Timber Balcony vs Cement Balcony

Jarx · Jan 14, 2008 1:47 pm

Hello everyone, I am another one of those new people to this forum. Though I have only been surfing around on this site for a week, I know that in the next 2 years I will be loving this forum more and more.

Why 2 years, because I'm still on the stage of deciding which builder to go with.

One thing about our design, is that our house must have a balcony....which may need to go across and above the garage. Since last week we have been very close in deciding whether to go with Clarendon or AllCastle. Both of those can add balconies which are made out of timber with water resistent material added to it. (must also say that our balconies are to be roofed).

However as of yesterday we came across this builder whose balconies are made of cement. Now the mind bogging decision have to be made between clarendon vs allcastle vs bellmarch.

So I have come to seek your opinions and thoughts on timber vs cement balconies.

Casa2 · Jan 14, 2008 3:42 pm

Jarx,

I like concrete balconies. You put tiles on it and that's the end of your maintenance (apart from cleaning). I also think it look better.

With wood you have to regularly recoat it.

What is your flooring just inside of the balcony (timber or concrete slab)?

BTW, you mentioned that your house "must have a balcony". Is this a personal preference or some external requirement?

dna · Jan 14, 2008 4:20 pm

Do you mean it's a timber decking on the balcony or the structure is made from timber? As for the concrete, is it poured concrete? Or fibre cement sheeting? With my limited knowledge, I doubt it would be poured concrete unless the upper floor would also be concrete as it does not make sense for them to go to all the difficulty of pouring concrete just for the balcony.

Jarx · Jan 14, 2008 7:44 pm

Balconies are our personal preference since we can catch some nice glimpse of Sydney where we are building

but we really don't understand about balconies much.

In reply to what it is constructed of, all 3 of those builders gave me different answers.
1. Clarendon said "suspended concrete". Is this the fibre cement sheeting you are talking about there dna?

2. AllCastle said "timber" with tile on top and seal on bottom.

3. BellMarch said "concrete".

I personally am liking the concrete one, but then we'll have to change their floor structure alot and they are a bit more expensive then the others. So I just want to understand whether there are really that much of a difference between the structure of the balcony.

Yak_Chat · Jan 14, 2008 7:53 pm

I'd say there is alot of difference in the structure.

Concrete is a lot less maintenance. Whe i say concrete I mean solid poured concrete.

I currently have a western facing timber balcony and maintaining it is a pain.
I grew up with a 20 foot x 13 foot concrete balcony that my parents put onto the house and it required no maintenance.

So the pro and cons that I'v experienced.

Concerte is cold on winter mornings - timber is not as cold.
Concrete can warm you up in winter to some degree once the sun gets onto it.

Concrete can get very hot in summer and radiates heat for hours - timber does not hold the same amount of heat.

Solid concrete is less maintenace and would be my choice if available.

Things to think about - which direction will it face, western sun will be an issue in summer, if eastern facing then concrete is a better choice IMO.

and the other one - issues re collapsing balconies - it is more than likely a poorly maintained timber balcony is one that will collapse sooner.

Hope this helps
Steve

ausdesign · Jan 15, 2008 3:58 pm

Jarx going by your post I assume that the balcony floor is also the garage ceiling/roof. If this is the case then my preference would be for a concrete floor [suspended slab]
A waterproof membrane for zero water penetration can be installed over a timber structure but it needs to be spot on.
I would have some reservations about the long term efficiency due to movement & timber settlement.

Casa2 · Jan 15, 2008 5:04 pm

ausdesign,

How does the concrete slab get waterproofed?

I assume it also needs some form of waterproofing.

Cheers,
Casa

ausdesign · Jan 15, 2008 6:04 pm

Yes Casa both systems have a membrane applied to the surface.

Jarx · Jan 16, 2008 12:00 am

Thanks everyone, those were definitely helpful. Hehe... it seems that I'll be going with concrete balconies then.

Just thought of something, is it also a good idea to have a balcony over living areas like above the loungeroom? I mean if the balcony is cement (suspended cement) anyway there shouldn't any problems with leakages right?

Casa2 · Jan 16, 2008 8:38 am

Jarx

Thanks everyone, those were definitely helpful. Hehe... it seems that I'll be going with concrete balconies then.

Just thought of something, is it also a good idea to have a balcony over living areas like above the loungeroom? I mean if the balcony is cement (suspended cement) anyway there shouldn't any problems with leakages right?

Apparently, the problem with concrete over living areas, assuming we are talking about a flat roof, is that there is little protection from the elements. A roof cavity provides a good buffer from the direct summer sun and provides a pocket of air to help keep the house warm in winter.

I've heard of some novel approaches such as embedding foam into the slab. Sort of a suspended waffle pod, if you like. This way there is some imporved thermal insulation.

Of course the advantage of a flat concrete roof is that you can use the area.

Dukekamaya · Jan 17, 2008 10:40 pm

I think a timber framed roof with compressed fibro and tiles is the best option. A suspended slab will be more exspensive when you take into consideration the extra engineering due to the excessive weight on top of the cost of the slab itself.
The compressed fibro can be easily waterproofed before tiling. Timber framing also allows for easy sheeting of the lower ceiling if required with lights etc.