Being On Top of Your
Balcony By Steven DeLuca, Project Manager, EXP Engineering
One of the many perks of owning a condominium is having access to an exclusive balcony. The balcony gives condominium owners a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and extend their living space. Although the balcony has its positives, it also can come with a very expensive price tag to repair and replace. There are several different components and details of the balcony to be considered that affect the longevity and safety of the balcony structure. The balcony structure (columns, beams, joists and sheathing) consists of wood or concrete and is protected by a sheet membrane or a liquid applied membrane on the surface of the balcony. The quality of the membrane and the sequencing of the installation greatly impacts the life expectancy of the balcony. We have completed repair projects for balconies ranging in age from 5 years to 35 years. To this day, it still amazes us how much damage water can cause to wood balcony structures over time. The concept of installing a continuous water-resistant barrier to protect the balcony structure seems very simple. You require continuity and positive lapping of water proofing materials. On sloped roofs this is viewed as very simple, shingle lapping. On balconies, it can be more complicated due to the different transitions from the walls, columns and fascia but the concept remains the same – positive lapping of materials similar to shingles on a sloped roof. Balcony membranes often require replacement before the adjacent cladding. The cladding is typically finished tight to the surface of the balcony which poses challenges for proper membrane installation. We have come across some projects where the Condo Board tries to cut costs by leaving the cladding in place and hires a contractor to just install a new membrane butting up to the cladding. This installation provides no lapping in behind the cladding and weather resistant barrier. See photo on right. In the first year, the balcony membrane was likely tight to the cladding. However over time, the balcony membrane curled away from the wall leaving a large gap for water entry and created significant damage to the underlying wood components resulting in a very costly balcony repair project for the owners.
Continued on next page > Insite to Condos, Spring 2022
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