The program (Series 8, Episode 4 “Eat Yourself Slender”) showed Emma and Sean Kennedy (Kelly Adams, Matt Di Angelo) walking across our open grille flooring, climbing down our access ladder and through the corridors where our protection barriers can be seen.

The project? It was The Cube in Birmingham City Centre.

Which TV programme will our work appear on next?

We have been fabricating metalwork in Birmingham for over 30 years using experienced, local metalworkers. Our current factory unit can be found just outside the City Centre. Our efficient installations team also travel across Britain.

We are able to manufacture and install a range of architectural metalwork including;

• Steel staircases
• Mild steel / stainless steel balustrade
• Frameless glass balustrade
• Support steelwork
• plus much more.

Find out more about our Services and Contact us.

We would love to source all of our materials from the UK, however this is not always possible. Our steel is purchased from a local supplier, however it is forged overseas.

Client: Private Jet Charter Company
Main contractor: Sisk
Project: New hangar development
Location: Birmingham International Airport
Duration: 4 weeks
Completed: January 2012
Details:

At the new hangar development, we were required to undertake the following works;

• New galvanised steel staircase with long landing
• Stainless steel balustrade with glass infill panels and wall rail
• Polyester powder coated steel balustrade uprights with plascoat top rail to external ramp and steps

Client: Large retail unit
Project: Stainless steel balustrade with glass infill panels
Location: Swindon
Duration: 2 weeks
Completed: November 2011
Details: On this project we were instructed to install approx 20m horizontal stainless steel balustrade to the mezzanine gallery, plus approx 20m raking stainless steel balustrade to the feature staircase.

The uprights used are 48mm dia with a 42mm stainless steel top rail and 10mm toughened glass panels, all designed to achieve the required 1.5kN loading.

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 came into force on 6 April 2005. The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury.

They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person that controls the work of others (for example facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height).

The Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 which came into force on 6 April 2007 apply to those who work at height providing instruction or leadership to one or more people engaged in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team building or similar activities in Great Britain.

As part of the Regulations, duty holders must ensure:

• all work at height is properly planned and organised;
• those involved in work at height are competent;
• the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
• the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
• equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.

There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Duty holders must:

• avoid work at height where they can;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and
• where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.

The Regulations include schedules giving requirements for existing places of work and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (e.g. guardrails and working platforms), collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc), personal fall protection (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders.

HSE have produced a brief guide to the Regulations (PDF).

For all types of activities given in Table 4, the parapets, barriers and balustrades should be designed for a vertical load. This vertical load should be either a concentrated load of 1 kN or a uniformly distributed load of 0.6 kN/m, whichever gives the worst design condition in combination with the recommended horizontal loading of Table 4. This combination of loads should be taken into account in the design of relevant elements of the structure that support the parapets, barriers and balustrades.

Information taken from BS 6399 Loading for Buildings. We cannot be held responsible for the above. It remains for the customer to ensure all current regulations are met.

Client: Birmingham City Council
Main contractor: Wates Construction
Project: Stainless steel wall rail and balustrade / external balustrade and handrail
Location: Birmingham
Details: We were required to fabricate and install many metres of stainless steel and mild steel wall rail and balustrade to a number of Birmingham Schools.

Stainless steel wall rail was fabricated from 42.4mm dia tube with DDA compliant wall rail brackets. The balustrade was made from 60mm dia tube and had a timber toprail with 10mm toughened glass panels. Taking into consideration the environment, a mid-rail or ‘kiddy’ rail was also installed to the stainless steel areas.

The external balustrade was manufactured from galvanised steel tube which had a plascoat coating applied which ensured it was not cold to touch (Building Regulations Part M). Aluminium perforated panels were used to infill between the posts.

The external steel staircase has a galvanised finish with aluminium perforated panel infills and a not cold to touch top rail.

Client: Byam Shaw School of Art
Project: Dismantle existing stairs and replace with new
Location: London
Duration: 8 weeks
Completed: August 2011
Details: The two existing steel fire escape staircases on campus were suffering from damage, weathering and generally in a poor state.   Morris Fabrications were required to carefully dismantle and remove from site the existing stairs and then replace with two new steel fire escape stairs.

The work had to be carefully planned due to term times, as well as access around the building.

Staircase 1 was 3 flights (ground to roof) with closed riser checker plate treads, infill bar balustrade plus landing and support posts.

Staircase 2 was 4 flights in total (roof to higher level roof) again with closed riser checker plate treads, infill bar balustrade plus landings and support posts.

Both stairs were galvanised to ensure a long life span.

As you can see, within a single family dwelling (house) an internal landing, stairs etc require a height of 900mm.    However when you go outside to a balcony or roof, the height increases to 1100mm.

Within most other areas you will find a requirement of raking guarding up stairs of 900mm and then across landing etc, a height of 1100mm.

NB; Within Retail there is a mistake – it reads 100mm whereas it should be 1100mm.

You can download a free copy of Part K (Protection from falling) from the Planning Portal website.

Please note the above is to be used as a guide only. You should always download the latest version from the Planning Portal website as the information may be updated at any time.

The frameless glass balustrade system uses an aluminium U-channel which can either be base or side fixed with stainless steel cladding fixed to the sides for the final finish, wedge packs or grips secure the glass in place, a rubber gasket and stainless steel slotted tube top rail can then be added.

Key points:

• Secure & Tested (Grip 1.5kN/m loading / Wedges 3 kN/m loading – to BS 6180)
• Ready-to-install modular balustrade kit
• Modern frameless design
• ‘Dry’ system using grips or wedge packs – no cement required
• Glass sizes from 9-25.5mm toughened, toughened laminated
• Professional installation service available

Scope of applications:

• Commercial, residential & public buildings
• Indoor and outdoor applications (stainless steel grade 316 for outdoor)
• Balconies, terraces, landings, staircases

Components

• Aluminium U-channel, base/top or side fixed
• Stainless steel cladding
• Grips
• Wedge packs
• Stainless steel slotted tube top rail
• Rubber gasket
• Toughened/heat soaked/laminated glass infill panels

Visit our eShop at balustradeglass.co.uk

Grip

NEW! We have now introduced our Grip system!

The Grip system has been designed to save time and effort on installation compared to other systems, including wedge packs. All you need is an allen key for installation and removal. The image below shows the simple process involved; a plastic packer is inserted to one side of the glass, the grip the other. Using an allen key, tighten the fixing to securely grip the glass in place. Glass sizes range from 9-21.5mm, however for a structural requirement (such as a balcony), we would suggest a minimum glass thickness of 15mm. The system has been proven up to a 1.5kN loading.

Please contact us for more information and pricing.

Wedge

Our experienced installations teams have traveled across the UK installing frameless glass balustrade ensuring a fast and reliable service.

Comments from our frameless glass balustrade clients;

“Just a quick note to say how impressed I was with your 2 fitters yesterday, the products are superb and the guys were fantastic.”

“You supplied to us in 2 weeks what we’ve been waiting for our local contact to supply for the last six months… so I’ll definitely be recommending you to my other design/architect friends”.

“Thank you for all your help in making my home in France a more pleasant place to live”.

As well as the frameless glass balustrade system with aluminium U-channel, we can supply glass adaptors or point fixings which mean you can fix the glass straight into the treads or walls to also offer a frameless look.

We can also supply many stainless steel components, please download a stainless steel components brochure – ‘Stainless steel components’ (ZIP, 4MB)

If you are interested in our frameless glass balustrade, please contact us for further details.

Frameless Glass Balustrade Gallery

If you require any further information, please visit our eShop at balustradeglass.co.uk or do not hesitate to get in contact. We’re happy to help.