Railings - Parapets - Balustrades

In a building the parapet (or balustrade) is a protection element, which serves to prevent people or objects from falling into the void from a balcony or terrace and in any place where there are differences in level between different floors.

Parapets can be classified according to various types:

– natural and artificial stone balustrades
– wrought iron railings
– wooden parapets
– glass balustrades

The railings (Metal parapet)
The railing is a type of parapet made up of vertical metal uprights that support closing elements, concluded at the top by a handrail. The uprights are normally fixed at the front section of the balcony, welding them to the metal framework.

Wooden parapets
The use of wooden parapets is not only limited to rustic buildings, but especially in the Alpine areas it is still the primary choice, and for interior furnishings; they derive from traditional rural buildings and partly take up the designs of stone balustrades.

In order to guarantee the safety of people, Italian law provides as follows.

Height: parapets must be at least 1 metre high from the floor level – workplace safety (legislative decree 81/08 – annex IV point 1.7.2.1.2) – overcoming architectural barriers (DM 14/06/1989 n. 236).
Protrusions on the inside: they must not have any protrusions on the inside located at a height from the floor that would facilitate foot support and climbing over by children.
Maximum void size: must be fixed in such a way as to prevent the passage of objects; they must not allow a sphere of 10 cm in diameter to pass through – overcoming architectural barriers (DM 14/06/1989 n. 236) only for public spaces.
Resistance to horizontal thrust: the parapets must be able to resist a horizontal thrust according to Ministerial Decree 14/01/2008 applied to the level of the upper edge.
Steel parapets: certification according to UNI EN 1090.
source Wikipedia