That is a really cool design. I was thinking that they should have made something slide over the "floor" glass though, so you don't get footprint/shoeprints on it (and thus have to clean it after every time you use it).
They should have shown her big fat boyfriend come out there also, so that #1, I'll feel safe about the weight rating, and #2, I'll know that even if I'm big and fat, this window will help me land babes.
If you'd fit such a balcony to an existing app building and the balcony indeed would hold the weight of a group of people, I would still wonder whether thehouse's frame would hold the balcony.
Erm, how do you clean the outside of the glass? If you're high enough to benefit from putting a balcony in then this design prevents you from cleaning the outside.
I know that Pilkington made some hydrophobic layer for one of their products a while ago that meant that the rain would clean the window (or a hose), but that was years ago and doesn't seem to have found favour (I've not heard of it since).
in places with long winters, makes sense. Eg. In boston, october - may the weather is crappy, and there is not a need for a balcony. You will have to deal with cleaning it, snow, etc.
Just lock it, and when the good weather comes, open it.
Plus it seems that it will be easy to retrofit to existing apt. buildings.
The glass has to provide good insulation then. Also, I don't know for Boston, but in Quebec if there's nothing to stop mosquitoes it's essentially unusable...
Studs are not typically designed to handle cantilever loads.
You would pull the stud right out of the wall. You'll at the very least need new (stiffer) studs. By the time you are done with the internal reconstructions (and if it's a load bearing wall, good luck), this will be very expensive.
An ordinary deck is far far cheaper. This is cool, but not practical.
