Glass balconies

Thanks everyone, i shall try it when next i visit hopefully all will be well. I'm sure they will be very careful when it comes to the children and never put them in danger.

Not keen on a glass floor perhaps, I do have vertigo so might be nervous if 20 floors etc but a glass surround means a perfect view even when seated, with a shield from any wind. I am always happy to have this sort of balcony when on holiday. You will need to try it and see how you feel. I am sure your son and family would not have one if they felt it wasnt safe.

I understand your fear, tanith - it’s a very strange feeling being on and against glass balconies and floors, our brain is registering the drop. It’s not a sensation I like, and remember once in France we visited a castle where they had built a glass floor between one level and the next. It was very disconcerting and I had to walk around the edge where the glass was opaque rather than the rest of the floor which was clear as my brain was telling me it was a long drop and I’d fall, even though I knew this wasn’t possible. The glass they use is extremely strong and toughened, so is quite safe, but nevertheless, I disliked the sensation.

tanith

My head tells me its safe but my body isn't listening 😂

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Exactly, it is probably quite safe but my feet are tingling just reading about it.

I would put a bamboo or tarpaulin screen on them post haste!

I do think the height of the glass and the ages of the children are relevant. After all, children need to learn that heights and drops are dangerous. A baby has no understanding of drops, it's something they learn. So should toddlers be allowed to stand by the glass with a huge drop in front of them? Will that mess with their brains?

i live in a small block of flats that has balconies or as we call them a veranda, they used to be brick, they renovated the houses about 10 years ago and now we have glass and wood, the whole front is glass, the bottom half is the type you see in bathroom windows and the top half is sliding glass panels, the walls and below the living room windows are wood, the stupidest thing is, if there is a fire we are told to go onto the balcony and wait for help.

My head tells me its safe but my body isn't listening 😂

One of my friends has a glass landing at the top of their staircase, it made me feel quiet ill standing on it.
Anyone for a swim?

I think it’s right that it’s the perception of there being no barrier that’s frightening. We lived in an 8th floor apartment with a glass balcony when we lived in Nigeria.

I could barely go over the threshold myself when we first moved in, it was so scary. There was nothing in front of it apart from a vast lagoon so the first thing that your eye fell on was the city and tiny little cars and trucks crawling along a bridge in the distance.

My daughter wasn’t allowed out there on her own though in the mornings we used to stand there together for a bit, watching birds flying past at the same height as us.

I think it's the visual image of a child standing next to a huge drop that freaks tanith and that's understandable. Our brains need to be trained to accept that image as safe, when we've spent our whole lives keeping away from huge drops and cliff edges!

Tanith how many news stories have you read about these glass walls shattering and people being catpaulted out? I do not think I have ever heard of even one a case these barriers shattering and anyone of any age being injured or killed.

Then think about children drownng in garden ponds. There are several cases every year, but conidering the number of garden ponds and parents and grand parents with garden ponds, the number of deaths is infinitismal. The accident you fear is even less frequent.

Personally, these balconies cause me no concern at all.

Chestnut and Smileless thank you you are spot on it’s exactly that, seeing my lovely GC on the edge of a very long drop. I hope to visit in the New Year as they live abroad and as you suggest I will gradually try and teach my brain it’s not that scary. My son assures me the children won’t be out there without an adult for a long while. I need desensitising I guess.

We have one at home on our roof terrace. It sits on quite a high wall and I wanted one because I was worried about my cat jumping on to the wall and going over.

The glass panels are very thick and heavy so there's no need to worry tanith.

Tanith I think your concern is the see-through element of it being glass. But if the glass is high enough then that is actually much safer than a wall or railings which may be shorter.

Think about it, children can climb on a wall or railings and there have been rare cases of children falling from balconies. But there is no way they can climb up a sheet of glass, so if the glass is higher than the child then that is very safe.

What is freaking you out is seeing a child apparently standing next to a sheer drop with nothing solid between them and the drop. But there is actually very strong glass there. It is an optical illusion in our brains that sees danger, because we are not used to seeing that. Maybe some people's brains register this more than others, which could explain why some people don't mind glass balconies.

I'm with you on seeing the perceived danger, but I think you'll get used to it. Go there and touch the glass, feel how strong it is and teach your brain to accept it!

Thankyou Stella

My previous home had them - we were 5 stories up. Never bothered me . The glass is strong and doesn't shatter if you bang up against it. Very safe.

It looks like this but without the step bit at the bottom and is way up high.

No Monica the floor isn’t glass, I’ve only ever seen that used as a tourist attraction. It’s all the panels around the balcony that are glass.

The OP is not clear. Is she talking about balconies with glass panels at the sides or balconies where the floor is glass as well.

If the floor is concrete/wood, whatever with glass sides, I would be quite happy with that. It wouldn't bother me at all. I wouldn't want a balcony with a glass floor because the people in the flats below and above you would be able to watch you, from a very odd angle when you were using the balcony, so you would have no privacy.

We have a balcony which leads down to our garden - it’s more of a deck as it’s just over 1m off the ground but building regs are that it has to have railings of some kind. We had glass panels put in so we maintain a view of the garden, they are extra toughened glass like car windscreens so they would not shatter but just craze over if something hit them. They look great and our lovely window cleaner gives them a wipe over every time he comes so no extra cleaning.

Tanith I am completely with you. I am terrified of heights and would have exactly the same worries despite logic telling me otherwise 🤗
I can’t go out onto balconies of any type! As for the swimming pool ones ……😱😱

They're a pain to keep clean - and you feel very exposed - so my friend has Ikea canvas 'shades' on hers. Building regulations? Do check the windows - please. My granddaughter (just four at the time) was found leaning, dangerouslly, out of a fifth floor window - having undone the 'safety catch' in less than a minute - while viewing a brand new flat. It all complied with 'regs' but they added robust stays before moving in. There was no furniture on the balcony either, as kids will climb up!

Just reading these posts has made me anxious again, I’m just going to have to not think about it or I’ll be in a permanent state of anxiety. I know it’s been properly safety checked as they’ve waited months for this to be completed but that’s not helped my fear. Thanks for trying everyone.

Chestnut
Kensington & Chelsea council stated in the enquiry that the cladding of Grenfell was part of the plan to cut Carbon Emissions.

I m afraid it would suit me at all I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to walk on glass at Aucklands sky tower
As others have said it will be safety checked but I m with you and my heart would be firmly in my mouth every time I thought of little kids on one
I don’t actually like kids on high balconies at all glass or not We were 8th floor when my eldest was a baby and it was horrible