A home was being renovated in Old Town, Alexandria and the designer wanted a second floor balcony and railing. The idea was for it to have an authentic look to the property and it’s original construction. There were several design ideas that were considered. These included a cast iron railing design, as well as a railing design with forged center basses with solid aircraft-grade aluminum pickets. The design they ultimately selected for this balcony railing was a forged center boss picket design.
The balcony floor design was suggested as a laser cut four leaf clover pattern in ¼” tk aluminum sheet. This balcony floor design had stiffeners added for rigidity. We created the balcony frame out of 3” channel to provide ultimate rigidity.
The designer wanted to have the balcony railing posts be a little more prominent. So,we upgraded the railing posts to 2 ½” square, with a cast post ball cap. This added a level of detail to harmonize with the original design period of the home.
We also created a custom grill for an opening in the brick of the party wall. Again, we used the forged boss picket railing design to coordinate with the original house design.
Then, we prepared the solid aluminum railing and balcony by sand blasting them. To finish, we powder-coated the project a matte black powder-coat, which provided a durable finish that was eco-friendly as well. This finish releases 0 VOC’s into the atmosphere and yet looks authentic to the time period of the original home. We are happy to say that both the client and builder were very happy with the result of this ironwork. It really added visual appeal to this renovated Virginia home.
