Myth #1: “Are glass deck railings safe, or will it shatter if someone leans on it?”
Modern exterior glass railing isn’t made from regular window glass. It uses tempered safety glass, which is heat-treated to be much stronger than standard glass and designed to break into small, cube-like pieces rather than long, sharp shards if it ever does fail. That’s the same basic safety principle used in car side windows and many glass doors.
On top of that, a proper deck railing system is engineered and tested as a guard. That means the posts, brackets, hardware, and glass are all designed to work together to meet building-code requirements for guard rails: load, impact, and height. When a glass railing is part of a tested system and installed to the manufacturer’s instructions and local code, it’s meant to handle normal use—leaning, kids pressing their hands on it, and day-to-day bumps.
2. Myth #2 ,”Does Aluminum railing rust like steel?”
For the homeowner, this all boils down to one thing: is this going to be a hassle?
Rust—the red, flaky corrosion most people picture—is specific to iron and steel, which contain iron. Aluminum doesn’t have iron, so it doesn’t “rust” in that sense. When aluminum is exposed to air, it quickly forms a thin aluminum oxide layer that actually helps protect the metal underneath from further corrosion.
Outdoor aluminum railings almost always add a powder-coated finish on top of that. Powder coating gives colour and adds another protective barrier between the metal and the elements. In normal residential conditions, that combination is why aluminum railing has a reputation for being one of the lowest-maintenance, most corrosion-resistant options.
In harsher environments—coastal areas with salt spray, industrial zones, or places where de-icing salts are used heavily—any metal is under more stress. If the coating is chipped or damaged and never cleaned, you can see cosmetic corrosion over time. But in typical use, the honest answer to “does aluminum railing rust like steel?” is no—that’s one of the main reasons people choose it.
3. “Is deck railing height and spacing the same everywhere, or is there a standard code for BC?”
n British Columbia, the starting point is that guards are required when there’s a drop of about 600 mm (roughly 24”) or more from the walking surface to the ground below. Below that height, you might not need a guard at all; above it, you’re in “guard/railing required” territory under the BCBC. On top of that, there are minimum heights to worry about. For typical houses and small residential buildings, many exterior guards need to be at least 1070 mm (around 42”) high. Inside a dwelling, and in a few lower-risk situations, guards can often be 900 mm (about 36”) instead. Stair guards are generally not allowed to be lower than 900 mm measured vertically from the stair nosings.
There’s also the question of spacing. BC follows the common Canadian child-safety rule that openings in a guard should be small enough that a 100 mm (just under 4”) sphere cannot pass through. That’s why you see vertical balusters and infill designs arranged the way they are—those dimensions are doing safety work, not just design work.
On top of the provincial code, individual municipalities can tighten or clarify things in their own bylaws and deck guides, especially around decks, balconies, and raised patios. That’s why two different online sources can both be “kind of right” but still not quite match what your local building department expects.
So in BC, the idea that “there’s one universal deck railing rule” is the real myth. A more accurate way to think about it is: there are some common numbers—600 mm for when guards start, 900 mm and 1070 mm for heights, 100 mm for openings—but the exact requirements depend on where your project is, how high the deck is, and how the space is being used. Checking with your municipality and working with a dealer or installer who’s used to BC code is the safest way to avoid surprises at inspection time.