Balustrade 4.72.101

A facade balustrade handrail, 3 m long, 189 mm wide and 111 mm high: the moulded top rail that runs over the balusters from post to post. It belongs to the larger of Gaudi’s two balustrade series, which assembles from base rail, balusters and handrail between posts to stand about 1 m high, and dresses a parapet, a terrace edge or the space under a window. The other parts of this series are Balustrade 4.71.101 (baluster), Balustrade 4.73.101 (flat post cap), Balustrade 4.74.101 (base rail), Balustrade Post 4.75.101 (post), Balustrade Post 4.76.101 (pyramid post cap) and Balustrade Post 4.77.101 (ball finial), plus Balustrade Post 4.78.101 (footpiece). For a balustrade fixed flat against a wall, Balustrade 4.72.111 is the flat-backed half-depth version of this handrail.

Made in lightweight polyurethane foam, it won’t rot, crack or swell in the rain the way timber or sand-and-cement mouldings can, and it cuts cleanly with a fine-toothed saw. Use Multipurpose Adhesive 290ml (G10.U.290) to fix it and Joint Adhesive 290ml (G07.S.290) or Joint Adhesive 60ml (G08.S.60) on the joints. Outdoors, finish it with a good exterior masonry paint once it is fixed; the painted finish protects the surface from sun and weather. Like all polyurethane decor it is decorative, not structural: a balustrade made from it is not a safety barrier and must never be relied on to stop a fall from a balcony, terrace, landing or stair. Where guarding is needed, it has to come from a proper structural rail.