2021 NCC Seminars: How high is this balustrade?

How high is this balustrade? Or in other words, when I come to do a final inspection on this balustrade, where do I put the end of my tape measure?

Do I measure from down on the tiles or would I measure from the foot of this plinth or hob? Where would you measure from? Well, let's have a look at the relevant provisions. Relevant provisions are in Table D2.16 for Volume One, and it's 3.9.2.3 in Volume Two, and I've got the Volume Two version here. They're worded differently, but the meaning is the same. The barrier's height is measured from above the floor of the balcony, deck, verandah, and so on. Now, those who chose the tiles, they're probably thinking, yes, well, I have the floor, I have done everything correctly, and I respect that.

But a floor is something that you step on. Without a doubt, you step on that tiled part. And so I imagine that's why many of you measure from there. We talked about this one in the office, and in the end, we decided that the right place to measure from, in cases like this, is the top of the plinth. Why? Because a barrier is there to stop people from falling from an edge. And it's very likely that this plinth, or this hob, is an edge that would be stepped on. In other words, it's something that is like a floor.

Now, this is one where judgement has to be applied because plinths come in different heights. This plinth that we see here in the title slide is something that can be easily stepped upon. However, this plinth or this hob is quite tall. It is not something that you'd normally step upon. So I suggest to place your foot on top of this hob, that you wouldn't be stepping, but you would be climbing.

Now, if the fall's less than four metres, and that is the case for this particular deck that you see here, you can have a climbable balustrade. Now some of you may be wondering how high should a plinth be in order to become something that you climb, rather than something you step upon?

Now, 150 from that zone, 150 to 760 for climbable elements of a horizontal balustrade is a good idea to get an idea about what that measurement should be. So 150, however there's more to it than just that, because the width of the plinth, in addition to the height of the plinth, contributes to making it something that you might step upon, rather than something you climb.

So how high is this balustrade? Well, we say measure from the plinth if it's easily stepped upon.