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2nd floor balcony support - safety (Read 3756 times)
fonkymc
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2nd floor balcony support - safety
Jan 24th, 2018, 7:47pm
 
Hello all, am new to this. Just had new steel and composite decking balcony put up to replace my old wooden one which was rotting. The builder has put up a steel pre made frame fixed to the wall with no ledger support just 3 x brackets coming from frame. Please tell me that this is safe? Thanks in advance.  Undecided

7m x 3m steel and composite decking3 brackets on wall onlyImage 3
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woodsmith
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #1 - Jan 25th, 2018, 5:37pm
 
Sorry I can't really help you with this, it's a bit of a specialist job. Did you not need building permission? Fixing details should have been on the plans.

It looks very neat job though and I would be surprised if the builder didn't know what he was doing.
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fonkymc
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #2 - Jan 27th, 2018, 9:07am
 
Thanks Woodsmith for your reply. The original planning was already there for the previous balcony that this builder replaced. He hasn't mentioned any plans and am sure I won't get any guarantee or safety certs or anything like that from him. (am I entitled to?) Yes it does look like a tidy job, but I am unsure about the fixtures to wall. It doesn't seem enough for safety. The builder wants cash payment, he has already lied about how much composite he bought, charging me 25% of €2000 (€400) on top for carriage and skimming 5 x composite planks. Found this out when I demanded receipt/warranty for composite from him. Not sure how to go about getting it safety checked by a professional. Got a quote from a surveyor for an inspection report for €450. Too much for me. Any ideas welcome.
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« Last Edit: Jan 27th, 2018, 1:13pm by Lectrician »  
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #3 - Jan 27th, 2018, 9:24am
 
I'm not sure where you are, but in the UK, even if you don't need planning as you are replacing an existing structure, you would still need building consent and this would have covered the fixing method. Building Control would have probably wanted a structural engineers report at that stage.

The strength of the fixing very much relies on the existing wall and its construction. The rendering makes it a bit more difficult as you can't see what it's made of but if they have made a good fixing into a sound wall, that isn't made of lightweight blocks or the like, then I would think you will be ok. Even if they had fixed a wall plate (ledger) then it would have still relied on a good fixing into the wall.

You could still get a structural engineer to look at it, they are likely to charge about £150.
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #4 - Jan 27th, 2018, 1:41pm
 
Thanks Woodsmith. I am in Republic of Ireland. I am guessing it will be similar to UK. Will source a structural engineer I think. Is there any documentation that I as customer should be receiving from him when job done? How would it work in uk. Will be looking into this here.
Thanks for your advice.
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woodsmith
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #5 - Jan 27th, 2018, 1:54pm
 
In the uk you would have needed building control consent and the local council would have given you a certificate on completion to keep with your deeds. Unless you are planning to sell, when the buyers solicitor will probably ask for proof of compliance, you probably just need piece of mind that the job is good. However it would still be worth getting a written report from the structural engineer with which you can at least show the construction is safe if you get asked in the future.
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #6 - Jan 27th, 2018, 3:44pm
 
Wow, guess I should've not listened to builder in first place. I had mentioned to him about getting planning or speaking to council, and he said I didn't need to do a thing. Stupid me for believing him. Will have to figure out way around this with council if the same rules here.
Great advice, thanks again Woodsmith.
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Re: 2nd floor balcony support - safety
Reply #7 - Jan 27th, 2018, 4:33pm
 
You could get in touch with your local building control, tell them the situation and check if you needed permission and if so ask if you can apply for retrospective consent. It's not cheap and I expect they will want an engineer's report but then you would be completely covered for the future.

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