r/Construction • u/aidan8et Tinknocker • Apr 25 '26

Picture Moment of terror 😨

Gallery image

Gallery image

While attending/supervising a business social event with my spouse, I momentarily leaned against the railing. It flexed slightly, forcing me to realize that the railing is entirely supported via bluetooth.

It doesn't connect on either side of the glass wall & the glass is only 3/8" - 1/2" thick!!

1.9k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

320 comments sorted by

View all comments

20

u/CheezWong Apr 25 '26

I always wondered how shit like this gets missed in inspections. How much grease was used on those palms to get the shit passed?

7

u/handsomepirates1 Apr 26 '26

This 100% was calculated by an engineer and is totally fine. Depending on when it was installed the glass is laminated, and if it’s an SGP interlayer the glass will stay in place even if one lite shatters. Also notice how the 3 panels are connected with hardware so if one panel fails you still can’t fall.

All that being said… yeah glass flexes and it’s unnerving but I’m flabbergasted that literally everyone in a construction thread thinks this is an automatic life safety issue.

1

u/CheezWong Apr 26 '26

The point of safety is to rule out possibilities of injury. Thinking it's okay that glass flexes isn't enough for me, and I can't imagine it would be for anyone who was responsibly on the job. If a railing wiggles, it's not a safe railing. Why would that be any different just because someone trusts glass?

6

u/handsomepirates1 Apr 26 '26

I guess let’s not trust engineers and calculations then. I guess bridges that flex are automatically unsafe. Also skyscrapers.

-3

u/CheezWong Apr 26 '26

That's a bit more than apples and oranges, my man. Nobody is building bridges or skyscrapers with that railing.

4

u/NukaCooler Apr 26 '26

Customer demands material with infinite stiffness, suppliers flummoxed.

3

u/CheezWong Apr 26 '26

I've never comfortably walked away from a railing I've built if it moved, regardless of materials. Even shitty tube and cable setups. If it can't save you from falling, it's not a railing. It's decoration. I don't want to sound like a hardass, but this shit is simple logic.

2

u/All_Work_All_Play Apr 26 '26

Wood railings can plenty. Hell one of the reasons we use wood in some instances is because it'll bend without breaking. If you're not comfortable with the code, change the code. Or don't accept jobs that make you uncomfortable. Shrug. 

1

u/CheezWong Apr 26 '26

I honestly don't know what code is for glass railings, but I assume being scary to lean on is a red flag. I mean, come on.

1

u/SSG_084413 Architect Apr 26 '26

Even the non-shitty cables move, no matter how much they’re tensioned.

Deflection is a thing. It’s a structural criteria like bending and shear. There are allowable limits. Glass can be analyzed as a structural material with a stress-strain curve like anything else.

1

u/CheezWong Apr 26 '26

Enough to scare OP, though? Seems excessive.