Balcony failure

Nineteenth Century Residential Property – UK

This project involved the structural assessment of a new stone balcony.  The property was a three-storey residential house with a basement, which was part of a terrace constructed in the latter part of the nineteenth century, with a continuous stone balcony at first floor level.  A piece of cornice had fallen from the eaves onto the balcony and broken part of it off.

The balcony was subsequently reinstated using new limestone panels to match the existing, which were 125mm thick and projected out from the front of the property between bay windows.  However, the homeowner of the neighbouring property wanted structural calculations to prove the integrity of the balcony.

WJM&P were engaged as engineering experts by solicitors acting for the homeowner of the neighbouring property to verify that the balcony was structurally sound, as the consulting engineer involved in the design of the remedial works was unable to demonstrate this.

We carried out a nonlinear finite element analysis, which showed that the balcony resisted the imposed loads by forming a flat arch within the stone, effectively spanning between the bay windows on either side.