Raising The Bar: The Advantages Of Fitting Aluminium Balustrades To Your Raised Pool Deck
If you own an above-ground swimming pool, a sturdy raised deck surrounding it can be a very practical and attractive addition, giving you solid ground on which to sunbathe and allowing you to enter and exit your pool more frequently (a particularly useful boon for elderly or disabled bathers). However, a raised deck without some kind of protective barrier around it's perimeter is a nasty fall waiting to happen, and your deck should be fitted with robust balustrades to arrest falls.
Balustrades can be made from a wide variety of materials, but aluminium balustrades are some of the very best, and the metal's unique properties make aluminium balustrades a particularly suitable addition to raised pool decks.
What are the advantages of fitting aluminium balustrades to my raised pool deck?
Durability
Your deck's balustrades will be exposed to the worst of the weather, and also have to contend with exposure to the water in your pool, which usually contains relatively harsh cleaning chemicals such as chlorine salts and bromine. Balustrades made of lesser materials, such as softwood timber or vinyl, often degrade rapidly when exposed to these conditions, but aluminium balustrades take them in stride, and will not be damaged by the most savage weather conditions or corrosive chemicals. Part of this durability stems from aluminium's immunity to rust, which also allows you to forgo the protective coatings required by steel balustrades.
Strength
Aluminium balustrades are exceptionally strong, and have high load-bearing strength that allows the heaviest of bathers to lean on an aluminium balustrade with confidence. Aluminium is also highly resistant to physical damage, and thus will not dent or buckle under all but the heaviest impacts. This gives you extra peace of mind when it comes to arresting falls, as you can be sure your balustrades will not give way if you trip or stumble close to the edges of your raised deck.
Attractive looks
The clean, crisp lines of aluminium balustrades lend themselves to a wide variety of deck styles, from ultra-modern, minimalist decks to more traditional hardwood timber decks. Although aluminium does not require protective paints or powder coatings, they can be applied as a purely cosmetic measure, and are available in a wide variety of shades and colours.
Eco-friendly
Of all the materials used to make balustrades, aluminium is probably the easiest to recycle, and when your pool deck finally bites the dust after many years of use the balustrades can be recycled easily (and often profitably, given the high scrap value of aluminium). Many aluminium balustrades are also made partially or completely from recycled aluminium, lowering the environmental impact and carbon footprint of constructing your raised deck.