Guide to Choosing the Right Clamps for Use With Glass Balustrades
Glass balustrades can bring a wonderful contemporary style to your home interior décor scheme. Glass balustrades can also be extremely effective when used as a safety barrier for external structures, such as decking, swimming pools, or balconies.
The fixings that you choose for your glass balustrades can really make or break the whole look, as well as potentially jeopardising the safety of the structure.
Here's a guide to making the right choice of glass clamps for your glass balustrade.
Size matters
The tempered, toughened glass that is used to make balustrades is formed from multiple layers of glass. This makes the panels very heavy, meaning that the glass clamps used must be strong enough to provide sufficient support. The correct size of clamp means that you won't need to use too many clamps. If you choose clamps that are too flimsy, you will need to use more, and this can spoil the clean, smooth lines of the balustrade.
Glass clamps come in two standard sizes; 10mm and 12mm. Make sure that you choose the right size clamp to accommodate the thickness of the glass panel.
If the clamp is too wide, it will be loose and the panel may move. If the panel is too narrow, the weight of the panel won't be distributed evenly, causing stress on the panel, which could lead to cracking.
Style considerations
When it comes to choosing the style of clamp you want for your glass balustrade, there are a few choices including:
- square
- rounded
- polished
- matte
The style you choose is purely a matter of personal preference and has no bearing on the structural integrity of the balustrade.
You will also need to place rubber protectors underneath the clamps to prevent the glass from becoming scratched and damaged. Rubber protectors are especially important for glass balustrades on staircases where the panels will move as people apply pressure to the handrail as they ascend and descend.
Positioning the clamps
It's important to place the clamps in the right place along the balustrade. Clamps can be situated along the straight sides of large glass panels, and corner clamps are useful where the panels are smaller and need fewer clamps for stability.
In conclusion
The glass clamps that you choose are an important part of the finished glass balustrade, both for aesthetics and for structural integrity. For more advice and guidance in choosing the correct glass clamps for your balustrade, have a chat with an experienced fence contractor or supplier.