Whitepaper: Laminate Glass Balustrades & Balconies

The use of monolithic glass in balustrades has meant that, post breakage, a large area of the balustrade has no form of guarding, impacting life safety. For this reason, Sapphire has advocated the industry moving away from monolithic glass to laminate glass to improve post-breakage barrier integrity. During this research, we have spoken to many of the key players in the glass industry and within construction. We have researched every fire brigade in the UK to get a full picture of balcony fires and conducted various laminate glass tests to test the products in isolation and in full balcony scenarios. We have also been involved in other confidential laminate glass research with specialist test labs in the UK.