Over the last few years, the building industry has become far more regulated and more and more industry professionals and homeowners are finding that they are unaware of the building regulations, especially when it comes to balustrades in terms of what complies and what doesn’t.
In an effort to regulate the balustrade industry, we at Steel Studio, have invested over two years in dissecting and understanding the regulations as set out by SANS in regards to balustrades. We are opinion leaders in the industry and we are working towards forming a balustrade association and developing a self-regulated and fully compliant industry. Balustrade companies in South Africa that don’t understand what the SANS codes say in terms of balustrades, continue to install non-compliant and unsafe products and they continue to put the lives of those who utilize the building, at risk. We are finding more and more that we are being called to a site where balustrades that don’t comply with SANS are being condemned by the building inspector and an occupation certificate is not being granted to the occupants. At a great inconvenience to the client, the balustrades have to be replaced with a SANS compliant system and then only the building inspectors can sign off on the project and grant occupation to the building owner. We are also still finding on the odd occasion that non-compliant balustrade systems are being signed off and if this practice continues to happen it is only a matter of time until another accident occurs due to an unsafe installation.
We therefore deem it paramount to point out to all building inspectors, the necessary SANS codes that balustrades have to comply with and the certification that the inspectors need to demand when signing off on a building project. Every balustrade company in South Africa must ensure that all of their balustrade systems are load tested and signed off by a professional engineer. Every balustrade installation must be furnished with a professional engineer’s certificate stating that the balustrades comply with the following codes: SANS10160: Which explains that the balustrade design has been load tested and approved by the company’s professional engineer and will withstand the load it has to withstand, as indicated for the occupancy category, and; SANS10400: This explains what the maximum allowable opening should be for the various occupancy categories; SANS1263-1:2006: (Part 1: Safety performance of glazing materials under human impact). Point 9.4.7. Refers to the fact that the glass needs to withstand an impact o f 400 J of energy by means of a sand bag (30kg) test; SANS10137:2011: The installation of glazing in buildings.
Please take note that a Certificate stating that the balustrades only comply with SANS10400 does not mean that the balustrades comply with the SANS10160 Structural Loading requirements for defined occupancy categories. A professional engineer’s certificate stating that the balustrades comply with SANS10160 and the further additional codes where glazing is involved, is paramount.
By ensuring that the balustrade installation complies with these mandatory codes, you are effectively signing off on and providing a safe environment for all that will utilize the building. We request that you pass this information on to building inspectors that work in your regions and that you ensure that the above regulations are adhered to by all balustrade contractors in the industry in order to regulate the industry and create fair trade among the contractors. Please feel free to contact Steel Studio for any further information regarding SANS compliant balustrades and installations.