Cut the costs of balustrading
Dave Broxton, managing director of Bohle, suggests you can cut the material costs of glass balustrading by as much as 30%.
Glass balustrading is ‘on trend’ and architects are exploiting its use in a wide variety of commercial, retail and domestic applications. Most importantly, with a new generation of easy-installation systems available, the sector provides a new and high margin business platform for glass processors and home improvement installation businesses.
Launched by Bohle earlier this year the EasyMount 6020 is a heavy-duty addition the to the EasyMount range, withstanding a linear load of up to 1.5kN.
This isn’t, however, its selling point. A new generation of base rail systems have come on line, which are easier to install than traditional post and rail systems, are flexible, aesthetic and can be applied to a wide variety of applications.
The residential sector in particular represents a great secondary market opportunity for glass processors and home improvement businesses.
And although it’s also suitable for light commercial applications, that’s really where the EasyMount 6020 fits in. It’s been designed to offer great aesthetics and to be easy to install but it also takes out material costs – in some cases by as much as 30% – and that goes straight back on your bottom line.
The EasyMount 6020 has been developed to deliver new design flexibility and to be installed far more quickly and easily than traditional systems. It’s the significant savings on hardware costs that may be of greatest interest to glass processors and installers.
The critical difference between the EasyMount 6020 and most traditional base-channel balustrading systems is that it’s counterbored. The genius of this design means that standard head anchor bolts can be used to mount the system rather than far more expensive countersunk headed fixings.
The other major advantage is that distances between mounting points are also increased, reducing both installation times and the number of fixings required.
As an illustrative example, the listed price point per linear metre for the new 6020 balustrading system for use with either 19mm or 21.5mm glass is 30% less than traditional systems because of the hardware savings the EasyMount 6020 delivers.
Using the same example for 19mm or 21.5mm glass, the number of fixings per 2.5m go down from 17 and centres every 150mm to just five, spaced every 600mm – that’s less than a third of the fixings that you would use in a standard system.
It’s in effect a form of gearing; you’re not only cutting your hardware costs but you also use fewer fixings. Add on the additional savings – simpler installation, less than a third of the fixing points you would have previously had to drill to work – and the savings are multiple.
You can be more competitive on price point if in a competitive pitch and win business or add the extra margin that EasyMount 6020 delivers to your bottom line.
In both cases in this illustration the systems achieve the same residential loading of 0.74kN. The EasyMount 6020 is also suitable for use in light commercial applications, achieving a 1.5kN loading, with just seven fixings spaced at centres of 400mm per 2.5m, when used with 21.52mm glass.
Light commercial installation is another growth area, and winning business in it is about the right solution at the rice price, which is where the EasyMount 6020 (and our offer in general) can deliver the edge to our customers in the installation efficiencies and the commercial advantages that they deliver.
Also available in a side-mounted option (EasyMount 6021), both systems can accommodate glass thicknesses of between 12mm and 21.52mm.
Each system also comes with a full range of ancillaries including pre-mitred 90° corners, end caps and spacers to allow drainage on top mounted options, plus the Vario glass adjustment tool, for fine adjustment of glass panes of up to 34mm in relation to the vertical.
