Building a metal balcony/decking

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Hi,
My terraced house rear garden is about 8 - 9 feet below my kitchen floor level, I bought the house with a wooden decking supported between us and nextdoor on wood plates screwed into our respective walls (their extension and my extension) There is a corridor area which belongs to us about 1.3m wide. The decking is on top of the wall plates/joists and extends out the rear, wrapping around below the kitchen window, with wood stairs down to the garden, this is the "balcony" part and this is also about 1.3m wide and is about 5m long, supported on my house wall in the same way and at the outside by vertical steel posts about 125mm x 125mm square profile.

Because the existing wood is starting to rot it is no longer safe to stand on. 

Rather than repair with wood, I am thinking of ripping it all out and using a self standing steel structure which does not rely on support from next door's wall.

I would need steel 'feet' I'm thinking a steel base plate about 30cm square, with an integral upright into which the new steel posts will fit and then be bolted together. There would be some supports between all the posts at the top to tie them all together, on top of that would rest the steel grating.  And on top of the grating I could lay some non structural wood sheeting.

Standard Steel Grating – Large Sizes for Flooring, Platform & Walkways (chinasteelgrating.com)

Can you help me find a supplier who has such a system 'off the shelf' which I can bolt together?

Thank you

FreeBear

You will need concrete pads for the feet of any steel work to sit on. Depending on the size & weight/loading of the structure, these pads could be quite large - A job for a structural engineer methinks...

I don't know of any off the shelf kits - These things are usually fabricated to order as any welding needs to be "up to code" (I used to work for a company that did structural steelwork).

fluffymuffy

This is a good summary of the requirements for Planning Permission and Building Regulations Approval for decking 

https://deckingnetwork.com/decking-advice/building-regulations-for-decking/

Section62

Old thread.  The OP didn't come back after their first post.

fluffymuffy

Section62 said:

Old thread.  The OP didn't come back after their first post.

Yes, but I always find it satisfying to tell people that Planning Permission is needed to build a deck which is more than 30cm off the ground at any point.

ThisIsWeird

Good point, but his fellow already had raised decking, so was most likely certainly ok on that front.

Section62

ThisIsWeird said:

Good point, but his fellow already had raised decking, so was most likely certainly ok on that front.

Not necessarily - it depends whether it is a truly like-for-like replacement for maintenance reasons, or provision of a replacement structure with different design features and/or different size.

From what they said, the OP's proposal would be a different type of structure and therefore likely to need planning consent.

There's also the possibility of assumptions the original structure had planning consent.  If it didn't then the planning situation could be rather complicated, especially if the new structure wasn't identical to the old one.

But not much point having a lengthy discussion unless the OP themselves is still interested in this project.  If they are, then FreeBear covered it six months ago.... start by talking to a structural engineer.

ThisIsWeird

If the replacement follows the same essential dimensions - which is what I was assuming - it would be highly unlikely to become a breach. (Ie, a 'new' breach).

Unless 'steel' is considered more 'permanent' than timber? I dunno.

Section62

ThisIsWeird said:

If the replacement follows the same essential dimensions - which is what I was assuming - it would be highly unlikely to become a breach. (Ie, a 'new' breach).

Unless 'steel' is considered more 'permanent' than timber? I dunno.

Permanence isn't a factor in planning requirements for structures.

Size and appearance are relevant for planning purposes.

Replacing a structure which is somehow supported by the buildings with a new "self standing steel structure" sounds like it is likely to be a material change in the form of the structure, if not the size.

Assuming no planning consent was needed for this change and just pressing ahead would be unwise.

But I'd guess the OP saw FreeBear's reply in June and decided to drop the idea?  We're only discussing it now because someone resurrected the thread to post a link to a steel supplier, which isn't what the OP needed.

fluffymuffy

Perhaps there's regional variations, but in my local authority once a structure has been taken down (even during the activity of replacing it) it's considered to no longer have any acquired rights to be there.

Round our way it would need to be replaced a bit at a time to avoid Planning. Also, while Building Regulations don't apply there is still a legal duty of care that the decking should be safe. Hence the need for professional input.