In South Africa, Home Owners and Building Owners are mostly unaware of the fact that their balustrade system needs to be tested and signed off by a professional structural engineer in order for the building inspector to issue the occupation certificate. These balustrade standards have been set in accordance with the South African National Standards. It is crucial to ensure that you start your new project off with a structurally safe and secure balustrade system in order to ensure minimal future breakdown of the system. It is therefore important that your balustrade contractor supplies you with a balustrade system that complies with SANS and that he will provide you with an engineers sign off on completion. It is sometimes difficult for building owners to see the value in paying slightly more for a system that complies with SANS rather than go with the less expensive option that has not been signed off and approved by an engineer but the long term benefits out way the short term cost savings when you opt for the SANS compliant option.
Routine Balustrade Safety Checks:
After the installation has been completed, the balustrade needs to be checked routinely and maintained if necessary to ensure the balustrade safety mechanisms are in working order. When required, the home or building owner is responsible to contact the balustrade company to quote on and perform routine maintenance and tightening, in order to ensure the balustrade remains as stable and secure as the day when it was installed. With building movement and fixing surface deterioration, these systems can loosen and this needs to be addressed as soon as any abnormal changes or movement are detected in the system. Failing to address any issues as soon as they are noticed could result in accidents that could cause serious injuries or even death.
The Balustrade is only as strong as the fixing surface
The balustrade system also needs to be fixed properly to the fixing surface in accordance with the building codes, however the balustrade system will only be as strong and secure as the surface that it has been fixed to. It is important that the owner or builder provides a suitable fixing surface for the balustrade to be fixed to. It is as important that when the owner routinely checks for any balustrade movement or required maintenance that the he/she also ensures that the fixing surface is without defect. A timber deck for instance could deteriorate due to the external elements that it is exposed to and would need to be repaired or replaced if there are areas that have weakened during exposure and is causing an inferior fixing surface for the balustrade system. It is usually recommended that additional blocking is added to a timber deck in order for a balustrade contractor to securely fix his balustrade system to the deck. Balustrade weights are often under estimated and could result in the pulling and deterioration of timber deck planks and is therefore not a suitable structure to fit balustrades to without additional structural blocking methods. It is also important to check all built surfaces that balustrades have been fixed to for movement or settling cracks and or surface deterioration. This could result in the balustrade not being as strong as it was intended to be if there are failures in the structure that the balustrade is fixed to. Any defects in the built structure would need to be addressed immediately to prevent unforeseen accidents should the balustrades fail due to this structure failure.
Balustrade Standards
As set out by the South African National Standards, it is compulsory for the balustrade height to be installed at a height of 1 meter from the finished floor level. Home and building owners need to upgrade their balustrade system to the current standards in height, should their balustrades not meet these requirements. Up-stand heights and widths need to be taken into consideration and calculated accordingly when establishing the finished height of the balustrade system. Additionally, as recommended in the SANS codes in regards to balustrades, there may be no more than a 100mm gap anywhere in the balustrade system. This is to prevent small babies and animals from being at risk of falling through the balustrade. In residential dwellings the balustrade system needs to withstand a load of 1.5kN/m. This is considerably less than what is required on a commercial fire escape (3kN/m). Your qualified, SANS compliant balustrade installer will advise you of the correct materials and thicknesses that need to be used in order to withstand the load that your balustrade must withstand.
Areas in balustrade systems that could compromise the integrity of the system
Rust/corrosion
Mild Steel Balustrade systems that are exposed to external elements could be susceptible to rust and corrosion after some time, which will compromise the strength of the material and the balustrade safety, if left unattended. It is the owner’s responsibility to contact the balustrade company to quote on and to replace or repair the areas on the balustrades that have been damaged by the rust or corrosion in order to prevent unnecessary disasters. It is always recommended to rather opt for a material that can handle and withstand the elements that it is exposed to like grade 304 brushed stainless steel for inland, out door use and/or grade 316 mirror polished stainless steel for corrosive environments like coastal areas.
Tensioned wire
In the event of using stainless steel posts with stainless steel tensioned wire infills, it is crucial to ensure that the balustrade system complies with the same standards as mentioned above. The tensioned wire needs to be properly tensioned in order to withstand weight being placed on it by feet. It is typically the problem of most home owners who have small kids who like to stand on the bottom wire or the balustrade system. This can over time cause bending of the wire and this could compromise the integrity of the balustrade system and its safety. If this tensioned wire is bent or damaged the owner needs to make contact with the balustrade installer to quote on and to repair or replace the tensioned wire before it becomes a safety hazard for small kids or animals in the home.
Toughened Safety Glass
Toughened Safety Glass has become a material which is used in almost 80{19cc6dfde2095820d75378ef5ea2a7429af84c4e3caa3f1811d59515c3bb9677} of commercial and residential building’s balustrade designs. It is important to ensure that SABS approved toughened safety glass is used and also that the correct thickness glass is used for the application. Any frameless glass balustrade system requires a minimum of 12mm toughened safety glass and if the glass is not secured by means of a fixed channel then it needs to have a handrail attached to the top of the glass by means of a concave fixing fixed with silicone or with handrail fixing components. In the event of a post and glass infill system, the balustrade system must feature a top rail fixed to the posts by means of pin connectors and the toughened safety glass may be no less than 10mm thick. Any deviance from these thicknesses will result in the balustrade systems not being SANS compliant and the balustrade safety will be compromised. Any cracks or chips in the glass must be attended to immediately as this can result in breaking under impact and cause serious injuries.
Balustrade fixings and components
During routine checks of your balustrade system, ensure to check that none of the balustrade system’s fixings and components are loose due to building settlement or movements. Should you notice that any fixings or components are loose, you need to contact your balustrade contractor to quote on and repair or replace the fixings or components. Schedule regular maintenance checks at your property to ensure that your balustrade safety is never compromised.