Common Farm

Working closely with a private client to deliver an external steel balcony with walk on glass was an exciting project for Glass & Stainless. Common Farm is a Cheshire country house with a beautiful view over the Cheshire plain and down into the external pool below.

Glass & Stainless wanted to create a balcony that was designed to capitalise on this view. It was important to both us and the client that the new balcony continue to make the most of that view and the natural light it provided.

The Brief: 

Set into the side of a hill on the county border with Staffordshire, the property’s balcony was to create a space from which the occupants could gaze out onto the countryside on a lovely summer’s day. However, it also needed to act as an external walkway connection between the bedroom and the living space next door.

In order to achieve this, we chose to create a frameless glass balustrade. This meant creating a frameless channel which could support a a 21.52mm toughened laminated clear glass with a EVA interlayer. This option offers crisp views and a minimalist design that doesn’t detract from the expansive views out into the countryside.

The balcony also had to match with the aesthetic of a new set of expansive front windows that were being added to the property.

To compliment this external balcony, Glass and Stainless provided the client with an internal glass balustrade staircase, in keeping with the look of the property’s new extension. This was carefully installed in exactly the same place as the former internal wooden balustrade.

Firmly mounted to the wall, the balustrade was to have a minimalist aesthetic, allowing light to pass through the frameless glass balustrade through to the doorway underneath. From our photos you can see how this was achieved using m10 rod fixings with 50mm glass adaptors.

The Work:

Externally, we chose to use both a powder coated channel and a powder coated steel frame. Powder coating is used to improve the metal’s durability and resistance, a major benefit when the structure will be subject to a variety of weather conditions. The walk on glass is 33.52mm toughened laminated glass held up by a galvanised steel frame. Glass & Stainless have used a variety of glass and finishing techniques in creating the different elements of this project in order to give the client exactly what was requested.

The Challenges:

The original design brief for Common Farm was a frameless walk on balcony, meticulously designed and engineered to fall within a budget. As with many private architectural projects, time was of the essence. Glass & Stainless were required to install the external project within one week. With only four weeks to manufacture the entire structure, we’re proud to say that the entire project was completed on time and on budget.

Working closely with a private client to deliver an external steel balcony with walk on glass was an exciting project for Glass & Stainless. Common Farm is a Cheshire country house with a beautiful view over the Cheshire plain and down into the external pool below. Glass & Stainless wanted to create a balcony that was designed to capitalise on this view. It was important to both us and the client that the new balcony continue to make the most of that view and the natural light it provided.

Moving the structural glass floor elements from the delivery vehicle to their final fixed position was difficult in such a remote setting, towards the rear of the property. This was overcome by using a crane to lift the glass over the building on slings and carefully lowering it into place.

The Final Result:

The client was incredibly happy that the balcony, steel frame and structural glass seamlessly blend with the new house design. The infinity aesthetic from the living area reveals unobstructed views, one of the client’s favourite parts of the house. They can now enjoy the year round views from both inside and outside.

The walk on glass lets light through to the lower floor, illuminating the space below. These were all elements carefully considered at every stage by Glass & Stainless. The bespoke 5m x 2m walk on glass balcony is an excellent example of what the experienced Glass & Stainless team are capable of achieving, and we couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out.

Crisp engineering mixed with well thought-out installation has created pragmatic solutions to all of the issues presented, without any problems occurring on site or post production.

“Our house was designed and built in the 1960’s and we wanted to renovate it and refresh it’s appearance with a more contemporary look, whilst retaining the original roof lines and split level design. Glass and stainless were extremely helpful in providing us with the bespoke items that we required, and having gone through the detail of the various options available we were extremely pleased with the finished results. We would highly recommend Glass and Stainless and are very impressed with the quality of their products, the installation and their customer service.” Janet McDonough

The Materials Used:

This project utilised 21.52mm toughened laminated clear glass for the doors, walk-on floor glass as 33.52mm toughened laminated glass, held up by a galvanised steel frame

DESIGN | SUPPLY | INSTALL

Glass & Stainless are the first choice partner for architects, designers and home owners throughout Cheshire and the rest of the UK.