Wire balustrading has long been a popular choice for outdoor decks and balconies due to its unobstructed views, durability, low maintenance, affordability and speed of construction. However, it’s now becoming increasingly popular for indoor staircases as well! With its sleek and minimalist design, wire balustrade offers a cost-effective alternative to glass balustrade without sacrificing style.
Ensure you are using compatible quality components
Stainless Steel fittings that suit wire balustrade construction come in many different sizes and styles. We have grouped the fittings that reliably work together as Wire Balustrade Kits to help you decide on the perfect kit for your next project. As there are many criteria that define the success of a project – there are many different wire balustrade kits, systems and fittings on the market. This will help you know where to start and outline a framework to make sense of all the different kits within our range. But first you need to be safe so rest assured that our recommended wire and kits (when properly installed) meet and exceed the Australian Standard 1170.1 (AS/NZS 1170.1). This standard is THE  official structural design standard that specifies the minimum load-bearing and impact-resistance requirements for barriers, handrails, and balustrades in Australia.
Five Basic Questions
Frome a terminology point of view, a Wire Balustrading project can be broken up into ‘sections’ (straight line segments between anchor posts), made up of ‘runs’ (tensioned wires in a section). And a ‘section’ is created when
- the balustrade changes angles or directions (e.g. is not straight) or
- the planned section length exceeds the recommended run length of your chosen balustrade kit or
- the planned section encompasses a structural post (e.g. probably should drill a hole through that one 🙂
Choosing the right balustrade kits for your project depends greatly on the characteristics of your sections. And it is (mostly) covered by answering these five basic questions:
- Do you need to be compliant with the Australian Building Code?
- Do you have any existing crimping or swaging tools that you intend to use in your project?
- What are the lengths of your planned sections?
- What are your posts made from (both anchor and intermediate)?
- What is the planned orientation of the runs in your balustrade sections? horizontal (e.g. most flat sections), angled (e.g. most ramps or stairs), or vertical (e.g. both flat sections and stairs)
Once you know the answer to these five questions, the filters in the sidebar of our wire balustrade kit page will let you narrow down your selection to pinpoint the “Right Kit”. From there you can then choose complementary wire, tools, and guidelines to simplify things. So lets answer those questions – or you can call Low Cost Wire for chat and some advice based on decades of experience. 1300 601 514 from within Australia, or +61 (02) 9979 5812 from anywhere.
Do you need to be compliant with the Australian Building Code?
The pre-amble recommendation is that building anything “to-code” means you are generally creating an asset – not a liability, however from a regulatory POV…
- YES – if the structure (deck or stairway or retaining wall)
- is new (especially if it has been built under a development approval – DA), and
- has a ‘drop’ of greater than or equal to 1.0M to ground an any point
- NO – if the structure (deck or stairway or retaining wall)
- is existing and in place – but is being modified somewhat (changing boards to wires is the equivalent to painting a fence), and
- has not had significant structural alterations or extensions.
Do you have any existing crimping or swaging tools that you intend to use in your project?
If you are planning to build the wires yourself (the act of joining the wire to the fittings) and you plan to use existing tooling that you can rent or currently own then you are somewhat constrained. Given you have the size or tool and or die set for your chosen wire rope then
- Manual Crimping Tools – similar in concept to Bolt Cutters or Large Pliers
- work optimally with Manual Crimped Wire Balustrade Kits that utilize Hourglass Duplex Crimping Sleeves, and
- should NEVER be used with Stainless Steel Simplex fittings found in Swaged Hydraulic Wire Balustrade Kits
- Hydraulic Swaging Tools – similar in concept to a hydraulic car jack with a C shaped head
- work optimally with Swaged Hydraulic Wire Balustrade Kits that fasten Stainless Steel Simplex fittings to the wire rope, and
- should Never be used with Manual Crimped Wire Balustrade Kits that utilize Hourglass Duplex Crimping Sleeves
What are the lengths of your planned sections?
Wire Balustrade construction is very straightforward if your sections are between 0.5M and 20.0M. Most common wire balustrade kits & systems with a single tensioning system will only work to a maximum run span of 10m meaning that you need to break large sections down into smaller, more manageable sections. Low Cost Wire offers a different approach to this problem by defining both Short Run Kits (<10M) and Long Run Kits (<20M). So based on the length of your sections…
- Less than 0.5M sections are awkward but eminently do-able with carefully chosen kits, some simple advice and guidelines (just call),
- Greater than 0.5M and less than or equal to 10M sections are easy as they require kits with a single “tensioner” which are designated Short Run (SR) kits,
- Greater than 10M and less than or equal to 20M sections are also easy as they require kits with two “tensioners” which are designated Long Run (LR) kits,
- Sections greater than 20M are problematic because measuring something huge in a very accurate manner is hard and your project is now large enough that differential material expansion may have a significant effect and either way,
- you can call Low Cost Wire for chat on 1300 601 514 from within Australia, or +61 (02) 9979 5812 from anywhere.
What are your posts made from (both anchor and intermediate)?
Generally, your construction choices heavily influence the material used in your posts – and possibly your rails (top and otherwise) – but only the posts are relevant to choosing Wire Balustrade Kits.
Fundamentally, most wire balustrade systems are made from AISI G316 Stainless Steel – both in the Wire Rope and the fittings. Stainless Steel is wonderful medium and has NO reaction to wood. But it’s amazing properties (and the Periodic Table) mean that Stainless Steel does not play well with some other metals. In particular, two common materials that will generate a dissimilar alloys reaction are aluminium and carbon steel (a galvanised coating of any sort does NOT change this issue). This means that where possible, stainless steel should be physically/electrically isolated from aluminium or galvanised steel posts. In an aggressive environment, these metals will react with one another at contact points resulting in corrosion. This corrosion can manifest as ‘Tea Staining” (a rust-colored stain/residue on the construction) or worse. The extent of corrosion and speed of onset depends on the aggressiveness of the installation environment. Unfortunately, this reaction is not preventable, but it can be controlled using nylon isolation washers, grommets, and a good deal of forethought.
When you have Metal Posts…
- they are generally hollow section and a bigger post with thicker walls is generally preferable from a strength point of view
- any alloy of Stainless Steel works with every other alloy of stainless steel without inciting a dissimilar alloys reaction which means you avoid isolation washers and grommets, and
- all metal posts can have wire attached/anchored to them by
- attaching to the surface (e.g. using rivets or metal screws to attach saddles), or
- penetrating only one side/wall (e.g. using tapped threads or rivet nuts to attach eye bolts, swage bolts, or all manner or anchors), or
- drilling straight through both walls (e.g. using a hole through the post to bolt a threaded fastener).
When you have Timber Posts…
- life is much simpler and a bigger post made of hardwood is generally preferable from both a strength point of view and a resistance to rot and insect damage.
- any wooden material works with stainless steel without needing any isolation washers or grommets, and
- all wooden posts can have wire attached/anchored to them by
- attaching to the surface (e.g. using wooden (lag threaded) screws to attach saddles), or
- penetrating only one side (e.g. using lag threaded fittings or timber inserts to attach eye bolts, swage bolts, or all manner or anchors), or
- drilling straight through both walls (e.g. using a hole through the post to bolt a threaded fastener).
What is the planned orientation of the runs in your balustrade sections?
Strangely, the orientation of your runs in each section can deeply affect the “right” choice of Wire Balustrade Kits. Virtually every Wire Balustrade Kit can be used in a horizontal orientation (the exceptions being specialized kits created for vertical wire installations). However, not every Wire Balustrade Kit is optimally suits every orientation when compared by cost, speed of deployment, and aesthetic merit. Each of our Wire Balustrade Kits specifies the orientation(s) to which it is suited. The orientation options are
- Horizontal
- independent single wires straight across between anchor posts paralleling the top rail and servicing a flat surface – so running perpendicular to the anchor posts
- most common default for flat sections with the deck surface less than 4.0M above the ground at any point
- plan for posts ~1.5M apart horizontally, with 11 wires per section, spaced at ~80mm
- Angled
- independent single wires straight across between anchor posts paralleling the top rail and servicing a ramped/angled/staircase surface – so running at an angle to the anchor posts
- most common default for ramped/angled/staircase sections with the deck surface less than 4.0M above the ground at any point
- Vertical
- independent single wires straight or angled between the top and bottom (anchor) rails in parallel with balustrades structural posts – so running vertically on both the flat surfaces and the ramped/angled/staircase suraces)
- most common default for ramped/angled/staircase sections with the deck surface greater than or equal to than 4.0M above the ground at any point
- Infill
- a single wire per section forming either square or V-shaped lines between the top and bottom rails – so running vertically or angled on both the flat surfaces and the ramped/angled/staircase surfaces).
- rarely used in Australia but the MOST common default orientation in New Zealand for all sections as it complies fully with the NZ building code.
… and if you are confused – we welcome a chat 🙂 – you can call Low Cost Wire for chat on 1300 601 514 from within Australia, or +61 (02) 9979 5812 from anywhere.