ᐅ Covered or exterior balcony

Currently, there are two options to choose from in the house design:

Option A with an internal/covered balcony at the expense of the living space in the attic

Option B with an external, uncovered balcony

Which option would you prefer, and what are the advantages and disadvantages? (This question is not about room layout or anything else, solely about the balcony design)

I wouldn’t take any at all!

Good morning.
Visually, I find the interior balcony more appealing. BUT:
Why have a balcony at all? How do you plan to use it? Usually, people tend to spend their time on the terrace (more space for family and friends, close to the garden and kitchen).
Except for a separate apartment, I have never seen anyone use a balcony when a terrace is available!?

One option, if you have enough space, is to omit the currently planned balcony area (or even a bit more) on the ground floor, raise the roof overhang, and you instantly get a covered terrace.
I’m speaking from personal experience here. While our neighbors are still sunbathing on their terrace in the second year (and probably also in the third, fourth, ...), we have been sitting protected on our terrace from the start. And a warm summer thunderstorm under such a covered terrace is very relaxing – I can tell you.
(Regarding sun protection, I have to mention that we don’t have a full upper floor, so the roof is slightly lower. This is just a thought/idea, since usually people initially save money by not adding a terrace roof, especially with a south-facing orientation like ours.)

Winjoe1 schrieb:

Good morning.
Visually, I find the interior balcony more appealing. BUT:
Why have a balcony at all??? How do you plan to use it? Usually, you will spend more time on the terrace (more space – for family and friends, proximity to garden & kitchen).
Except for a granny flat, I have yet to see anyone use a balcony if there is a terrace available!?

One option, if space allows: skip the currently planned balcony area (maybe even a bit more) on the ground floor, increase the roof overhang, and you immediately get a covered terrace.
I speak from personal experience here. While our neighbors are still grilling on their terrace in the second year (and probably also in the third, fourth, …), we have been sitting protected on our terrace from the start. And a warm summer thunderstorm under a covered terrace is very relaxing – I can tell you that.
(Regarding sun protection, I have to mention that we do not have a full upper floor, so the roof is a bit lower. This is just meant as a thought/idea, because usually at the beginning people save money by not roofing the terrace, especially with a south-facing orientation like ours.)

Good morning,
thank you very much for your suggestions.

The floor plan requires that the balcony is positioned in front of the office. Since I work from home a lot, the goal is to be able to use the balcony for working as well.

This would generally argue in favor of a covered balcony, as it offers more protection from wind (blowing leaves, wind noise during phone calls) and the shading allows better conditions for working on a laptop.

Also, you are not so exposed to view.

The terrace is less suitable for this because the walk to the office would be longer, and there will likely be more activity on the terrace than on the “secluded” balcony area.

On the other hand, sacrificing living space to gain a balcony is not ideal and, in my opinion, outdated.

The advantage of the exterior balcony is that you can use the full attic floor as living space and the balcony could be used for sunbathing; however, in practice, this will probably not happen often since the terrace is preferable for that.

Then you have to ask whether the balcony is necessary at all if it can only be used to a limited extent for working and otherwise has no real purpose, because due to its dimensions, it cannot serve as shading or roofing for the terrace below either.

How would you roughly estimate the cost or potential savings for an exterior balcony including railings?

Leaving out the ground floor is not an option because too much living space would be lost. Also, with the two-sided terrace orientation to the south and west, there is a good chance to find a shady spot. Alternatively, a roof, awning, or parasol!

Hello,
basically, I also think that a balcony on a single-family house is complete nonsense and a waste of money. However, if you really work from home a lot, it could be a nice luxury. In that case, though, the “internal” version, which also has quite an 80s look.
Which direction does it face?

Regards,

Andreas

Do people really sit on the balcony to work? *thinking*
I believe it sounds nicer than it actually is, and most likely people quickly stop doing it.

We have a balcony for aesthetic reasons. Overall (and partly because we chose a very expensive railing), the cost for the slab, thermal insulation, screed, tiles, and the railing itself was probably a rather high four-figure amount. I don’t know if the balcony above made a structural difference (and thus increased costs due to additional effort).