That drab concrete balcony is often the last area to be addressed in any apartment makeover. Maybe it’s just too small to justify a procession of tradespersons traipsing through the apartment day after day to lay ceramic or terracotta tiles, grout them and then polish them. Maybe you live in a rental property and don’t want to spend money on something you can’t take with you. But if you really want to brighten up that valuable exterior space without spending a fortune or employing tradespersons, what are the best options?
One of the main considerations is that whatever materials are selected, they must be sufficiently heavy or securely fixed in place so they will not blow away in strong winds. Also you should check with the building owner or letting agent to ensure there are no special restrictions on what can be placed on balconies. You also need to ensure that any drainage holes or channels on the balcony are not obstructed.
If your balcony is only narrow and not normally used for entertaining or relaxing, one idea is to simply place large porcelain or stone tiles on the surface and just butt them together without any adhesives or grout. You could also leave out the odd tile and fill the space with some large polished stones for a more interesting arrangement. But you must use tiles of at least 12”square and ensure they could not slip or blow off the edge of the balcony.
If it’s a concrete balcony you could of course either stain the concrete with commercially available products or paint the concrete with products specifically designed for concrete.
But perhaps one the best and easiest solutions is to cover the balcony with interlocking wood decking tiles (see for example http://www.ezydeck.net). These tiles can be laid directly on the existing balcony. As each tile is constructed with inbuilt connecting tabs, once they are clicked together, they are held firmly and securely in place, unaffected by normal wind gusts or from slipping off the edge of the balcony. If the balcony has down-pipes, posts or other obstructions, you may need to cut some tiles to fit around such obstructions or to fit the tiles flush against the balcony wall, but the tiles can be cut quite easily with a conventional handsaw or jigsaw. And as the tiles are constructed with a open mesh base, water can drain away from under the tiles quickly and easily. If you have an outward opening door on the balcony however, you need to ensure that the height of the tiles will not prevent opening of the door as the height of the wood tiles is typically about 1 ¼”.
Some manufacturers have more than one style of tile so you can mix and match to make your own unique pattern. If you get tired of one pattern, just lift up the tiles and move them around to make another.
To keep the attractive wood colour, you will need to apply a decking oil at regular intervals, once or twice a year depending on the weather conditions and degree of exposure.
In areas prone to particularly high winds or hurricane prone regions it would be advisable to fix down the tiles more securely. If the building owners permit, tiles could be secured to the concrete base by screws drilled through the tiles in every fourth tile or so. Alternatively, a good quality, UV resistant adhesive could be used.
Porcelain interlocking tiles are also now available which expands the options for covering the balcony. These tiles are designed to interlock precisely to the wood tiles, so it’s possible to create for example, a central patio area paved in porcelain tiles where tables and chairs are situated, surrounded by wood tiles.
To further enhance the balcony you could leave out a few tiles and fill the gaps with some funky polished stones or maybe some chunky bark nuggets. And of course some bushy plants in attractive pots team exceptionally well with any wood deck.
About the author:Malcolm Kay is the CEO of Intex Pacific Pty. Ltd. an international supplier of landscape materials including modular decking tiles. For more information see http://www.ezydeck.net.