How to Tension your Wire Rope Balustrade

Wire rope balustrades are an easy and effective way to create a safety barrier without excluding your view. Suitable for balconies, high decks, and pool areas, they are versatile and completely adaptable to your needs. But to ensure that your wire rope balustrade is safe, it has to be properly tensioned.

How to Tension your Wire Rope Balustrade

Install your wire rope balustrade

You can find a step by step guide for wire rope balustrade installation in our blog. Once the wire is in place, there are a couple of different tensioning methods to use, depending upon your balustrade system.

Tensioner

A tensioner is a specific piece of kit designed to apply force to create or maintain tension. You’re unlikely to have any other use for it beyond maintaining the tension of your balustrade. However, it is good practice to do this at least once a year to ensure safety.

To use it, simply follow these steps.

– Untighten the tensioner and separate it into two pieces.

– Insert one cable into the top part of the tensioner and attach the cylinder to the end of the cable.

– Insert the second cable into the bottom part of the tensioner.

– Tighten the screw on each cable.

– Screw the top and bottom parts of the tensioner together.

Socket screwdriver

If you have a cable bullet wire rope balustrade system, you can use a socket screwdriver for tensioning. And the process couldn’t be simpler.

– A set screw in each ‘bullet hole’ holds each wire in place.

– Slide the appropriate Allen key bit into the set screw.

– Rotate a couple of times until the required tension is reached.

– Repeat this process for each section of your wire rope balustrade.

If your installer provided you with an Allen key, you could also use this.

Regular tensioning is the key to ensuring that your wire rope balustrade is safe. It’s a quick job and easily accomplished. But it’s integral to making your investment fully functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing.

Are you considering installing a wire rope balustrade for your property? Get in touch with Origin Architectural. Or order our free brochure today.