Visual inspection on balcony damages in Copenhagen

Balcony deterioration is a well-recognized issue in residential buildings. If not properly maintained, such deterioration may further develop, leading to reduced load bearing capacity and service life. In recent years, a number of accidents related to balcony failures were reported worldwide, for instance, Chicago, Berkeley, Los Angeles, France, Queensland and Australia. In 2016, a case of balcony falling has attracted serious concerns from the Danish authority regarding the overall balcony conditions in the country. Today there is still a lack of national guideline on balcony condition assessment and it is up to the building owner to ensure their balconies have the sufficient load bearing capacity. To prevent future occurrence of balcony failures, property owners need knowledge on their balconies to detect early signs of damages. In this context, this study selected six residential areas in Copenhagen to examine the actual conditions of balconies. The areas are chosen from different time periods to represent a reasonable coverage of mixed building and balcony types. The collected information, including classification of damages and their degradation levels, is useful for decision making in the asset management.