Ideas to raise surface of Juliet balcony?

jill_valentine

I have a weird little Juliet balcony that's about 210.5cm x 21cm off a 6cm step. You can just about stand out there for a smoke. I'm looking to raise the walking surface of the balcony bit up 6cm to match the step, so I can get a bit more value out of it for stuff like plants.

I'm thinking of just getting a lump of wood cut to fit, painting it, and using that, but I'd love to hear suggestions for a more elegant solution, it seems to be a very awkward size and shape for decking or anything to that effect.

Lumen

Pic?

Is it covered or exposed to rain? Is there a drain?

GreeBo

You should be able to just build a small deck in the area, ideally using composite boards so you are not worried about maintenance etc.

The size & shape won't really matter for decking, you just might have some waste.

Just putting some wood down will rot and leave you with a mess IMO.

jack of all

Be careful you don't run foul of the building regulations (Part K) by effectively reducing the guarding height by raising the floor, especially if a visitor or young child could get access to it.

jill_valentine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118455230#Comment_118455230

Exposed to the rain. There isn't a drain as such but there's no lip keeping water on it.

Not a great photo, but hopefully gives you some idea.

You can see the nonslip steel I'm trying to cover, and the concrete step I'm trying to create a level surface to.

Re: decking, what would be the simplest way to raise it 6cm?

Lumen

I would get a timber place to cut you a nice piece of hardwood to the correct dimensions.

Probably good to have some relief grooves on the underside to prevent the wood from cupping and allow some airflow.

Dr_Colossus

Does the concrete step overlap and cover any of the sheet steel? It looks to be screwed and riveted to the supporting structure so if step doesn't overlap I'd be inclined to take that up altogether, put in some treated wooden framing to the desired height and screw back the sheet steel.

10-10-20

First I'd get one length of 35mm x 50mm and cut these to 21cm. Glue them perpendicular to the building onto the aluminium plate ~25cm gaps. The glue is just there to hold them for the installation - there isn't much risk of this wood coming loose and falling.

https://brooksonline.ie/35x50mm-1-x2-whitewood-rough-treated-fsc-2-swnt035050

Then I'd run three of these latts (or four depending on the actual dimensions of the wood) down the length of the balcony with a gap between each.

https://brooksonline.ie/22mmx50mm-1x2-whitewood-rough-treated-fsc-2-swnt022050

Then screw the 22mm latts into the 35mm using 50mm decking screws.

https://brooksonline.ie/stardeck-decking-screw-50mm-ui3379

I'm using links to Brooks for handiness-sake, but all of these products can be got anywhere. The wood is treated so should last a good number of years, but you can treat it with a preservative as long as you're not going to hit the balcony below.

jill_valentine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118466162#Comment_118466162

Ah thank you, this is really useful!