sagging balcony

[bassman]

my balcony is sagging and out of level. is fixing this as simple as shoring it to correct position, removing old supports and inserting new supports? i'm guessing i'd use 6x6's? do i just need some screw jacks for shoring or is there a better way? is this more than a two man job? how do i attach new supports to balcony and to the brick pier? anything i should watch out for? the balcony has a railing and is used for barbequing and lounging.

[pushkins]

Your question is fairly open ended, some things that would be helpful would be a picture or sizes, like height, size of deck etc...

One question I'd like in particular is "why is it sagging"? is it the posts are rotted or is the foundation sinking ?
Both of these reasons would necessitate a different approach to repair.

[bassman]

the balcony is on the second story of the house. it is 20+ feet wide by 8 feet deep. the problem is that the brick piers that are the supports for the balcony have sunken over the years. right now the support legs are the old wrought iron style. would like to replace with green wood. there are three brick piers. i'm assuming i should unattach the railing where it meets the house and i may even have to cut some off. raising the front of the balcony may shorten the distance from the outside edge to where it meets the house. does this make sense?

[pushkins]

If the railing has been on the balcony for pretty much as long as the balcony has been there then as the balcony settled then the rails must have pulled away from the house at some point. What I have seen many times is the railings are replaced after the balcony has settled and the railing installer has made the railings fit.
Before you do anything make sure you support the above deck/balcony . Decide if you want to leave the brick piers in place or remove them entirely and use a full length post.
Either way you decide the following will basically work for either solution with some modifications.
Once support has been given to the entire balcony you can remove the iron work by either unbolting if it's bolted or cutting it off flush with the top of the piers. Using galvanized post anchors bolt these to the top of the pier (it should have a concrete or brick top?). Once you have attached the post supports determine the length of the new post, make sure the balcony has been raised at this point to be level. Cut the new posts / turned porch poles to the correct size. Fit these posts onto the galvanized brackets and up under the balcony bearers. Repeat this process one at a time until all three posts have been replaced. Do Not assume that all three posts will be the same length they most probably will not as the piers have probably settled differently.
Make sure all bolts have been attached and secured correctly BEFORE removing any upper balcony supports that were placed there at the start of the process.
Make sure that when you are raising the balcony that your not in any way pulling it out away from the house, this probably will mean that you will have to at least unbolt the upper railings from the house or if they are wood cut through the nails that are holing the RAILING to the house.
When raising decks and especially balconies I cannot stress enough the dangers involved, do not hurry, check, check and RE CHECK all supports and braces before you proceed to any next step. ( I have seen balconies fall onto people underneath while doing this exact same thing just simply because they didn't take precautions or were simply out of their league in the task at hand).
Not only is this task not for amateurs at the time of construction it is years after that poor planning/work practices can come back to bite you in the a#@ both from under the balcony and standing on the balcony.
So please be carefully , have help at hand when doing the job,check all your work twice and feel more than welcome to ask here for any other help.

Good Luck.

[bassman]

thanks for the advice. i will definitely be overly cautious and i will have help.