Railings for Dublin roof terraces and roof gardens
Roof terraces have become a standard feature of Dublin apartment and mews developments. They are also the hardest place to put a balustrade, because everything that makes them pleasant makes the engineering harder.
Wind is the governing load
At roof level the wind pressure on a solid or glass balustrade can exceed the crowd loading it is normally designed for. A glass panel acts as a sail, and the posts and fixings have to resist that as well as people leaning on it.
An open bar railing sheds wind and is structurally much easier. Where the client wants glass for shelter, the design has to acknowledge that it is now a wind screen as much as a guard.
Not puncturing the roof
Every fixing through a roof membrane is a potential leak, and roof warranties are often voided by uncoordinated penetrations. The preferred solutions are face fixing to the upstand or parapet, or a fixing detail designed with the roofing contractor and properly sealed and flashed.
This has to be settled before fabrication, because it determines the post type, the base plate and the balustrade line.
Getting the steel up there
Roof access on Dublin sites is frequently by hoist, small crane or a narrow internal stair. We fabricate in sections sized for the actual access route and bolt them together on the roof rather than delivering a single welded run that cannot get up.
Weight per section is planned around what can be carried safely by the installation team.
Finish for full exposure
A roof terrace gets more weather than anywhere else on the building. Hot dip galvanising with a duplex powder coat, or 316 stainless, are the finishes that will still look right in fifteen years.
Send the terrace plan, the parapet detail and a note on roof access, and we will design and price accordingly.
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.