http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33150308
Must be about thirty years back now, I was on holiday in Benidorm, opposite our hotel there was a new one being built, a big one, at least fifteen plus stories high, from our balcony we had a grandstand view of the build, but one thing confused me, from the top of the building there were loads of 4" x 4" battens sticking out with rope tided to them, the rope went almost down to ground level, each rope having a bucket of sand tied to the end of it, as I said this confused me, then I sussed, they were plumb lines set at the distance the balconies were to be built out to... The next bit was the worrying bit, the floor surface of the balcony,,, shuttering built up from the balcony below and two layers of bricks laid horizontally out on it from the wall of the building,,, the building was at various stages of the build, the next process was to coat the top surface of the bricks with a layer of concrete, no reinforcing, just a skim, once dried the shuttering was removed, the edges and underside were then given a skim of plaster, next the railings were fitted, I don't know if they added any structural support to the balcony, then the floor surface was tiled, now the finished item looked the part, but two rooms along there's a guy laying a horizontal wall balcony...
Ever since that day every time I stand on a balcony my mind goes back to it.......
Must be about thirty years back now, I was on holiday in Benidorm, opposite our hotel there was a new one being built, a big one, at least fifteen plus stories high, from our balcony we had a grandstand view of the build, but one thing confused me, from the top of the building there were loads of 4" x 4" battens sticking out with rope tided to them, the rope went almost down to ground level, each rope having a bucket of sand tied to the end of it, as I said this confused me, then I sussed, they were plumb lines set at the distance the balconies were to be built out to... The next bit was the worrying bit, the floor surface of the balcony,,, shuttering built up from the balcony below and two layers of bricks laid horizontally out on it from the wall of the building,,, the building was at various stages of the build, the next process was to coat the top surface of the bricks with a layer of concrete, no reinforcing, just a skim, once dried the shuttering was removed, the edges and underside were then given a skim of plaster, next the railings were fitted, I don't know if they added any structural support to the balcony, then the floor surface was tiled, now the finished item looked the part, but two rooms along there's a guy laying a horizontal wall balcony...
Ever since that day every time I stand on a balcony my mind goes back to it.......
These Juliet railings on the new type flats are no safer,
although i'm insured for public liability too,