What are the rules for balustrades? When needed?

[Davy]

I am building a patio onto the back of my house. There will be a drop from the patio to the garden of about 70cm at one end reducing to zero at the other. Does anybody know if there are any British Standards or Building Regs concerning safety which govern whether I need a balustrade or whether an upstand along the edge of the patio would be sufficient. I gather that if I need a balustrade then it must be 110cm high and have infill every 100mm. Unfortunately, that would block the view of the garden when sitting on the patio. many thanks, Davy

[malc]

unless you are going to forget the drop is there, I wouldn't bother. Fit something alternative like toughened glass or put plant pots on the edge.

[dom]

IIRC protection from falling is required for level changes exceeding

60cm for dwellings. No idea if the same rule applies outside a dwelling. Building up the ground level slighty might be a simple solution.

Check here:

[Phil L]

Gardens aren't covered by building regs, so no, you don't need a balustrade....you can put one there if you wish but no one is going to force you, if you have small children however, you'll probably need something.

[Tim Hardisty]

FWIW, there is a 30cm drop from my decking to a border, which itself is 1.2m off the ground and only 1m deep - so if you fall off the decking you drop 30cm and then run the risk of dropping a further

1.2m.

I wasn't happy with this risk, so I bolted 75mm fence posts to the decking joists every 1.8m and then used 25mm rope from a chandlers to make a guard rope, slung between the posts through holes bored in the posts.

That way the view isn't blocked, but you have something to grab hold of should you fall.

If this isn't clear, and you're interested, I'll attempt some ASCII art! Tim Hardisty. Please remove HAT before replying by email.