Balcony Inspection Safety Checklists from Experts of Olympiancares

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First I would like to say that the entire staff here at Olympian Home Services would like to express our condolences to the friends and family of Jennifer Rosoff. Though we only know of her from this most recent tragedy I can only hope and pray that the Pix 11 interview of our right hand man and senior inspector John Fiore, along with this simple yet extremely important checklist will be an eye opener for apartment dwellers with balconies and their managing agents.

It is highly recommended that you bookmark our site so that you can revisit the checklist as well as share it with others. We sincerely appreciate your shares, likes, tweets and bookmarks. Your friends will also appreciate it. Thank you!

OUR BALCONY SAFETY INSPECTION CHECKLIST and OCCUPANT GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS

1) Your balcony railings need to be 42″ in height or more. Anything less than that is potentially very dangerous.

2) Open spacing within the balcony railing assembly should never ever exceed 4″, especially for the safety of children.

3) Are your railings firmly in place? Give them a firm shake….is there resistance? if not, then there may be an issue with them and they should be brought to the attention of a managing agent, landlord, maintenance personnel or other professional immediately and you and all guests and household members must immediately refrain from using the balcony.

4) Is there noticeable rust, corrosion and other deterioration? are there rust stains on the balcony floor or on any of the railing components? if so, immediate maintenance and repairs are necessary.

5) Does your balcony contain glass panels? Inspect them for cracks and have them replaced if any are noted.

6) Every time there are freeze thaw conditions with the exterior temperatures, the stability of your balcony railings is put to the test. Cautiously give your railings a good shake to test the resistance during these times. Often there are at least a handful of freeze thaw cases every winter season.

7) Does your balcony have a floor drain of some sort? if so, then make certain it always remains free of debris which could potentially defeat its purpose. Standing water on your balcony can deteriorate fasteners that are holding the safety railing in place.

8) If your balcony is like the many that do not have an actual drain, does it have a good pitch that prevents water from ponding on the surface? If water regularly ponds on the surface the pitch must be repaired.

9) Is any of the masonry belonging to the balcony floor area, the balcony above yours or any other part of the structure which is connected to the railing assembly deteriorated and or spalling? If so, then repairs are needed immediately.

10) Do your balcony doors have child-proof locks? If not, install them immediately.

11) Keep your cats and small dogs off of the balcony. It is just too easy for them to get hurt.

12) Watch larger dogs very closely, and playful or athletic dogs should not be left unattended.

13) Never leave children of any age unattended on your balcony.

14) Do not allow guests or anyone to comfortably lean on balcony railings.

15) Do you have an electrical outlet on your balcony? If so, is it a GFCI type outlet? GFCI outlets have the built-in reset buttons… commonly noticed on bathroom and kitchen electrical outlets, but also required on your balcony electrical outlets.

16) Have you allowed your building management and maintenance personel access to your balcony to conduct required inspections? Have they not attempted to inspect your balcony? Did they only visually inspect it through the balcony glass doors from the interior side of the premises? Insist that your balcony have a professional and thorough safety inspection routinely.

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Remember that these tips should be addressed two times a year at minimum and when the seasons and temperatures change such as in freeze / thaw circumstances. Hire a professional from Olympian Home Services when in doubt or for that added peace of mind.