Your own balcony gives you quality of life. Accordingly, it is important to choose the right balcony construction, which can depend on many factors. Both the appearance and the material play an important role. Should it be a wooden balcony with glued wood beams? Or a design in hot-dip galvanised steel or alternatively aluminium? Ultimately, the price, which is directly related to the choice of material, is also decisive. Another important factor is thermal bridging (conductivity), which must be taken into account especially when using a steel balcony.

The following is an overview of the main types of balcony construction.

Facing balcony / balconies on columns

A well-known and very popular form of balcony construction is the attachment balcony or balcony on columns made of steel, for example. These are characterised by the fact that they exert hardly any load on the building. Strictly speaking, balconies form a separate structure next to the building, because they are often not structurally connected to the building at all. The weight is carried by the columns, which in turn is transferred to the ground. The number and weight of the balconies determines the size of the columns.

This form of beam construction is often chosen less for aesthetic reasons than for its ease of construction and assembly. For these reasons, this balcony construction is also the first choice when a balcony is to be retrofitted.

Balcony construction: The cantilever balcony

A cantilever balcony protrudes from the front of the building. As a rule, this consists of a single concrete slab that is cast out of the façade. Therefore, this balcony construction is also referred to as a "cantilevered concrete balcony slab". However, this fact can often become a problem, as a cold bridge can quickly develop, leading to heat loss.

Suspended balcony construction

The suspended balcony is similar to the cantilever balcony. This also consists of a cantilevered balcony concrete slab. However, the weight is additionally supported by crossbeams that are attached to the floor slab and the façade. This provides a visual advantage because they are not particularly conspicuous.

Excursus: Advantages of steel balconies

Steel balconies are particularly popular and timeless. They can be made of various steel profiles. Whether rectangular profiles, round profiles, square profiles, steel beams (U-, I- or T-beams) as well as flat profiles: A balcony construction made of steel can often be a good choice for aesthetic and practical reasons. For example, existing balconies can be individually enlarged with steel. The shape can be chosen at will: concave or convex, angular, round or curved.

However, corrosion protection is a particularly important aspect when using steel. Accordingly, it is important that steel balconies are hot-dip galvanised.