Galvanized juliet balcony?
The juliet balcony minefield
Buying a juliet balcony has never been easier with the rise of online retail. 10 years ago you would have to visit and consult your local ironmonger or steel fabricators for a design and quotation but the process is now much more simple - but what should you look out for?
Regulations
First and foremost as of July 2014 new regulations required that all structural elements of a build (such as a juliet balcony) are required to be CE marked under the scope of BS EN 1090-1. Any juliet balcony not manufactured to these standards, by a CE marked company is not legal.
Most juliet balcony applications require a minimum height from the internal floor level of 1100mm and no gaps within the balcony to be larger than 100mm. For domestic applications the juliet balcony should be able to resist a line load of 0.74kN as standard.
A juliet balcony after all is used for one primary purpose, safety.
Finish
You can purchase a juliet balcony in several different finishes including primer painted, galvanized, powdercoated or stainless steel. Juliet balconies by nature can be difficult to access and therefore maintenance can pose a difficulty many homeowners do not consider when making the purchase.
Dio-Met do not supply primer painted juliet balconies ( unless by specific request) as the finish is inferior and will not last against the elements when top coat painted - requiring reglossing every few years. The only viable option is to have the balcony hot-dip galvanized to last for upto 50 years without further treatment- Spray galvanizing or cold galvanizing should be avoided also.
Have you ever seen a cheap juliet balcony rusting, with paint peeling off? We have, plenty of them in fact. The reason is simple, corner cutting by the supplier - when a balcony is powdercoated it should still be galvanized first to provide the base coating which many do not apply but also, after the galvanizing process the balcony needs to be 'T-washed' with a mordant solution prior to powdercoating - this of course, DioMet do as standard.
Stainless steel is one of the most popular finishes in today's modern world however cost-cutting again can be seen with many companies not supplying the correct 316 marine grade stainless steel and instead opting for internal grade 304. 316G stainless should always be used for external applications although still needs regular cleaning to stay at its best.
Want your juliet balcony to look good for years to come? Know what you're buying and buy from a reputable supplier as it will always save money in the long run.
Dio-Met Juliet Balcony designs
Please login to Comments
