How many and how large of a bracket to support balcony 3' x 22'?

by Paul
(Ottawa, Ontario)

Replacing a cantilevered deck as the joists are starting to rot out. Previous owner had sistered new joists to existing members and replanked deck so it looked new. Replacing the joists not the preferred option as the area between joists inside the house has been spray foam insulated.

Need to remove old joists to prevent rot from spreading into house. Thinking of replacing balcony with another balcony supported by brackets.

Anyone have an idea of size of bracket required to support 22' span that is 3' wide? Or can someone point me in the right direction to where I can find the info?

I could go with posts but they would interfere somewhat with the driveway under the balcony.

Editor's Comments

Since you have to remove the existing joists that have been cantilevered out from the house why don't you consider a decorative truss structure made of either large timbers and bolted together and against the load bearing wall? This could also be made of custom metal tubing but would have to be coated to withstand the environment?

There is not going to be any off the shelf ready connector for this kind of a job.

But this solution does stand to give you the clearance you need in the area below the balcony and if done right will surely support the load anticipated. You would certainly have to get a drawing done by a local structural engineer and then then show that your installation has been built and installed according to the drawing for the city building department to give you sign off.