James Parlour, FIS Technical and Vetting Manager, explains how to specify and design full height frameless glazing used in guarding so that it is safe in the absence of standardised requirements, methods of testing and certification.
The wish to utilise full height glazing as barriers in and about buildings without visually intrusive mullions is as understandable from a design perspective as it is popular. This construction will often feel intrinsically safer than a traditional partial height balustrade, but designing such a barrier to be as safe as it appears is not straightforward and is not well prescribed or described in standards and UK building regulations.
The definitions and performance requirements of barriers vary across devolved nations, with UK building regulations for England and Wales referring to BS 6180, and The Scottish technical handbook referring principally to Eurocode.
