This is the first in a series of informative news segments from us at Steel Studio in an attempt to demystify SANS, with particular reference to balustrades, and your responsibilities as a construction professional with regards to these codes.
SANS clearly state that in order for a building inspector to issue an occupation certificate, the building inspector needs a certificate from a professional engineer stating that the balustrades meet or exceed the minimum requirements of SANS, bearing in mind that there are defined loading requirements for certain occupancy categories. For example, the line load in a shopping centre is three times that of what is required in a domestic dwelling.
Up until recently, building inspectors have not been requesting these certificates, however, this is now becoming common practice. We are finding that more and more balustrade installations are being condemned at the end of the project when the building inspector requests the certificate, and the subcontractor cannot provide it. This is often due to the fact that the balustrades were under designed in the first place. To remove and replace these balustrades with new ones, that meet the standards set out by the regulations, often involves astronomical costs and a long delay before the client can commence occupation.
The million-dollar question that now arises is, “who is responsible for the damages?” The subcontractor usually pushes the blame to the architect, saying that he manufactured as per the architect’s drawing. Alternatively, the quantity surveyor is blamed as the BOQ specified the section sizes. Unless the contract was a “design and supply” type, and clearly stated that the subcontractor needs to provide an engineers certificate on completion, it is very difficult to pin the liability on the subcontractor. Often the drawings and/or BOQ’s state that the balustrades must comply with SANS 10400.
Unfortunately, this is just one of the many SANS codes relating to balustrades. Another code, which is very critical, is the loading code SANS 10160, which ensures that the balustrades structurally meet the loading requirements for the different occupation categories. As mentioned before, there are many different codes relating to balustrades, and stating that the balustrades must only comply with SANS 10400 is simply not covering all the requirements of SANS. Considering the above, we highly recommend that you clearly state on all drawings and BOQ’s that the balustrades are a “design and supply” contract, and that the subcontractor must provide a professional engineers certificate on completion.
You might also want to add that when shop drawings are submitted for approval, they need to be first signed off by the subcontractor’s professional engineer. By doing this you will pick up a problem rather sooner than later and reduce unnecessary expenses later on. Currently there is no regulatory body governing balustrade specialists.
We at Steel Studio intend by way of these short emails to assist you in limiting your liability and ensuring that you receive a product that, most importantly, complies with the minimum requirements as set out by SANS. In summary, we highly recommend that you cut and paste the following on all drawings and BOQ’s relating to balustrades: The balustrades are a design and supply contract, and the subcontractor must provide a professional engineers certificate on completion. All shop drawings submitted for approval, need to be first signed off by the subcontractors professional engineer prior to submittal.
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