Safe railings and parapets safe

Designing railings and parapets

The parapets and railings are architectural elements are meant to protect people from falls. These elements, therefore, must meet a series of requirements, technical and of basic safety, in compliance with the standards of the industry.

Banisters and railings in addition to their main safety function can assume, however, also an important aesthetic value, but their main function of course, is to create a barrier of protection to balconies, terraces, stairs and various gradients.

Parapets can be made in masonry, natural or artificial stone, reinforced concrete, but they can also be made in steel, iron, wood or glass. This last solution becomes very interesting from an aesthetic point of view; in fact, parapets made with the use of a transparent material such as glass, allow to produce a solution of prospectus cleaner from the formal point of view and more interesting.

The use of a transparent material, put in place in an appropriate way, in addition, in respect of the safety and privacy of individuals, gives the possibility not to create obstacles to the viewer from the inside to the outside space. The limit created by the parapet protection over that in fact, in this case leaves a free visual.

The construction of parapets and railings shall be governed by the rules of the industry, specifically the SIA standard 358, which applies to the construction of railings and parapets of various types in buildings used for various functions. The application of standards is given to the design and construction of residential buildings, buildings used for training and teaching, construction of facilities for sport and leisure in general, the design of buildings with administrative function or service buildings for use in hotels, catering and tourism to places of worship, cultural buildings, care homes and hospitals.

Railings and parapets have to be put in place so as to support any weight, in case of load on the elements. Their design and subsequent predisposition is thus performed with an assumed load. The minimum height of the railings and handrails of the stairs must be 90 cm.

The handrail is generally expected for staircases of at least five steps to a height of 65 cm, it is necessary not to put scalable elements, because also children may at any time have the curiosity to go beyond the parapet climbing, the bottom crossbeam of the railing must be placed not more than 5 cm away from the edge of the stairs.

In general fall protection railings and parapets are needed from a height of 1 m of gradient. Specifically, up to a height of 1.5 m can be used for example also the plants as a protection, over this height is required a banister or a railing with a minimum height of 1 m, the height is calculated starting from the floor, also in this case the non crossable height is of 65 cm.

At great heights the parapet must be even higher, in order to avoid any dizziness or feelings of insecurity, however, when you are looking out. Also filled railings, at least 20 cm wide must be at least 90 cm high.

Railings and parapets on the market

I dwell on some products on the market, for example for a possible design choice. The company Faraone Srl offers on the market LINE BALAUSTRE, with products made in Stainless Steel and Glass, Aluminum, Aluminum and Glass. The use of glass coupled with steel or aluminum allows to propose various solutions, which provide the prevailing structural component, which sometimes is the part in aluminum or steel, sometimes the glass part.



An interesting product is Maya, which combines steel rods with glass parts, yet another appealing product from an aesthetic point of view, proves to be Lumina, a balustrade made by the same company, aluminum and glass, characterized by lightness and technicality of constituent elements that make an innovative product.

Another company in the industry that offers unusual railings on the market that also have a certain aesthetic value, is Metalstyle, the company offers a line called Balconi e Parapetti, made in iron and to measure. Interesting is called the railing Balconies and Railings 47, achieved thanks to a sheet metal laser cut of 3 mm, the uprights are made of tubular 35x35, the top handrail is flat. The surface finish can be done through the process of galvanizing bath or galvanizing and paint oven.