Glass Balustrades in Wanaka

Lake views and alpine conditions

Wanaka is a different environment entirely from Auckland. The homes here are built to capture the lake and the mountains, so the decks are big and the balustrade has to disappear. Frameless glass is the natural choice — a channel system keeps the barrier as thin as possible and lets you see right out to the lake or up to the peaks. But the conditions up here are serious, and the hardware has to be up to them.

The UV in Central Otago is intense — far stronger than anything we deal with in Auckland. That affects the seals and the powder-coat, so we specify UV-stable materials throughout. The freeze-thaw cycle in winter means the glass and the channel have to handle thermal movement without working loose. It's a different spec from a coastal Auckland deck, and we treat it that way.

Specifying for alpine exposure

On a Wanaka deck I'm thinking about UV, frost, and the temperature swing between a summer afternoon and a winter dawn. We use stainless fixings that won't pit in the cold, UV-stable seals on the glass, and channel systems engineered for thermal movement. The powder-coat on any aluminium is specified for high-UV alpine exposure. Done this way, the balustrade handles the seasons without complaint.

• Frameless channel systems for lake and mountain view decks
• UV-stable seals and powder-coat for high-UV alpine exposure
• Stainless fixings rated for freeze-thaw cycles
• Channel systems engineered for thermal movement

Shower screens for alpine homes

The new builds and renovations in Wanaka tend to have generous bathrooms — often with a view of their own — and a frameless hinged shower door in toughened glass is the finish that matches. We measure on site so the screen fits the actual opening, and we use hardware rated for the alpine environment so it doesn't degrade the way standard fittings would. We don't fit pool fencing in Wanaka — the climate and the build style don't call for it.