H4

Steel blade stanchions with glass panel infill on clasps

Design

The H4 is defined by blade stanchions supporting glass panels at four points by stainless steel clasp-style patch fittings. Handrail may be designed to sit on top of the stanchions directly, or offset vertically and / or horizontally by way of an offstand component (e.g. bracket, rod, stanchion extension). The choice of handrail layout may be influenced by the need for compliance with Australian disability and access standards. The dimensions of the blade stanchions may be varied depending on the design load and aesthetic considerations. Heavy duty blades generally suit a large scale commercial or industrial application, with lighter gauge blades suiting a small scale commercial or domestic installation. The typical installation of the H4 specifies stainless steel stanchions and handrail. However, painted or powder-coated mild steel installations are also possible.

Technical

Minimum stainless steel blade dimensions and maximum blade spacing are determined by AS 1170.1 requirements specifying balustrade design loads and fixing spacing. Note that spacing of blades can also be determined by the maximum span of the infill panels. Glass selection is determined by load and infill span. Care should also be taken with respect to overhead glazing where a toughened laminated glass may be more suitable than a monolithic toughened glass. Handrail type and specification is determined by balustrade handrail load and span between stanchions. Note that overall handrail size is limited to 50mm max diameter subject to AS1428.1.

Compliance

Arden Architectural is a BSA licensed contractor for carpentry, joinery, glass, glazing and aluminium as well as structural metal fabrication and erection. Arden supplies a Form 16 (Licensed Contractor) on all projects. In design and construct contracts, a Form 15 (Design Engineer) certification is supplied upon request. For products and services incorporating this design element, the table below details compliance with relevant codes and standards.

Code	Title	Applicability
BCA	The Building Code of Australia	Full compliance
AS NZS 1170.1-2002	Structural Design Actions – Permanent, imposed and other actions	Full compliance
AS 1288-2006	Glass in Buildings. Selection and installation	Full compliance
AS NZS 1554.1-2004	Structural steel welding - Welding of steel structures	Full compliance
AS 1554.6-1994	Welding stainless steels for structural purposes	Full compliance
AS NZS 4586-2004	Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials	Not applicable
AS 1428.1-2001	Design for access and mobility	Full compliance
AS 1657-1992	Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders. Design, construction and installation	Full compliance