C.R. Laurence Releases New 9BL Series Base Shoe for Laminated Glass Railing Systems

9BL Base Shoe Satisfies New Building Code Requirements while Delivering Better Performance in a Lighter Profile

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25, 2015 - To meet and exceed industry standards and new building code requirements, C.R. Laurence (CRL) has introduced the new 9BL Series Base Shoe for laminated tempered glass railing systems.

The CRL 9BL Series Base Shoe is engineered for indoor and outdoor guardrail applications and can be used in conjunction with CRL's patented TAPER-LOCŪ X1 Dry Glaze System. Because it uses less material, the base shoe is a sustainable product that is eligible for LEED credits.

The 9BL Base Shoe is an extruded aluminum profile featuring honeycomb negative spaces that make it 30% lighter than other base shoes while simultaneously retaining its industry standard profile. This simplifies handling and installation and also reduces shipping costs.

In 2015, stringent revisions were made to the International Building Code (IBC) requiring laminated glass when there is a walking surface directly below a guardrail. The CRL 9BL Series Base Shoe was designed to meet these code revisions, and has gone a step further by exceeding the 200 lb minimum with a 4x safety factor (IBC Section 2407). To date, C.R. Laurence remains the only manufacturer with an ICC-ES (International Code Council Evaluation Service) approved glass railing system, and has applied for an updated evaluation report for the new 9BL laminated system.

The engineering accomplishments present in the 9BL Series Base Shoe have not gone unnoticed. The base shoe was chosen as an Architectural Record Magazine Record Products winner. The process consists of a jury of six industry professionals selecting the best new products of the year from among 500 entries. Jurors rate the entries on the criteria of innovation, functionality and aesthetics.

"The new IBC code changes present challenges to project teams across the board, and when it comes to safety, there's no cutting corners," said Chris Hanstad, Vice President of Architectural Sales at CRL. "We've spent years designing and engineering products to advance laminated glass railing systems; the new 9BL base shoe represents the culmination of that process as it offers a code-compliant system that's easy to specify and install."

About C.R. Laurence
C.R. Laurence is a premier manufacturer and supplier to the glazing, architectural, railing, construction, industrial, and automotive industries, with service centers located throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. The crlaurence.com web site is a proven resource for the glass and glazing industry; usalum.com is a prized resource for the U.S. Aluminum architectural product lines; crl-arch.com provides architects, designers, and specifiers with design-related information on new products. For more information contact C.R. Laurence at (800) 421-6144 or askus@crlaurence.com. 

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C.R. Laurence
2503 E. Vernon Ave.
Los Angeles, CA  90058