What Is A Balustrade?

Handrail, Fence, Balcony, Railing, Banister – you’ve heard of them, right? But would you ever use the word balustrade? You might not know what they are, but you probably encounter one more often than you’d expect.

As a leading UK balustrade company, we are aware the word ‘balustrade’ is not commonly known. Traditionally a balustrade appears is a classic stone baluster forming a full balustrade. But other than those who are involved in the architectural industry, who would know that, right? Well we are here to fill you in!

Similar to a lot of us that work at SHS, if we were asked before we joined SHS what a balustrade was, we bet we would have had no idea! Putting that theory to the test, 2 questions were sent to all members of the SHS team, the results are below;

1) Before joining SHS did you know what a balustrade was?

No: 69%

Yes: 31%

&

2) We showed the following pictures and asked the team to say what they would call these balustrades before working for SHS.

To answers:

Handrail 38%

Balcony/ glass fence 40%

A balustrade by definition is “A railing supported by balusters, especially one forming an ornamental parapet to a balcony, bridge, or terrace”.

These days a balustrade doesn’t have to be made of stone.

SHS offer a range of materials to create the perfect balustrade, including, Stainless Steel, Glass and Aluminium. Today a balustrade is anything that protects a balcony, decking, stairs, swimming pool, or any void.

View our full range of beautifully designed balustrades here.

Want to stay in the know? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for all things balustrade.