ᐅ Cantilevered Balcony Added Later: Costs? Feasibility?

Hello everyone,

I have been the owner of a top-floor apartment for a little over a year now. Unfortunately, our balcony faces the main street, so we would prefer to add a new cantilevered balcony afterward.

However, we have no idea yet how much this might roughly cost.

Since the owners below are not aware of my plans yet, I would like to find out what the process and approximate costs might be regarding building permits / planning permission, creating an opening, waterproofing, balcony slab, and so on.

The desired balcony dimensions should be approximately 4.5m x 2.5m (15 feet x 8 feet), give or take.

There is already a balcony on the upper floor (see photo), so the neighbors would also benefit from our balcony because they would then have a roof over their heads.

I imagine a balcony supported by posts would be quite challenging.

Surely someone here has experience with adding a balcony afterward and can recommend reliable contractors. (For the opening and similar work, I assume individual trades need to be hired, right?)

I would really appreciate any information on the approximate price range, so I can assess whether this project is financially feasible!

Thank you very much for your help.

PS: The photo attached is from the listing of the lower apartment.

Hello,

snackys schrieb:

Since the lower owners don’t know about my request yet ...

_Before_ you start worrying about costs and possible construction, you should first visit the building authority and find out if a balcony is even likely to be approved. I’m currently quite skeptical about this because it would be installed in the attic, which is rarely or never permitted.

Regards, Bauexperte

Of course, I can do that. But if I have the figures and realize that it’s not financially feasible, I can save myself the trip to the building authority / planning office.

Why wouldn’t a balcony in the attic be allowed?

After all, we already have a balcony facing the street side. Since it faces the street, it’s not very pleasant. That’s why we want a second one in the other direction, as it’s quiet there.

Do you have an approximate estimate of how much our project might cost?

snackys schrieb:

But if I have some numbers and realize it’s not financially feasible, I can save myself a trip to the building authority / planning office...

I just wanted to at least know if it’s worthwhile to put effort into getting quotes?

snackys schrieb:

Why wouldn’t a balcony in the attic be allowed?

It would be built just below the roof covering; most building authorities don’t approve that.

snackys schrieb:

Do you have a rough estimate of what our project might cost?

If it were a new build, I could answer that; but here we’re dealing with an existing building. A cantilevered balcony isn’t possible, and a support plate would require significant effort. It would either be attached under the roof or to the house wall; in my opinion, only metal is really an option. A depth of 2.50 m (8 feet) is not possible without support from below. Including everything (railing, plasterer, possibly masonry work), I would estimate around 10,000 to 12,000 (currency).

Best regards, Bauexperte

Asking the building authority costs nothing; everything else does.
From a building regulations perspective, it’s about areas and distances that must be observed.
An interesting option would be a cantilevered balcony: this won’t be cheap. After all, it involves intervention in the main load-bearing walls.

First, asking for a rough estimate before contacting the building authority / planning office is certainly the more sensible order. He hasn’t said anything about wanting to get concrete quotes yet. If the budget is 5,000 but the project starts at a minimum of 10,000, there is no point in going to the building authority or requesting quotes.

If the scale is suitable, he should of course first go to the building authority / planning office.