Sleek glass balustrades are an attractive and thoroughly modern addition to any balcony, whether you're seeking to add a new balustrade to your own home's balcony or fitting hundreds of balustrades to the balconies of a new apartment block. However, while these distinctively transparent balustrades effectively combine good looks with reliable strength and safety, they are hardly inexpensive, and can be rather difficult to fit even with specialist tools and knowledge on your side.

Consequently, more and more homeowners and building contractors are turning to perspex balustrades as an alternative to glass. These balcony guards are made of tough acrylic plastics that are indistinguishable from 'real' glass under all but the closest of inspections, and have a number of advantages that conventional glass balustrades cannot hope to match.

What are the advantages of choosing perspex balustrades over conventional glass balustrades?

Inexpensive

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, perspex balustrades are significantly cheaper than glass balustrades, especially when purchased and fitted in bulk. This makes them a particularly attractive proposition to building contractors who need to fit out multiple balconies with balustrades on a limited budget, but low prices are just as useful for the homeowner seeking to provide reliable safety on their balcony for a limited cost.

Easy to fit

The toughened glass used to create glass balustrades may be highly resistant to shattering, but it can still be accidentally cracked and chipped relatively easy during fitting. Perspex balustrades are much easier to fit, as they are not as brittle and have a certain degree of flexibility that is particularly useful for preventing stress fractures during fitting.

Expanded range of designs

Glass balustrades are sold by a wide variety of manufacturers, but most follow the same basic, right-angled design. This can make them difficult to fit to unusually-shaped balconies, especially balconies with curved edges. The flexibility of the perspex manufacturing process allows perspex balustrades to be made in virtually any shape or design you can imagine, making them ideal for the contractor or homeowner seeking to add an extra touch of distinctiveness to their balcony.

Lightweight

Perspex sheets are considerably lighter than sheets of toughened glass, making them easier to transport and easier to raise to the upper storeys of a building. This makes perspex balustrades ideal for fitting to upper-storey apartments in high-rise apartment blocks, and also reduces the amount of lifting equipment and manpower required to transport your balustrades to where they are needed.

Excellent sound insulation

Perspex also has considerably better sound insulation qualities than glass, and a perspex balustrade can block out a surprising amount of ambient noise from the street below, even when fitted to open, unenclosed balconies. This makes them a particularly attractive choice for balconies in urban apartments.