature swing.

No on the models with a sliding sleeve, where the clamping is concealed once the sleeve is slid over. On the others, a cover plate clips on. In every case, installation is carried out from the safe side — never from the void side, which also avoids scaffolding on a balcony.

Soapy water and a soft cloth, twice a year, three times in a salty zone or by a lake. Never wire wool or chlorine-based products on stainless steel: the iron particles left on the surface rust and produce pitting that has nothing to do with the quality of the grade. A check of the clamping after a year forms part of the handover.

The part itself runs in the order of 40 to 250 CHF depending on model and grade. But what makes the price of a clamp balustrade is the number of points and the alignment time, not the catalogue line. Installation is quoted after survey.

The systems we install are certified, backed by load testing, including clamps under a certificate of fitness for use. We attach the test reports for the chosen system to the quote.