How to build a wooden sencond story balcony

Question

im building a balcony for my friend, while he on vacation

haha he doe't even know but

i need some help if you could give me some ideas

pictures or planes that would be amazing

Answer 1

If you do this without the proper permits, it'll be a real shock for your friend! He'll have to pay hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars to have it removed or brought up to code, and his house's vapor lock could be ruined. And the municipality could cite him! And if he rents he could be evicted!

Hilarious!

Answer 2

Go to Lowe's, Home Depot or a similar home improvement store, take your measurements and pictures of where it is going to be built with you and they have a computer program that will give you all the dimensions, lumber lists, construction methods, etc. that are necessary to do the job.

However, if you needed to ask her how to do it, and your friend doesn't know you are doing it, maybe you should take a second to think if this is a good idea?  

There are so many important things that have to be considered before starting a project of this magnitude.  Are there any pipes, wires, septics, etc. where the support pillars would go?  Is the part of the house where the balcony would be attached strong enough to support the weight, or would you need to put posts at the house also?  Are there wires that would be in the way when you lag bolt the balcony to the house?  If you live in an area that requires permits, can you even apply for them without your friend being there?  Will it require inspection after it is done and while it it being built?  Building a balcony of this type would cost several thousand dollars to DIY, is that something you could afford?  This can be done by the DIYer, but if you don't have some very good plans, and quite a bit of experience in this type work, you should probably hire it done, and if you want to learn, maybe the contractor will hire you as a laborer and you can get some first hand experience.  Good luck?

Answer 3

For safety's sake, don't do this yourself.  This needs to be attached to the structure of the house and be supported by a beam and posts on the other end.  The posts must be anchored to an appropriate footing, which will be dictated by your local building codes.  Any errors will result in failure of the balcony, which can result in injury or death.  Hire a qualified carpenter or contractor to build it for you.  They will be able to pull a permit for you and ensure that it's built to code.  Good idea though.