A Plunging Platform

Bellmont to the rescue! The brick balustrades of this six unit apartment in Manly were a heavy burden to the concrete slab of the balcony.

​Suburb: MANLY
Date: 17/01/20
Project:  Bellmont Façade Engineering assessed the condition of the balcony slabs of 3 levels of residential units. There separation between the masonry balustrades at the ends of the balconies and the building which we believed to be caused by excessive deflection and rotation of the cantilevering concrete slab balcony. The rotation is more pronounced due to the cracking in the slab. 

​Additionally the cracking within the slab indicates a localised rotation that has contributed to the separation. This cracking provides a water ingress point to access the steel reinforcement in the slab. The top reinforcement is the critical strength reinforcement for cantilevering slabs and the condition of the reinforcement needs to be verified, however the cracking evident is an obvious precursor to reinforcement corrosion.
 
The movement of the metal balustrade indicates a loss of connection strength of the middle post. It is our opinion that the metal balustrade requires being replaced due to non-compliant strength and also height.

​Recommendation: Replace brick balustrades with lighter aluminium balustrades to significantly reduce the loading on the concrete slab.
​
​Status: WORK IN PROGRESS. The front of the building’s three balconies have been complete. Left to do are the three balconies to the rear of the building.