I have a platforn on the second story of my house that joins the two sides. I am thinking about glass/ lexan as a non obstructive rail/ panel for rails. Anyone ever done this or seen it anywhere?
Miami
I have a platforn on the second story of my house that joins the two sides. I am thinking about glass/ lexan as a non obstructive rail/ panel for rails. Anyone ever done this or seen it anywhere?
Miami
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Replies
My brother-in-law did that in his house. He owns a powder coat business so he had a welder custom make metal rails and balusters to hold the glass sections, he then powder coated the rails. The glass sections are about 6' x 3' and it looks great the only problem is that every once in a while he has to rent a cherry picker so he can clean the glass. I will be going over there in a couple of weeks and see if I can get some pictures for you and ask where he got the rails made.
mike, thanks! I'll look forward to the pics!!
Miami
A friend of mine did a rail w/ 3 inch pexiglass. It was something to behold. It went up 2 floors w/ six landings. Also used a metal channel at the bottom for support. In a recess at the bottom of the channel was a fiber optic light that went from the bottom floor to the top floor. When you turned on the fiber optic light the whole rail lit up. Whats more you could select from several colors depending on your mood. R.
Tempered glass panels are not really a recommended DIY project, although the metal supporting rails could be. Talk to a glass company, they could give you some ideas. Plastic always gets foggy
Gordsco
A hospital I was working at has a tempered glass rail installed on the balconies overlooking an atrium. Definitely not a DIY project it didn't look all that difficult to install the premade panels. The glass panels are rather heavy and once drilled and tempered you can't modify them.
I saw them in FHB. They were in a bedroom overlooking the living and they did it more for the light than the view. Glass panels bolted to the framing, capped with a wood rail. If I remember correctly, it was in a house with huge cantilevered trusses on a small (20x20) concrete pedestal/utility room somewhere in the NC/SC/GA area. No idea which
issue. Maybe I've given you enough information to look it up in the magazine index.
Miami: Here are some pictures of a stairs I built that had tempered glass panels. The glass panels had custom etching done as well. Excuse the poor quality of the photos as they are digital shots out of a scrapbook.
Stan, what beautiful work! You should be proud of that one! I believe that what you did was very close to the concept I am looking for. What type of glass exactly? Thickness? Hardware from the glass company? Longest span and heigth? I would really appreciate details, even cost if you care to share that info as a reference point. It is for my personal house so I'm willing to shell out a pretty fair amount to get what I want.( within reason! ) Thanks for the pics and quick responce.
Miami
Thanks for the compliment.....the glass was 1/4 inch thick..tempered. The glass company supplied the brass brackets that held the panels to the treads and railing. The glass work was right at $3000.00 The longest span if I recall was around 5 ft.
I believe that there was an ad in the latest FHB for glass rails. These had metal posts and metal top and bottom rails. If you want canitlevered glass rails look at Blumcraft (very expensive).
Miami,
I did one this year,bronze tempered glass and maple rails.
Vince Carbone
Vince: That is really a beautiful stairway...exceptional work
Thanks Stan,
coming from you thats means alot.Here are some more picturesVince Carbone
Vince: very nice...that stairs belongs in Fine Homebuilding..it would make a nice article
Really nice work, Vince! Thanks for the pics. Looks like a good concept. Miami
In an earlier post I suggested I'd seen something interesting in a book on bridge design. The attached photo (copied from the book) shows the handrails on a glass gridge in the Science Museum in London. The frame is flat stainless steel bolted into a U-shape that is 6ft long and 3 ft 4 in high. The panels are infilled with laminated glass.
It can be done.
In one of the bridge books I've read there were pictures of a pedestrian bridge, linking two internal balconies inside a hospital, built entirely of glass. In principal what you are after is a very big framless glass shower screen. The logistics of getting a really big piece of glass into position is likely to be the determinate on the design you adopt.
At a reasonable cost, a glass balcony can be set up on the terrace of the house and enjoy drinking tea and keeping the flowers in the apartment.