Cable wire balustrade

[lowster]

Has anyone used this before? I wanted to put in a glass balustrade, but realised that it would need to be 15mm toughened (to meet regs) which would cost way too much. I found an alternative; cable wire, it gives the same open feel but works out at a fraction of the price. However, after looking at part k regs found that the cables can be no further than 100mm apart to prevent a child climbing through. Which brings me to my next point; if the cables are so close together does it then pose a risk of a child climbing it? Are there any regulations regarding that?

 

[tony1851]

Which brings me to my next point; if the cables are so close together does it then pose a risk of a child climbing it? Are there any regulations regarding that?

That's another part of Part K; balustrades must be unclimbable. That's what prohibits those ranch-fence type balustrades you see in 1960s houses.

(Even if cables were allowed, it would be very easy for a child to open up the gaps, unless the tension in the cables was infinite).

 

[lowster]

Cheers for the reply Tony, funny you should mention ranch type balustrades as that is what I am looking at replacing. It has gaps of 150mm! Are there any other modern bannister/balustrade options that aren't of the traditional vertical wooden bar variety? Do I have to even inform building regs regarding a change of balustrade?

 

[xdave]

Disclaimer: I have not built a cable balustrade that was subject to building regs notification, but I have installed them in my garden. I added a side handrail as well as across the top which would make it very difficult for a small child to climb unless they could lift their own body weight or reach comfortably over the top (a child 1.2m in height). If you do go down that route remember that the distance between the handrail and the nearest wire must also not be greater than 100mm which is why they are typically installed between the top two wires as shown below.


(Linked to supplier)

With posts <= 1.5m apart, cables at 90mm centres and hand tensioned you cannot separate the cables enough to get a 100mm2 ball through, so they are safe from children placing their heads through them and getting stuck.

The Q-Rail systems are nice to work with and widely available. Not sure they work out cheaper than glass though - cable balustrades are expensive to install.

 

[bernardgreen]

The tension in the cables means the end supports have to be strong enough so as to not bend under the tension in the cables.

An alternative to glass is a clear polycarbonate sheet such as Makrolon

There are various grades including abrasion resistant

One source is

http://www.sheffieldplastics.com/product_info.cfm?nav_id=3,1,1,1

There are other sources and other manufacturers of polycarbonate sheets

 

[Deluks]

We had the ranch style when I was a kid, I had great fun climbing up and down them.
The house we lived in before that, we didn't have anything, so we'd jump off the top playing 'paratroopers' and rolling on the carpet, like in 'The Wild Geese'

Suprisingly I'm still here, I was lucky to make it out of there alive!

The biggest danger to kids these days is sitting on their arses playing Playstation.