Blade Balustrade

Louvred aluminium blades on slimline posts, a balcony rail with some screening and airflow, pre-engineered, no glass cert to chase.

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What this is

Blade is the same system as the pool fence, run as a balustrade: narrow aluminium blades, angled or run flat, set in a slimline post frame for a louvred line. It gives you a bit of screening and a breeze through where a see-through rail gives neither, and it sits in the middle of the metal range, about level with BARR. Design-forward aluminium without the glass price tag.

Be straight on what "louvred" buys you: a balustrade-compliant Blade rail gives **partial** privacy and airflow, not a solid screen — the blade gaps have to stay open enough to meet the rules, so you get softened sightlines, not a wall. The other thing to know is that, unlike glass, the frame carries the load, so Blade is a pre-engineered modular system built to the code as a kit — no separate engineer to chase. What's left is the layout, and that's the fail point on any metal rail: post spacing, corners, the gate, raking down a stair. The calculator works all of that out from your runs, fixing surface and fall.

What's in a complete kit

The panels. Blade-profile aluminium — narrow blades, angled or flat, set in a made-up panel. The blade spacing is fixed at the factory to be compliant; the panels arrive made and fix between posts.
The posts. Slimline aluminium posts, deck-mounted on a base plate (M10 fixings) or face-mounted to the edge of a slab or structure (M12 fixings). The calculator works out positions, count and which fixing your situation needs.
Slopes and stairs. Raked panels follow a fall or step down a staircase while keeping the rail line right — the calculator works out where they go.
The gate. A matching gate panel where you need one, with the right hardware, sized to your opening by the calculator.
The finish. Durable powder-coated aluminium; black is the most popular by a wide margin. It doesn't rust or rot and takes coastal weather.

AS1926 Pool Fence Compliant

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

Why Blade

The louvred look. The blade profile reads as a deliberate design choice, a clean, architectural line on a balcony, deck or stair.
Some screening, some airflow. The angled blades soften sightlines and let a breeze through, where an open picket or glass rail gives you neither. Partial, not full — but more than the alternatives.
Pre-engineered — no glass cert to chase. The frame carries the load, so it's built to the code as a modular system, none of the one-off engineering a frameless glass rail needs.
Mid-tier, not budget. Design-forward aluminium, about level with BARR — the look without the glass price.
It matches your pool fence. Blade runs as a pool fence in the same family, so a balcony rail and a pool fence can be the same system, same look.

The compliance bit, straight

A balustrade answers to the National Construction Code, with AS 1170 setting the loads. For a blade-profile aluminium rail:

Height. At least 1000mm from the floor to the top of the rail — higher in some cases. The calculator sets the figure for your situation.
Gaps. No gap that lets a 125mm sphere through — between blades or at the bottom of the panel. Blade spacing is set at the factory to meet this, which is also why a compliant Blade rail is partial-privacy, not a solid screen.
Load. The rail has to take the AS 1170 loads. Because the frame carries the load, Blade is engineered as a system — no certifying glass job by job.
Climbability. Nothing climbable a child could use to get over — the calculator keeps the layout within the rules.

Because the system is pre-engineered to the code, a compliant rail is the default. That's our Engineered to AS 1170 approach. If the balustrade also forms a pool barrier, AS 1926.1 (100mm gaps, non-climbable zone, self-closing gate) applies on top, and the calculator handles it. Full picture: Balustrade Compliance in Australia.

Blade balustrade FAQ

What is a Blade balustrade?+

Blade is a design-forward aluminium balustrade built from blade-profile panels, narrow aluminium blades, angled or flat, in a slimline post frame for a louvred look. It's mid-range, about level with BARR, and the same system as the Blade pool fence.

How much privacy does a Blade balustrade give?+

Partial. A compliant Blade rail has to keep the blade gaps open enough to meet the rules, so you get softened sightlines and airflow — more screening than a picket or glass rail, but not a solid wall. If you want full privacy, that's a dedicated screen product; ask Joe and he'll point you at the right one.

What's the difference between Blade and BARR?+

Look and feel, they're priced about the same. BARR is a welded picket panel: see-through, a clean classic line. Blade is a louvred blade-profile panel: angled blades giving more screening and a more architectural look. Same aluminium family, two finishes.

How does a metal balustrade compare to glass on compliance?+

A frameless glass rail carries its load through the glass, so the glass has to be engineered and certified. Blade's frame carries the load, so it's a pre-engineered modular system built to the code as a kit — no separate, job-by-job engineering certificate to chase.

Can I install a Blade balustrade myself?+

Yes. The panels come made-up and fix to posts, so it's a straightforward post-and-panel job. The part people get wrong is the layout, post spacing, corners, the gate and raking down a stair, which is exactly what the calculator works out for you.

What fixings does Blade use?+

Slimline posts deck-mount on a base plate with M10 fixings, or face-mount to a slab edge with M12 fixings, those are the fixing diameters, not the panel size. The calculator works out which your situation needs and counts them.

Can Blade follow stairs and slopes?+

Yes, raked panels step the rail down a stair or slope while holding the line and the gaps. The calculator works out where they go from your measurements.

Where does Blade sit on price?+

Mid-range for metal — about level with BARR, the look without the glass price. We're supply-only, so the calculator gives an exact materials total for your run rather than a per-metre guess, with install labour separate.

Start here

Open the calculator for your exact panel, post and fixing count, built to the rules, in a few minutes. Or ask Joe, 30 years on the tools, straight answers, no sales pitch.

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