Frameless Glass Balustrade — Spigots 15mm

A pure glass edge with no posts and no frame — 15mm toughened glass on stainless spigots, an engineered system built to meet the standards.

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What this is

This is the frameless balustrade most people picture: clean 15mm toughened glass panels held by discreet stainless spigots at the base, nothing across the top, nothing down the sides. The glass is the barrier. It's the see-through edge for a balcony, deck, landing or stair where you want the view, not the railing.

Here's the part the rest of the market glosses over: a glass balustrade is a structural element, and a spigot-fixed glass barrier isn't a "deemed-to-comply" solution you can just bolt up — it has to be properly engineered. Ours is. It's an engineered system, designed and tested to meet the NCC and the relevant Australian Standards as long as it's installed within the engineering parameters — and the calculator keeps your configuration inside them. That's the difference between a glass edge that's engineered to pass and a generic kit you bolt up and hope.

What's in a complete kit

The glass. 15mm toughened, heat-soaked glass to AS/NZS 2208 — toughened for strength, heat-soaked to cut the risk of spontaneous breakage at height. It can't be cut or drilled once it's toughened, so the panel sizes are fixed; the calculator solves the panel-width combinations for your run.
The spigots. Stainless steel spigots clamp each panel at the base. There are no holes in the glass — the spigots grip the panel edge — so the line stays clean. The calculator sets the spigot positions and edge distances, which is where most DIY jobs go wrong.
The fixing. Core-drill into concrete (grouted in) or a base-plate spigot surface-fixed where you can't drill — the calculator asks what you're fixing to and matches the spigot to the substrate.
Height and gaps. Set to the balustrade rules: at least 1000mm high, with no gap a 125mm sphere can pass. The calculator builds the layout to those numbers.
The engineering. It's an engineered system, designed and tested to the standards. The calculator keeps your configuration within the engineering parameters that compliance depends on — get it installed within those and you've built to the standard.

AS1926 Pool Fence Compliant

1200mm minimum barrier height
Maximum 100mm gaps at the bottom
Self-closing, self-latching gates

Why 15mm spigots

The frameless look, properly. No top rail, no posts, no frame — just glass and the view. It's the cleanest edge you can build.
15mm is the engineered thickness. The system is ranged and engineered at 15mm because that's the glass the engineering covers for a free-standing spigot balustrade — not a thinner panel hoping to pass.
A properly engineered system. Not a generic kit you bolt up and hope — the system is engineered and tested to meet the NCC and the relevant Australian Standards, and the calculator keeps you within the parameters that engineering covers.
A genuine DIY job, planned right. Glass can't be trimmed on site and spigot spacing is unforgiving — so the calculator does the panel widths, spigot positions and gaps before you order, and you install to a plan that already works.
It suits the view, not just the deck. Balcony, landing, stair, pool surround that doubles as a balcony edge — the same system handles them, and the calculator sorts the height and gap rules for each.

The compliance bit, straight

A balustrade is structural, so it answers to more than one rule. The parts that touch a frameless glass balustrade:

The code. The NCC sets where you need a barrier and how high. A balustrade is generally at least 1000mm high, with no gap a 125mm sphere can pass.
The loads (AS 1170.1). The barrier has to resist the loads people put on it — leaning, crowding, an impact. The system is engineered and tested to take these.
The glass (AS 1288). This is the catch most suppliers skirt: a spigot-fixed glass barrier isn't one of the "deemed-to-comply" options in AS 1288, so it has to be properly engineered as a structural panel. If a supplier says their spigot system "complies with AS 1288," the fair question is whether it's actually engineered to the standard. Ours is — the system is engineered and tested to it. A lot of cheap kits can't say that.
Falls over a metre. Where the drop is more than a metre, the rules call for a top rail or laminated structural glass. The calculator builds to the engineered configuration for your situation.

The calculator keeps your configuration within the system's engineering parameters, so what you build stays compliant by design — provided it's installed to those parameters. Final sign-off for your property still comes from your building surveyor or certifier; what we supply is a system engineered to the standards and a plan that keeps your build inside them. Full picture: Balustrade Compliance in Australia.

Frameless glass balustrade — 15mm spigots FAQ

Why 15mm glass and not 12mm?+

For a free-standing spigot balustrade, the system is ranged and engineered at 15mm toughened glass — that's the thickness the engineering covers for the loads a balustrade has to take. Thinner glass is used elsewhere, but the engineered spigot balustrade is a 15mm system, and the calculator keeps you on the glass the engineering covers.

Does a frameless glass balustrade need a handrail?+

It depends on the drop. For lower balcony and deck edges the engineered glass barrier can stand on its own; where the fall is more than a metre the rules call for a top rail or laminated structural glass. The calculator builds to the engineered configuration for your situation, so you're not guessing.

Is it engineered to be compliant?+

Yes. The system is engineered and tested to meet the NCC and the relevant Australian Standards — AS 1170 for the loads, AS 1288 for the glass — as long as it's installed within the engineering parameters, and the calculator keeps your configuration inside them. To be clear about what that means: it doesn't come with a site-specific engineer's certificate for your address, and final sign-off for your property is your building surveyor's job — but what you're installing is a properly engineered, standards-compliant system, not a generic kit.

Can I install a frameless glass balustrade myself?+

Yes. It's a supply-only system you can install — set the spigots, seat the glass, set the gaps. The hard part is the planning: glass can't be cut on site, and spigot spacing and edge distances are unforgiving. The calculator works all of that out before you order, so you install to a plan that already works — and within the engineering parameters.

How do the spigots fix down?+

Two ways, depending on what you're fixing to: core-drilled into concrete and grouted in, or a base-plate spigot surface-fixed where you can't drill. The calculator asks what your substrate is and matches the spigot to it.

What's the gap rule for a balustrade?+

No gap a 125mm sphere can pass — that's the balustrade rule, and it's different from the 100mm rule that applies to pool fencing. The calculator sets the panel widths and spigot positions to keep every gap compliant.

Where does it sit on price?+

Frameless glass is the premium end of balustrade, and within the glass range a 15mm spigot system sits below standoff and channel finishes. We're supply-only and don't quote a per-metre rate — the calculator gives you an exact materials total for your actual run, with install labour separate if you're not doing it yourself.

Is it the same as a pool fence?+

No. A pool fence answers to AS 1926.1 (1200mm high, 100mm gaps, a non-climbable zone, a self-closing gate); a balustrade answers to the NCC, AS 1170.1 and AS 1288 (1000mm high, 125mm gaps, engineered for loads). Some edges are both — the calculator applies whichever rules your situation needs.

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Open the calculator for your exact glass, spigot and gap layout, within the engineering parameters, in a few minutes. Or ask Joe, 30 years on the tools, straight answers, no sales pitch.

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