Balcony balustrade requirements in Ireland
A balcony balustrade is a safety critical component. It has to resist people leaning and crowds pushing, stay fixed to the structure for decades and satisfy specific dimensional rules.
Height and gaps
Guarding to a balcony in a dwelling is generally 1100mm measured from finished floor level, and no gap should allow a 100mm sphere to pass. That includes the gap under the bottom rail, which is often overlooked when a finished floor level changes after the balustrade is designed.
Where the balcony floor is a deck laid over a structural slab, tell your fabricator the finished level, not the slab level.
Loading
Balustrades are designed against horizontal line loads that vary with the building use. A private dwelling balcony takes a lower figure than a balcony in a building where crowds could gather, and the loading determines the post size, the fixing type and the spacing.
This is a structural calculation. It is why a balustrade fixed with four small anchors into a screed is not acceptable even if it feels solid when you push it.
Fixing to the structure
The fixing has to reach structural concrete or structural steel, not screed, not insulation, not a waterproof layer. Where a balcony has a waterproofing membrane, the penetration detail has to be coordinated so the fixing does not become the leak.
Face fixing to the edge of a slab is often better than top fixing for exactly this reason, and it keeps more usable width on the balcony.
Materials
Galvanised and powder coated mild steel, 316 stainless and glass infill are all used. Exposure is the deciding factor: higher floors and coastal locations are harsher than a sheltered ground floor terrace.
We fabricate balustrades for Dublin apartment and housing projects to the engineer's loading and to the applicable guarding rules, with the fixing detail agreed before anything is made.
Want this priced for your own job? Send us your drawings or a photo and we will come back with a fixed price, usually within one working day.
Common questions
Need this done properly? Talk to the workshop.
Send us drawings, a sketch or a site photo. We come back with a fixed price and a firm lead time, usually within one working day.