Frameless. Framed. Tempered for the prairies.

Tempered safety glass is what code requires and what every brand we carry ships. Tempering is a heat-treating process that puts the outer surfaces of the glass under compression — when tempered glass fails, it fractures into thousands of small pebble-shaped pieces (instead of long shards), dramatically reducing the risk of cuts. The same standard is used in residential shower doors, patio doors, and automotive side windows. Tempered glass is engineered to handle the loads the National Building Code defines for residential deck guards: 200-lb point load on the top rail (where applicable), wind load to your local zone, and the impact of a person leaning hard against the glass. On the rare event a panel does break, tempered glass disperses the energy and falls in small pieces — which is the safer failure mode by design. Replacement panels are available from each brand we carry; we keep contact with the manufacturer build teams to source them quickly.

Glass thickness varies by system and panel size. Most residential glass-infill panels we stock are 6mm or 10mm tempered, with the thicker glass spec'd on larger panel sizes and frameless systems. Frameless systems (Regal CrystalRail, Vista frameless) typically run 10mm or 12mm tempered because the glass is the structural element — there's no aluminum frame holding the load. Framed glass-infill panels (Vista, Fortress AL13 PureView, Hoft) typically run 6mm or 10mm because the aluminum frame carries the load. Each brand spec's the exact glass thickness based on panel dimensions, post spacing, and code load requirements — bring your run length, post layout, and deck height into the showroom and we'll confirm the spec on your specific panel sizes. The TUDS estimator returns a full bill of materials with the right glass thickness called out for your project.

Three mounting styles cover almost every glass railing install. Top-mount sits the post or spigot on top of the deck surface, fastened down through the decking into the joist or rim — easiest install, works on virtually every deck, what most projects use. Side-mount / fascia-mount mounts the post or spigot to the rim joist on the side of the deck (the post hangs off the deck edge instead of sitting on top) — frees up deck-surface square footage and gives a cleaner sightline at the deck edge, but needs a structurally sound rim and is harder to get right. Spigot-only frameless (Regal CrystalRail, Vista frameless) uses stainless steel spigots set directly into the deck — no post above the spigot, just glass clamped between two halves of the spigot — with the spigot top-mounted into the deck framing. The right answer depends on your deck construction, your view priority, and how much surface area you want to keep clear. Bring your deck framing details into the showroom and we'll spec the mount.

Glass railing is more wind-loaded than picket or cable because the panel face is solid — wind pushes against the whole surface, not through gaps. Every brand we carry is engineered to handle the wind loads the National Building Code defines for residential deck guards (Saskatchewan adopts NBC). The system handles wind through three mechanisms: (1) the post or spigot is mechanically fastened to the deck framing with engineered connections, (2) the tempered glass itself flexes within designed tolerances, and (3) the post spacing is spec'd to keep panel sizes within their wind-load rating. For very wind-exposed sites — second storey on the open prairie, lakeside cliff, top of a hill — bring your specifics into the showroom and we'll spec tighter post spacing or a thicker glass option to match. The estimator factors wind zone into the layout for any address you give it.

Post spacing depends on the brand, the panel size they ship, and the wind load. Most framed glass-infill systems (Vista, Fortress AL13 Home PureView) run posts every 4 to 8 feet, matching the standard panel sizes that brand stocks. Frameless spigot systems (Regal CrystalRail) typically use spigots every 3 to 4 feet because the glass panels span between them without any aluminum frame to carry the load. For a 40-foot deck perimeter, you're typically looking at 5 to 7 posts on a framed system or 10 to 14 spigots on a frameless system. The exact count depends on corners, gates, stair sections, and how the run lays out — drop your dimensions into the TUDS estimator for an exact bill of materials.

Most full glass-infill railing systems land around $155-$245 per linear foot for materials only (system pricing — posts, top + bottom rail where applicable, tempered glass panels, post caps, base plates). Frameless spigot systems (Regal CrystalRail, Vista frameless) typically run higher — $185-$320 per linear foot — because the spigots, thicker glass, and tighter spacing add cost vs. framed systems. Stair runs, custom angles, gates, and second-storey wind upgrades push toward the high end. Installation is separate — TUDS doesn't run install crews ourselves, but we connect customers with qualified Prairie installers when needed. The TUDS estimator returns a full bill of materials with live pricing for your specific run length, post or spigot layout, and glass spec — usually inside an hour during business hours. Way better than a back-of-napkin number from a single SKU $/lf.

TUDS doesn't run our own install crews — we're a multi-brand dealer with two showrooms and a Prairie-wide delivery network. What we do is help customers DIY confidently (with detailed install guides, build-team support on the spec, and pre-welded or pre-assembled systems that lower the difficulty floor on glass), or connect them with qualified Prairie installers we've worked with for years. Frameless spigot systems are at the top of the install difficulty curve — most homeowners hire that one out — but framed glass-infill (especially AL13 Home PureView drop-in panels) is well within reach for an experienced DIYer. Call either store and we'll put you in touch with an installer familiar with the brand you're buying. We deliver across Saskatchewan, into Alberta, and into Manitoba — call either yard for a freight quote on your address.