Glass Tread Cantilevered Systems in Palm Beach, FL

At Palm Beach Floating Stairs , we design and install glass tread cantilevered stair systems in Palm Beach, FL — built specifically for Palm Beach estate homes where oceanside views, hurricane code compliance, and corrosion resistance all have to coexist in the same installation.

Glass treads do something no other material can: they let light pass through the entire stair run. In Palm Beach homes with ocean exposure on one side and an interior atrium on the other, a glass tread stair keeps both views connected floor to floor. That's a practical design reason, not just an aesthetic one. You're not blocking the view corridor the architecture was designed around.

Florida Building Code Section 2407 governs glass in walking surfaces, and the requirements are specific. Treads must be tempered laminated construction — typically two tempered glass lites bonded with a minimum 0.060-inch SGP (SentryGlas) interlayer. SGP is significantly stiffer than standard PVB and maintains more structural integrity after a breakage event. We use SGCC-certified panels rated for the required 100 psf pedestrian live load, and every panel ships with a test certification letter that goes into the permit file.

On oceanside Palm Beach Island properties, every hardware component in contact with the glass clamp assemblies is 316L stainless steel — not 304, not powder-coated mild steel. The chloride environment within 500 feet of the ocean is aggressive enough that 304 alloy shows surface rust within two seasons. We've specified it both ways over the years. 316L with a passivated finish is the only hardware we'd put on an oceanfront estate and feel good about five years out.

Glass Tread System Configuration Options

We build glass tread systems in three structural configurations — wall-anchored cantilevered, mono-stringer cantilevered, and frameless glass panel with patch fittings — each suited to different foyer sizes, load requirements, and aesthetic goals. The right choice depends on your wall substrate, tread width, and how much of the structure you want visible.