Balcony
Glass between steel posts.
Updated 18 Oct 2026
Glass railing: steel posts, handrail and safety glass
Steel posts and handrail welded at your house.
Get QuoteA glass railing is steel posts and a handrail with safety glass panels between them — tempered or laminated. We weld the posts and handrail at your house and fit the glass. A glass supplier makes each panel to the sizes we measure, because tempered glass cannot be cut or drilled after tempering. See our railing welding service.
Where glass railings go
Stairs
Glass with a steel handrail.
Steel instead
Horizontal bars, open view.
Tempered or laminated glass?
| Tempered (toughened) | Laminated | |
|---|---|---|
| When it breaks | Small fragments, not shards (Pilkington) | Interlayer holds the pieces in place (Pilkington) |
| Cutting and holes | Before tempering only — sizes are measured first | Cut to size by the supplier |
| Mark on the glass | Etched or other permanent mark of type and thickness (PD 1096 IRR, Sec. 1801) | Etched or other permanent mark of type and thickness (Sec. 1801) |
| In guards, US building code | Single panel only where no one walks below | Required, made of tempered or heat-strengthened plies |
Guard rule summarised by the US National Glass Association (IBC 2407); the Philippine code has no glass-guard section. PD 1096: full text.
Heights and loads
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stair handrail | 800–900 mm above the tread nosing | PD 1096 IRR, Sec. 1207 |
| Balcony or porch railing | Required when more than 750 mm above grade | PD 1096 IRR, Sec. 1209 |
| Guardrail top | 107 cm ± 8 cm; holds 890 N (200 lb) | OSHA 1910.29 (US workplaces) |
| Glass in guards | At least 6.4 mm (¼ in); glass designed with a safety factor of 4 | NGA, IBC 2407 (US) |
US figures are a reference, not Philippine law; the Philippine code gives no guard height for houses.
Details that keep a glass railing safe
Handrail on top
A steel top rail stays in place if a panel breaks.
Posts first
We weld the posts, then measure each gap for the glass.
Clamps
Panels sit in clamps or a channel with rubber, never steel on glass.
Check the mark
Each panel carries an etched or other permanent mark of type and thickness.
Steel work, glass and rust
Our part is the steel: posts welded to plates bolted to the slab or step, a handrail welded on top, and clamps for the glass. Steel is primed and painted.
Tempered glass must be cut, drilled and edge-worked before it is toughened (Pilkington), so the supplier makes each panel to the gap we measure between finished posts.
Near the sea, steel rusts faster: ISO 9223 puts sites within one kilometre of the ocean in corrosion class C4 (HDGASA, based on ISO 9223). In Moalboal, Badian or Alcantara, ask for primer and top coat.
All-steel instead? See stair railing designs. What drives the price: how welding jobs are priced.
Send the length, the number of steps or the balcony size, and a photo. Get a railing quote — we measure, weld and install in Ronda and southwest Cebu.
Questions
What glass is used for a glass railing?
Safety glass: tempered, or laminated. Laminated stays in place when broken.
Can tempered glass be cut on site?
No. It is cut and drilled before tempering, so panels are ordered to measured sizes.
Do you make the glass panels?
No. We weld the steel posts and handrail; a glass supplier makes the panels to our sizes, and we fit them.
How high is a glass stair railing?
The handrail goes 800–900 mm above the tread nosing (PD 1096 IRR, Sec. 1207).
How much does a glass railing cost?
It depends on the length, steel and glass. Send the size and a photo for a quote.
