Maintaining Your Balcony

Balconies are an excellent addition to a property, but they need to be adequately maintained to ensure they look their best and last for many years. If you carry out regular maintenance and repairs, you are less likely to encounter more serious issues that could affect the overall stability of the balcony.

Assess the Condition

It?s important to regularly carry out an assessment of the balcony, whether it?s a stainless steel or cast iron balcony. This will enable you to see where any repairs are necessary. By tackling these problems early on, you can limit the amount of damage that is caused to your balcony due to water or pest problems, for example.

When conducting an assessment, you should look for any areas where the wood has changed shape or begun to warp, as these could be indications that water has got into the timber. Be aware of any areas of the decking that have become damp or discoloured, and look out for evidence of rot or corrosion on the handrails or balustrades.

Cleaning the Decking

It?s important that the decking on your balcony is cleaned frequently to remove any dirt or debris. However, you should avoid using excessive amounts of water on the surface, as this can lead to damage. Instead of using a hose pipe, you should aim to simply brush the rubbish away.

Adding Plants and Flowers

Using plants and flowers on your cast iron balcony can bring a touch of colour to the area and brighten the place up. However, it?s important that you position them correctly to avoid causing damage to the decking.

If you?re using plants in pots or containers, you should put them on trays rather than straight on to the decking. This will protect the surface when watering the plants and you shouldn?t let the water overflow on to the floor.

It?s also important not to allow your plants and trees to shade the decking too much, as this can prevent it from drying out sufficiently when it does get wet. You should remove any creeping plants from the railing, as this reduces the amount of ventilation and keeps moisture locked in rather than letting it escape.

Protecting Your Timber

If your balcony has timber decking or handrails, you should ensure that they are adequately protected from the elements and pest infestation. Before you apply a protective product, you should clean the decking. Once the timber has been protected, you will need to apply additional coats on a regular basis as necessary. This will depend on the overall condition of the timber, the type of product you used and the location of the property.

If your cast iron balcony has been painted, then this will need reapplying when it starts to chip and flake off. Any areas where the paintwork has been removed will become open to the elements and it could result in further damage being caused.

Balconies that are looked after correctly can last for many years without any deterioration in quality. If you?ve invested in a balcony, you need to ensure you keep up the maintenance.