Glass railings & guards
A guard is structure.
It just happens
to be clear.
Everything else on this site is about how something looks. A railing has to look right too — but first it has to hold a person who has lost their footing.
How the glass is held.
This is the decision that drives cost, look and what has to happen to your framing. Everything else follows from it.
Base shoe
An aluminium channel runs the length of the run and grips the glass along its whole bottom edge — the cleanest look, nothing interrupting the glass. It also transfers the most load into the structure, so the framing or slab underneath has to be up to it. Worth deciding before the deck is framed.
Standoffs
Discs through the face of the glass into the structure behind. Holes are drilled before tempering — never after — so the layout has to be final at order time. Good where the glass hangs off a fascia rather than sitting on top of something.
Base clamps
Individual clamps at intervals along the bottom edge. Less load concentrated in one place than a shoe, lower cost, and easier to set on an existing deck. You see the hardware, which some people want and some people don't.
Posts and infill
Metal posts carry the load and the glass fills between them. Least expensive, most forgiving of an out-of-level substrate, and the right answer on a long exterior run where a full-glass system would get very expensive.
Your inspector has the final say. We build to pass.
As a rule of thumb, a guard is required wherever a walking surface is more than 30 inches above what's below it. Residential guards are typically 36 inches tall and commercial 42, and the assembly has to resist a load applied at the top rail.
Those are the usual numbers, not a promise about your project. Height, whether a top rail is required, and whether the glass has to be laminated rather than tempered are all set by the authority having jurisdiction — and it varies between Ada County, the Bay Area cities and San Diego. We confirm before fabricating, not after.
Breaks safe
Fractures into blunt pieces instead of shards. The standard choice where a top rail carries the load if a panel is ever lost.
Stays put
Two lites bonded to an interlayer. If it breaks, the interlayer holds the pieces in the opening — which is why frameless guards without a top rail are usually required to be laminated.
Before you call anyone.
Can you put a glass railing on my existing deck?
Usually, but the deck decides which system. A base shoe puts a lot of load into a small area, so an older deck often can't take one without work underneath. Spigots or posts spread it out and are frequently the honest answer on an existing structure. We look at what's under the decking before quoting a system.
Do the panels have holes drilled in them?
Only for standoff systems, and the holes are drilled before the glass is tempered. Tempered glass cannot be drilled, cut or notched afterward — attempting it breaks the panel. That's why standoff layouts have to be final before the order goes in.
Will it stay clear outside?
It will show water spots and pollen like any exterior glass, and it needs cleaning more often than you'd think. The same hard-water coatings we use on showers can be applied, which makes the cleaning easier rather than unnecessary. Anyone who tells you an exterior glass railing is maintenance-free is selling.
How long does a railing take?
Longer than a shower. Laminated glass, tempered panels with drilled holes and any structural hardware all run longer lead times than shower glass, and exterior work can need an inspection. Plan on several weeks from final measurement, and more if the framing needs attention first.
Send a photo of the run.
A photo of the stair or deck, plus a rough length and what's underneath it, is enough for us to tell you which system fits and roughly what it costs.