Glass Balustrades on Point Fixings — Fixings as Design, Transparency at its Best
Point fixings are metal plates or clamp shoes that hold the glass directly on the structure. Visible and shown with intent, they give the balustrade a confident industrial or contemporary character.
Visible fixings that become a design feature
Point fixings are metal components — usually brushed 316 stainless steel or powder-coated aluminium — bolted to the structure (slab, stair nosing, floor) and gripping or clamping the glass. Unlike the base channel, they stay in view: they are part of how the balustrade looks, and they can be specified in particular designs.
This is the most versatile system of the four: it goes onto an existing floor finish with no breaking out, it suits almost any structure (concrete, steel, timber), and it works indoors and out. It is the system we recommend for refurbishments and for any project where the base channel is not an option.
Balustrade on stainless steel point fixings — private house
In a private house in Luxembourg, Vitralux made an internal staircase safe with laminated glass panels held on Q-railing stainless steel point fixings. Every panel follows the pitch of the stair: timber templates, cut to measure, confirmed the look and the dimensions on site before the final panes were made in our Howald workshop.
See this project and the rest of our work
- Clear laminated glass. The benchmark: two heat-strengthened panes bonded by a PVB interlayer. Clear, neutral, strong. If the glass breaks, the fragments stay bonded to the interlayer. Certified to EN 12600.
- Laminated glass with a coloured interlayer. A tinted PVB interlayer between the two panes: blue, green, bronze, grey, red or a bespoke shade. The same safety as clear laminated glass, with far more visual presence.
- Special shapes. Laminated glass cut as a trapezium, as a parallelogram (raking staircase) or curved (a sweeping balustrade). The shape is cut before heat strengthening and lamination.
Point Fixing Balustrades — Specification
| System | Metal plates or clamp shoes at the foot of the glass — bolted to the structure |
|---|---|
| Fixing material | Brushed 316 stainless steel · Powder-coated aluminium · Matt black · Gold, depending on the finish |
| Glass | Laminated glass with heat-strengthened plies, certified to EN 12600 |
| Applications | Staircases · Terraces indoors and out · Mezzanines · Balconies · Refurbishment |
| Key advantage | Fits onto the existing floor finish — nothing to break out |
| Sizes | Made to measure — any dimensions |
Structural glass, our speciality
Point fixings are one part of what we do with safety glass: take a look as well at our structural glass floors and our glass façades.
Compare it with the other fixing systems
Base Channel
The purest result of all, with no visible fixing — but it has to be planned before the floor finish goes down.
See the detail pageAnchors for Insulated Façades
For terraces and balconies on an externally insulated façade, with no cold bridge.
See the detail pageFull Height & Juliet Balcony
Glazing from floor to ceiling, or a balustrade fixed to the window frame.
See the detail pageOur glass balustrades on point fixings
Your questions about point fixings
Yes, and it is one of the main advantages of point fixings. Unlike the base channel, they bolt to the surface of the structure, with no need to break out the floor finish. All that is required is that the structure beneath the finish is sound enough to take the anchors. Vitralux assesses whether it will work during the site visit.
Yes, provided 316 (marine grade) stainless steel plates are used — the grade with the best corrosion resistance. 316 stainless steel resists sea salt, acid rain and temperature swings, and it is what Vitralux uses on every outdoor application.
Point fixings come in brushed 316 stainless steel, powder-coated aluminium, matt black or gold, depending on the finish. Visible and shown with intent, they can be specified in particular designs to give the balustrade a confident industrial or contemporary character.
Laminated glass with heat-strengthened plies, certified to EN 12600, either clear or with a coloured PVB interlayer (blue, green, bronze, grey, red or a bespoke shade). Special shapes — a trapezium or a parallelogram following the pitch of a stair, curved glass for a sweeping balustrade — are cut before heat strengthening and lamination.
Your balustrade on point fixings, installed in Luxembourg
Free quotation, site visit included.
Also worth a look: All Glass Balustrades · Structural Glass Floors · Glass Façades