Q-railing Project: Jurassic Coast Balconies

West Bay is a small harbour settlement and holiday resort in the south-west of England. It is situated on the so-called Jurassic Coast in the county of Dorset – a fossil-hunter’s paradise that was declared a World Heritage site.

Quay West, an apartment complex near the harbour, underwent essential refurbishment work in 2013. This included brand-new glass balustrades for the apartment balconies of all 4 residential blocks.

About the project

Quay West is located just 60 metres from the sea, and because of the challenging coastal conditions, the existing mild-steel, powder-coated, frameless balustrades on the apartment balconies had become severely corroded.

Replacement was essential for safety reasons. Zurich Insurance Group invited the Morgan Sindall Group to prepare a specification for the work.



Q-railing’s impressive record of supplying railing solutions for locations with extreme weather, it was natural for Morgan Sindall to seek their assistance.

Working in close cooperation with the British Stainless Steel Association and the Aluminium Federation, Q-railing developed a detailed specification.

They chose to recommend Easy Glass Slim glass balustrades, as they are robust enough to offer high levels of safety even when exposed to coastal gales.

The system’s stylish appearance, with clean lines and maximum transparency, also made it a good fit for Quay West.

To secure approval for the design from Zurich Insurance Group and the residents, Q-railing even constructed a sample of the proposed glass balustrades.



Once the necessary approval had been obtained, Q-railing’s recommended installer, WM Ironwork Ltd., was commissioned to remove the old balustrades and install the new ones.

With the help of Morgan Sindall and Q-railing, they set about identifying an approach that would minimise disruption to the lives of residents.

The top-mounted version of Easy Glass Slim was considered most appropriate for the apartment balconies. Q-railing’s design specified stainless, mirror-polished, 316-grade base shoe cladding.

WM Ironwork subsequently proposed adding mirror-polished handrail brackets and tubes to match. They also recommended that the glass infills be upgraded from 15 mm toughened glass to 19 mm.



The project was completed well within the specified timeframe, and WM Ironwork received a contractor award for their installation work.