Rust and Cracked Concrete at a Balcony Railing Post

Most balcony railing posts are steel, set into holes in the concrete. Water collects at the base of the post, works down into the hole and sits there through every rain and every thaw, so the steel rusts below the surface where nobody sees it. Rusting steel swells. It pushes on the concrete around the post until the concrete cracks and the corner of the slab breaks off.

Spring is the time to walk the balconies, before people are out on them. Check every post, not just the worst one. Bubbling or flaking paint at the base comes first. Rust stains running down the edge of the slab and cracks spreading out from the post come later.

A railing that moves at the base is past the warning stage. Keep people off that balcony until someone checks it.

The repair removes the cracked concrete around the post, cleans the rusted steel in the slab, and rebuilds the slab edge. Caught early, that is a few posts. Caught late, it can be the whole slab edge.

We fix this: Balcony Restoration