My kids would have all that glass smudged within 4 hours of moving in.

Cable railings and a spanking are a lot better than a smudgy constant mess. Kids can be taught not to climb stuff. They can’t be taught not to reach out to help balance themselves.

Though this looks nice, I would never want it in my house. Same with cable railings. They look to commercial.

Sorry, I can't help you with the thickness and mounting of the glass, but I agree with you that cable railings and kids don't mix. Contrary to what kids think, mothers do not have eyes in the back of their heads. I would rather be cleaning glass than sitting in the ER or funeral home. Kids just think they are invincible and like to push their limits, their parents limits and do things knowing they are not permitted to do so. My grandchildren range from age 2-5 and they use the railing and not our wall.

I would rather have the cable than glass with small kids. When kids are little/short they don't hold on to the railing, they hold onto the spindles. There is nothing to grab a hold of with glass if they start to fall.

You don't need to worry about those details.

This is not something YOU should be involved with at that level of detail. That's the architect's and contractor's job. If it meets building codes, that's all that matters. And no company is going to sell a railing system that doesn't meet code--that's a sure cause for going bankrupt from lawsuits.

Just tell the architect or contractors what you want.

I asked my DH who used to install lots of glass railings. He said that if the glass is to be installed in a channel like your pics, it should be a minimum of 1/4" thick. If you are going to attach the glass to the top of the treads or the knee wall using clips, you should opt for a thicker glass. With the clips you should go a minimum of 3/8" thick, and you can get 1/2" and 3/4" if you prefer. He said there is no "better" way to install (clips or channels), it just depends on the look you want. There are a lot of variables depending on whether you will have a top rail or not. The glass will definitely have to be tempered, but that makes the glass a lot harder to break in case someone falls against it or kicks it. Hope this helped.

What you are showing is called a base show and typically you wuold use 1/2" tempered glass, depending on your locale you may be required to use laminated glass which would then be 9/16" thick. You can also use a post system with clamps, which would then be possible to use 3/8 tempered. You may want to look into pricing the glass railinsg as they can be anywhere from $350 to $500 per LF depending on your COL area.

Tony, I'm not cac546, but my DH and I managed to raise polite, respectful, well-behaved children without hitting them (they are now 23 years old). No hitting/spanking absolutely does NOT mean no discipline. If you are planning to have children, I encourage you to read some books on positive parenting.

Could we please get back on topic.The person doing the railing will know the answers to all these questions The pics you posted do not show a knee wall on the open side. Generally with a knee wall on the open side all that is needed is a railing. Is it something like this or am I misunderstanding the design Could you maybe post a picture

With small children and their little fingers I'm having second thoughts on saying yes its beautiful but I'm not cleaning it !! . I remember when years ago we use to be able to slide down the railing in a flash:) all these modern décor has taken away the fun that we once had , no cable please what's next barb wire ?

@alison, I know sorry. It was just an example. Back to the subject.

In our house, it wouldn't be kid hand prints on the glass, it would be doggie nose prints.

Weed control killex if they still sell it. If the neighbours keeps their weed under control then our problem is half solved that's a fact! :)

I have glass railing in my home. It is tempered and 1/2 inch thick. The glass is bolted to the side of the stair case. I also have a glass fence around my pool. Same glass but placed in clips.

IMO we need pictures and the glass is easy to clean with a microfiber cloth and hot water

3/8" or 1/2" tempered glass are the most common sizes. Clips are more cost-effective than recessed.

If you have a knee-wall on the open side of your staircase, I am assuming you want to put the glass on top of that.....how much glass are we talking? Probably not as much as you showed in the pictures. I think it would look nice and so what if it gets smudged....little ones like to help mom or dad clean. Just as someone mentioned....tell your contractor what you want, give them measurements and they can get it done. I would probably use a thicker glass but your contractor can help with that. Would like to see pictures when you are done.

We rented a house in London last April that had a gorgeous glass railing on the staircases, both the one going up and the one going down (mews house - every inch of space counts!). My then 12/13 yr old grandchildren were with me. And my 47 year old son. All three got finger marks on that glass. It would have driven me crazy to live with that.

Did you have in mind something along these lines...?

do a test... can you bend over/reach over your current stairs and rail and reach to the bottom to dust the outside? fingermarks on the inside are easy to reach... natural dust on the outside of the glass is a bit harder to reach. yes you can do it with a duster on a pole... and it will look like when i try to clean my foyer lamp with a pole.... just like i tried to clean it with a pole.

at malls they have a scissor lift to go through and clean it once a week.