Barriers and balconies
How to measure for a balustrade panel
A balustrade is a barrier that holds people back, so the design comes first and the panel size falls out of it. This page covers the measuring; the loading is a job for a specification, not a tape measure.
Before you start
What you are measuring
The dimensions that decide the job
- The clear opening between the posts or the fixing points, at the top and at the bottom.
- The height from the finished floor level to the top of the glass.
- The channel, clamp or spigot positions and the clearance the system needs.
- The drop the barrier guards.
What to have in your hand
- A steel tape measure
- A spirit level
- The manufacturer's fixing data sheet
The printable measuring pack carries the record sheet these steps fill in, plus a tracing grid for shapes a tape cannot describe.
In this order
The steps, in the order the workshop takes them
Start from the design, not the tape
A barrier is covered by Approved Document K and designed to BS 6180, and the loading it has to take decides the glass before any measurement does. Settle the system, the fixing and the specification first.
Measure the clear opening between the fixings
Post face to post face, at the top of the panel and again at the bottom. Posts that are plumb give the same figure twice; posts that are not tell you now rather than on the day.
Measure the height from the finished floor
From the finished floor level, including the flooring that is not down yet, to the top of the glass or to the underside of the handrail. A barrier measured from the subfloor ends up short of the required guarding height.
Take the deduction the system needs
A base channel, a clamp set or a spigot each state the clearance they require around the glass. That figure comes from the fixing manufacturer, not from us, and it is deducted from the clear opening to give the glass size.
Record the floor levels and the drop
A stair or a terrace rarely gives two panels the same height. Measure every bay separately, record the drop each one guards, and number them to match a sketch.
Mark the holes, notches and handrail
Point-fixed panels, a slotted handrail or a notch round a newel post all go in before toughening. Give the position of each from the same two edges, on every bay.
What we work to
The tolerance, and where to start
We cut to plus or minus 2mm, and every order is confirmed with a dimensioned drawing before anything is made. The channel's own clearance is much larger than that and is the figure that matters here. Never take a deduction twice: give us the clear opening and the fixing system, or give us the finished glass size, and say which.
The usual specification
10mm toughened
10mm toughened minimum. Barrier loading needs a site-specific check, often 12mm or laminated.
The configurator link below opens with a single bay at 1000 x 1100mm in that specification. It is a starting point the workshop cuts often, not a guess at your opening: change the numbers to the ones you have just measured and the price and the drawing follow.
What costs people a panel
The common mistakes
Measuring the handrail, not the glass
A handrail overhangs the panel it caps. The glass is the clear opening less the system's clearance, not the length of the rail.
Sizing panels before the posts are set
Posts move during fixing. Measure the openings once the frame is in and plumb, never from the drawing alone.
Measuring from the subfloor
The tiles, the decking or the screed are still to come, and the guarding height is measured from the finished surface.
Assuming toughened is enough
A barrier is a containment case as well as an impact one. Many balustrade designs call for laminated toughened glass so a broken panel still holds. Follow the specification, not the cheapest pane that fits.
When you order
What to send us
- The clear opening and the height for every bay, numbered to a sketch.
- The fixing system, its make and the clearance its data sheet states.
- The drop each bay guards and whether there is a handrail.
- Any holes, notches or point fixings, with their positions.
Write them on the record sheet as you go: download the three-page measuring pack PDF, or read the same sheets on the measuring pack page.
Next
Settle the rest before you order
- The barrier and critical location rules
- The thickness a balustrade starts at
- Ask us for a specification
Measuring something else? Every product we cut to size has its own guide on the measuring pack page.