In a tower flat the balcony does several jobs at once, and drying clothes is the one nobody designs for. It affects what should be fitted there, because a balcony that is permanently damp behaves differently from one that is not, and most balcony problems in these flats start there.
Drying clothes on an enclosed balcony
Enclosing a balcony gains a room and removes the airflow that was drying the washing.
So clothes dry slowly, the balcony stays humid, and that moisture ends up in the frame, the seals and eventually the wall.
If the balcony is the drying space, it wants an opening arrangement rather than fixed glazing — fully sliding panels that can be opened right back. It costs more than fixed glazing and it keeps the balcony doing the job it was already doing.
Fitting a drying arrangement properly
Ceiling-mounted drying racks and wall lines get fixed into whatever is handy, and on a balcony that is frequently a light soffit or a parapet that will not carry a wet load.
Wet washing is considerably heavier than dry, and a rack pulling out of a ceiling takes a section of it away.
So we find the structure before fixing, and where the ceiling will not carry it we fix into the side walls instead. It is a small job and it is one of the more common failures we are called to put right in these flats.
Mesh on a balcony that is open for drying
A balcony left open for airflow lets in everything else too, which is why the drying balcony is usually where mesh matters most.
So mesh here wants to be in a rigid removable frame that seats into the opening rather than stretched across and fixed at the edges.
At height, wind gets behind fixed mesh, lifts a corner and the rest follows within a season. A framed panel survives it, lifts out to be washed, and can be taken out entirely when the balcony is being used for something else.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
