Rules for the safe fastening of balusters for stairs - wooden, metal and glass
Balusters are original vertical racks located between a handrail and steps. Balusters play the role of fences on the stairs, providing both safe descent and ascent along it. But balusters have another decorative function.
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Types of balusters
Rail-posts for stairs are classified according to the materials from which they are made (wood, metal, glass). The following types of balusters are distinguished:
Wooden balusters. In the manufacture of wooden balusters, beech, birch, oak, ash or pine are used.
These are the most environmentally friendly balusters in the production and operation.
Often they are made to order manually.
Such carved balusters are true works of art and a real decoration of any home.
Metal balusters. They usually have various curly shapes and are distinguished by the unusual design solutions.
They are made of both bronze and cast iron, as well as stainless steel and various alloys. Metal balusters are made both from a round or profile pipe, and from a square or round rod.
The shape of the baluster can be either straight or curved. The main advantage of metal balusters is an extremely long service life.
Forged balusters. Wrought iron balusters are a real find for the interior designer, since it is thanks to them that it becomes possible to implement the whole range of various visualization effects and give any staircase any style.
But wrought iron balusters are not so much a decorative technique as an object with increased strength and the ability for many years of service to properly perform its main function to ensure safety.
Glass balusters. Glass balusters are seamless, reliable elements of the staircase made in a highly artistic style, bearing the load of the entire staircase as a whole.
Glass balusters are made of crystal glass.
By lighting various colors from such glass balusters, you can create various fantastic elements of the decor of the room - either a cold blue icicle of ice or a bright column of fire.
Features of installation of balusters
installation of wooden balusters
The fastening of wooden balusters, as a rule, is carried out using self-tapping screws through the bar, which is located under the handrail.
Wooden balusters are installed with two types of mounting vertical and side.
The vertical type of fastening is used, most often during the installation of stair balconies and verandas.
Lateral fastening is used during installation, directly, of stairs and various stair structures.
When installing wooden balusters, it must be borne in mind that each baluster consists of three parts.
We list these main parts: the base, the central part (array) and the support.
The base of the wooden baluster should be sufficiently reliable and durable, since it serves as an essential element of fastening directly to the steps of the stairs.
The central part of the wooden baluster has an exclusively decorative function.
For her, excellent decorative processing is important so that the baluster retains its presentable appearance for as long as possible. And one more important part of a baluster support.
The baluster support attaches it to the railing of the stairs, so it is very important during installation to fit it so that it is attached as perfectly and tightly as possible.
Do not neglect the safety rules for the installation of balusters, which are allowed to fix the balusters from each other at a safe distance for their operation no further than 15 cm from one baluster to another.
It is also not advisable to use wood for the manufacture of balusters, which is different from what was used in the manufacture of the staircase itself.
installation of metal balusters
Fastening metal balusters.
As a rule, metal balusters for stairs do not require special imagination during the installation process, as they are made by the manufacturer and sold with a ready-made set of universal items and means for attaching them to both wood and stone, and possibly also metal basis.
These items are hinges or brackets, support elements for attaching the stairs to the stairs, and special screws.
Forged balusters are fastened at two points - directly to the supporting base (stairs) and to the railing, and, as a rule, is installed by their manufacturer and is set out in the instructions.
The height of the support is usually recommended from 80 to 100 cm, which is quite comfortable for most users.
The norms for the safe installation of balusters say that the gap between balusters in the fences on the stairs with open sides should be so large as to not let a spherical object with a diameter of more than 107 mm pass.
And the distance from the bottom of the baluster to the steps of the stairs should be such that there does not pass a sphere with a diameter of 152 mm.
installation of glass balusters
Neither the thickness nor the cross-sectional area of \u200b\u200bthe baluster itself directly play any role in ensuring the safety of the entire structure, since in our time the baluster rarely performs a direct bearing function, rather a decorative one.
Therefore, the appearance and design of balusters today are selected depending on what style and design of the stairs and the interior of the entire room are held by the owners of the house.
The fastening of the baluster made of glass is carried out using fasteners made of metal or wood.
Glass balusters, as a rule, are attached to the base with metal hinges or inserted into metal nozzles, which are attached with screws to the base.
Glass balusters of a flat shape can be fixed using the sliding method into a groove grooved in a wooden base, having a depth of about two centimeters.
For the manufacture of glass balusters, a durable one with a multilayer structure of silicate glass plates glued with a special polymer film is used, a transparent material called building triplex. This material cannot be broken, it does not break up into separate fragments.
With a strong impact on it, only small cracks remain. This undoubtedly greatly contributes to the safe operation of the stairs.
So, it doesn’t really matter which balusters for stairs you choose: from glass, wood or metal. The main thing is that they are reliable, safe to use and comply with the established safety rules for their installation.
