As a homeowner, you should look at your home as something more than the place you lay your head at night. You should also think of it as what is likely the most important asset you will ever own. As a precious asset, your home deserves all the love and care you can give it. As you think of ways to show your “pride of ownership,” there are some little design things you can do that will improve what already exists. One of those things would be the addition of a glass stair railing along the length of your staircase.
Before you jump right up to visit your local stained glass Montreal merchant to purchase tempered glass, you would benefit by knowing exactly why adding a glass stair railings is such a good idea.
To that end, here are six reasons for taking this step.
1. Adds elegance to the staircase
It can be difficult to find ways to spruce up an ordinary staircase. Sure, you can hang pictures on the wall alongside it or line the stairs with plush red carpeting, but pictures and carpeting will only improve things a little bit. If you really want to move the needle and make your staircase stand out, a glass railing with tempered glass would absolutely do the trick.
2. They are safe and durable
Innovations and technology have made glass products much safer and more durable than they used to be. That translates to you adding a glass railing on your stairs being a safe and durable alternative to what you might have at this time.
As for safety, your children, pets, and guests should always be your primary concern in terms of them negotiating your stairs. Since your tempered glass panels would be contiguous, there would be no slats or openings between which people or things could fall. Also, the hardware typically used to create glass railings makes it difficult for kids to find ways to climb on the railing.
If you have concerns about breaking glass, you should know that reinforced glass does not break easily. When it does, panels don’t break into dangerous large, sharp pieces. They tend to crack first as a warning sign and then shatter into smaller pieces that are easily swept away.
As for durability, glass does not lose its luster as wood or metal railings would. There is no need for refinishing, polishing, or repainting. Maintaining glass stair railings is as easy as spaying a little Windex and wiping away annoying smudges. If you were to put glass railing outdoors, it would help to cut down threats from wind and flying debris.
3. Add resale value to your home
While you would certainly enjoy living in a home that includes elegant features, it is those very same features that could add value to your home in the eyes of third parties. If those third parties would happen to be prospective homebuyers, things like the addition of a stairs glass railing are something that catches the eye. When something catches the eye of a prospective homebuyer, value can be assigned to that something.
According to realtors, prospective homebuyers are drawn to home features that are rare. Indoor glass railings are rare and therefore, create the illusion of value. By the way, adding glass railings around a backyard deck or pool will also add value to your home.
4. Glass railings can be customized
Visually, glass is an unusually flexible building material. There are so many different ways you can customize glass features as you strive to match the existing décor of your house.
Whether the inside of your home trends towards modern or traditional decors, you can always work with a stained glass Montreal merchant to come up with cool ways to customize glass panels. The really good news is it is not nearly as expensive as you might think it would be. Customizing glass panels is actually quite affordable. In fact, your biggest cost would be the installation costs unless you might have the skill-set to make it a DIY project.
5. Easier to install than you think
If you were to decide to tackle the addition of glass railings as a DIY project, you will be happy to learn it’s not difficult. In most cases, you would only have to attach the railings and insert the glass panels afterward. If it gets any more complicated than that, a little help from a friend or relative should be enough to get the job done. For what it’s worth, installing glass stair railings is far easier than the installation of the iron, wood, or steel varieties.
6. Glass: an eco-friendly solution
Since glass is both recyclable and chemically inert, it makes for an eco-friendly option. That’s an important factor in a culture where sustainability in everything you do is always getting scrutiny. In terms of sustainability, using a glass option will take the stress off of the environment because it eliminates the need for trees to be cut down or iron ore to be removed from the earth.
If all of this sounds interesting and you find yourself considering this as a viable renovation option you would like to consider then we encourage you to visit your local glass shop to get more info on the details of what go into this type of work. Not only will they give you an estimate for the production of your glass panels, but they also provide details on all of the glass fixture options available of your consideration.
As a word of caution, thick stained glass panels are heavy. With that in mind, you will want to make sure you are using hardware that will be able to safely bear the weight of the glass.
