How To Adapt Your Glass Balustrade To Improve Your Deck

Glass balustrades open up a decking area, giving you a clear view of the garden and surrounds. This expansive vista is not the only benefit, however; you can adjust the glass to make your outdoor entertainment space more enjoyable in other ways as well.

Frosted Glass

Depending on the location of your balcony, you might want to increase its privacy. One way to do this is with frosted glass. You will still be able to enjoy the openness of glass and being outdoors, but the frosting will create a more secluded space. This type of glass also blocks glare from the sun, filtering through a soft diffused light instead. You can usually choose between different degrees of transparency, and you could also install a higher panel at one end to create an especially cozy corner nook. 

Tinted Glass

Another way to block sun glare is with tinted glass. Colours such as grey, bronze, blue or green can coordinate with your outdoor lounges, furniture or foliage to create a pleasing unity in the deck design. Darker tints in grey and bronze tend to filter light more strongly, and the tones become deeper in thicker sheets of glass.

Glass not only blocks glare, but it keeps out the wind as well, so on breezy or blustery days, you can relax in comfort in the outdoors. Other kinds of balustrades with railings or wires, on the other hand, let the wind right through.

Laminated Glass

Another type of glass can muffle noise and block radiation for a more comfortable deck. Laminated glass consists of two glass panels with a plastic-type interlayer. Heat and pressure produce one glass sandwich. The interlayer can contain technology to dampen noise, to filter radiation from the sun, and also to resist fire. This middle bonding also typically holds the glass together if it cracks, so the barrier remains in place until you can get help.

Toughened Glass

While laminated is one type of safety glass, toughened glass is another kind which is about four times sturdier than ordinary glass. Local rules regulate which types of glass you need to use for a particular deck. The height of the decking and the amount of framing around the custom glass balustrades decide whether you need to install toughened, laminated or toughened-laminated glass. Toughened glass can undergo treatments such as frosting or tinting also, so you can get the best of all worlds. And laminated glass can include toughened glass within its sandwich.


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