ᐅ Fall protection: installed outside the window or within the window reveal?

Hello everyone,

I am planning to commission a friend who is a metalworker to make 5 fall protection barriers for our floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor.

How would you recommend attaching them? Screwed onto the window frame (meaning on the exterior wall surface), or rather screwed into the window reveal?

Is there anything specific I need to consider regarding the fixing?

The exterior wall in question consists of a plastered Poroton cladding with a thickness of 17.5 cm (7 inches).
Does it make a structural difference whether I drill into the end face or the flat face of the bricks?

And which system would you recommend for the attachment?

I would appreciate any information...

We attached the grids to the facade, not inside the reveal. In our case, there is only about 5cm (2 inches) of space in front of the roller shutter track up to the outer edge, and about 1-2cm (0.4-0.8 inches) of that is plaster. Our metalworker first drilled a hole into the Poroton brick, and the anchors were glued in there because Poroton itself wouldn’t hold well otherwise.

Best regards,
Sabine

We have it in the reveal. I find that it looks much better in the reveal, especially for a plastered house.
I can't say anything about the fastening; in our case, the anchoring is in the brick facade.

Try searching for "feel free to contact us about custom powder coating." Result number one. They also offer mounting materials with grids.

I would also place it in the reveal if it fits properly. But as curly points out, it might end up being too tight. With a 17.5cm (7 inch) exterior wall, there may not be much space left, so the mounted option might be the only possible one. You would need to measure and clarify that, but purely from a visual standpoint, I personally prefer the reveal option.

It is a 17.5 cm (7 inches) facing shell.

The wall structure in these areas consists of (from inside to outside) plaster / aerated concrete / insulation / Poroton / plaster.

I haven’t measured it, but it feels like there is about 30 cm (12 inches) of space from the outside of the window to the end of the plaster.

Are there special adhesive sleeves with internal threads that I can glue into the Poroton? Or how would you attach something there?

Golfi90 schrieb:

Do I need to pay attention to anything specific regarding the fastening?

There are usually several objectives that don’t necessarily align perfectly:
1. Obtaining building approval (building permit / planning permission)
2. Meeting aesthetic requirements
3. Fulfilling personal safety needs
4. Staying within a budget

Regarding 1: For the approval, a temporary solution is often sufficient, which can later be replaced by a permanent one that does not require a new inspection.
Regarding 2: Tastes vary. Some prefer more “open” designs than others.
Regarding 3: Who lives in the house, and who has access to the windows? Sometimes no railing at all looks best.
Regarding 4: Obviously.

Sometimes it’s worth getting approval with the cheapest solution first to have more design freedom afterward – sometimes leaving it out entirely is the best and most affordable option. Keep potential liability in mind and consider it according to your own criteria.