Balcony collapse raises safety warning By Andrew Webster, Jason Dowling
Balconies first became a popular feature in Australia in the 1970s and many were now old and worn, he said. Extensive use of Oregon pine and softwood timbers in the '80s and the trend towards owner-builders in this period meant many balconies were not constructed to industry standards.
'We estimate that 6 per cent of Australian homes have a timber balcony or deck and of all of those balconies and decks, about two in 100 were in bad enough condition and high enough above the ground that if they were to collapse they could kill someone,' Mr Caulfield said.