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View Poll Results: would you be willing to live in a high-rise unit that did not have a balcony?
Yes - balconies are overrated, wasted space 13 7.65%
Yes - balconies are nice, but not neccessary 99 58.24%
No - i need my fresh air and grilled meat 52 30.59%
No - i would never live in a high-rise in the first place 6 3.53%
Voters: 170. You may not vote on this poll

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  #81  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2007, 4:22 PM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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Originally Posted by Boris2k7 View Post
Dragonflies are where it's at. They don't leave webs or anything. This summer we had swarms of them and they cleaned up all the pesky mosquitos. On the other hand... more pidgeons this year than I have ever seen before... WTF...
I agree, dragonflies totally destroy mosquitoes. Once I was backpacking and we were in a field being mobbed by mosquitoes and we didn't have our tents yet (the guys with the other halves were like an hour behind us) and so we were hiding in our sleeping bags with just our noses sticking out. Then a bunch of Dragonflies came and started kicking the shit out of the mosquitoes. I saw one take out a mosquito that was hovering about two inches above my nose.

Perhaps we should resurrect those huge dragonflies from prehistoric times to deal with the pidgeon problem? They would eat all of the pidgeons in like 10 minutes with their super agility and speed...
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  #82  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2007, 7:17 PM
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grills are perfectly safe as long as they aren't being operated by a dumb-shit.

i think here in toronto, there were issues about the smoke and smell bothering other people on other balconies.
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  #83  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2007, 9:18 PM
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^ that's because entitlement runs mighty high in our beloved town

Balconies are perfect social spaces, especially if your friends are smokers and you are not. They're also great private spaces, like your own little patio or sidewalk cafe.

Imo, most new condos really suck because they have tiny, poor excuses for balconies. My sister's apt. in an 80s commie block in St. Jamestown is 1.5mx12m, and i absolutely love it.
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  #84  
Old Posted Dec 4, 2007, 10:31 PM
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Yes I would. Unfortunately I'm actually afraid of heights, though I love flying. As long as I feel there is something solid beneath me, and no way to fall out (glass window), I am set. with a balcony, even with the railing there is the fear that if I lean on it, there is an earthquake, whatever, it will break, and I'll fall off.
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  #85  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 2:02 AM
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I have lived in a highrise with and without a balcony, a midrise with a terrace, a multi-unit building with no balcony or terrace, three rowhouses, a walk-up apartment (on the ground floor) with a terrace, and a suburban 6-bedroom house on 2 acres.

I don't see the point of balconies. There isn't enough room to gather with friends, or really use the space. There is no benefit of fresh air that you can't get from opening a big window. I think the only time I used it was to go out for a smoke, and most people don't smoke.

A terrace, on the other hand, is a very nice thing to have - but these are typically found with pre-war apartments on one of the top floors where there are setbacks, and also don't have the aesthetic drawbacks of balconies. By terrace I mean the roof of the apartment below, where there is a setback, not something hanging off the side. Terraces also have the major benefit of not having another one directly overhead, so there's direct sunlight.

Basically, I feel most people think they need a balcony when they're not accustomed to living in a highrise, but don't use it.
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  #86  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 2:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
grills are perfectly safe as long as they aren't being operated by a dumb-shit.

just as:

smoking is perfectly safe as long as it isn't being done by a dumb-shit.

candles are perfectly safe as long as they aren't being lit by a dumb-shit.

space heaters are perfectly safe as long as they aren't being used by a dumb-shit.

and so on and so forth.
Only problem is that 95% (maybe higher) of the global population are absolute dumbshits.
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  #87  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 3:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
I don't see the point of balconies.
uhhhh, as i've said like a dozen times now.......GRILLED MEAT!




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
There isn't enough room to gather with friends, or really use the space.
my balcony is 175 S.F. and has ample room to gather with friends. i have a table and chairs set that seats up to 8 people and 2 lounge chairs. no, i wouldn't throw a raging party out there or anything, but at this stage of my life, i actually much prefer chilling with a smaller group of good friends than the old beer bong/keg stand idiocy festivals of my youth.




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
There is no benefit of fresh air that you can't get from opening a big window.
i would disagree, at least with respect to my tiny unit. i only have window exposure on one wall, so i don't get cross breezes in my place, whereas as the balcony is often a joyous delight of cooling cross breezes on those sweltering chicago summer evenings.




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
I think the only time I used it was to go out for a smoke, and most people don't smoke.
i don't smoke anymore (i quit about a year ago), but i have plenty of friends and relatives who still do and it's nice for them to be able to smoke when they're over without having to go all the way back down to the ground floor.




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
A terrace, on the other hand, is a very nice thing to have - but these are typically found with pre-war apartments on one of the top floors where there are setbacks, and also don't have the aesthetic drawbacks of balconies.
we must have different architectural tastes because the balconies on marina city are anything but an "aesthetic drawback", in fact they are one of the dominant design gestures of the entire composition. marina city doesn't work without its stacked semi-circular balconies.




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
Terraces also have the major benefit of not having another one directly overhead, so there's direct sunlight.
i am not a fan of direct sunlight. not having the balcony above me to provide ample shade on my balcony would be a huge drawback for me, not a benefit.




Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
Basically, I feel most people think they need a balcony when they're not accustomed to living in a highrise, but don't use it.
perhaps that's true for "most people", but i discovered long ago that i am quite a different creature from this group known as "most people". i not only love and use my balcony, there is no way in hell i would ever live in any structure (highrise, apartment block, courtyard building, 3-flat, etc.) without dedicated outdoor space to chill and grill. as i learned in the apartment i had up in wrigleyville that had no deck, patio, balcony or terrace, i simply can't be a happy person without some outdoor space.
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  #88  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 3:27 PM
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^ THe problem is: you live in f'in MARINA CITY!!! Of course you love it, dude. It thrives on its balconies (from how it looks to me, at least).

Many, many, many buildings have very tiny, cramped balconies where seating 8 people is next to impossible (unless you've got a game of outdoor Twister going on). My own balcony isn't that small, but it has the inconvenience of having 1) Dark, tainted glass which makes viewing anything impossible when you're sitting down, and 2) Not nearly enough room to entertain anyone. Not to mention, I think New York has a law against grills on balconies.

So for me--I definitely would do fine without this balcony, although I do like having it. It's just not necessary
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  #89  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 3:27 PM
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I'm all about having a space for my BBQ, and my wife loves her plants and growing them year round. So for us the choice was clear that we needed a balcony and preferably one that has a south or southwest exposure. So it did play a factor in our choice of unit in our new building in Calgary. I am curious as to how windy it may get but we are only on the 26th floor, which is small fry compared to some of the other posters here!

View of the unfinished balcony in question(from about 5 months ago but the best shot of the space I had), it faces west:



And one looking south from our last trip up about 2 months back, looking southwest:

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  #90  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 3:57 PM
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Those are some nice views. I love balconies...

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  #91  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 4:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
I have lived in a highrise with and without a balcony, a midrise with a terrace, a multi-unit building with no balcony or terrace, three rowhouses, a walk-up apartment (on the ground floor) with a terrace, and a suburban 6-bedroom house on 2 acres.

I don't see the point of balconies. There isn't enough room to gather with friends, or really use the space. There is no benefit of fresh air that you can't get from opening a big window. I think the only time I used it was to go out for a smoke, and most people don't smoke.

A terrace, on the other hand, is a very nice thing to have - but these are typically found with pre-war apartments on one of the top floors where there are setbacks, and also don't have the aesthetic drawbacks of balconies. By terrace I mean the roof of the apartment below, where there is a setback, not something hanging off the side. Terraces also have the major benefit of not having another one directly overhead, so there's direct sunlight.

Basically, I feel most people think they need a balcony when they're not accustomed to living in a highrise, but don't use it.
wow I disagree with just about the whole post! Especially the part about opening a big window. Most units in high rises dont have big windows! To say you can get the same fresh air from opening a window to actually being outside is

Steely basically covered everything else.
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  #92  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 7:33 PM
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I DREAM of having a balcony about 20-40 floors up... That is my goal. However, I am worried about safety: I have a very wide assortment of friends and I am a little concerned that someone on mushrooms or acid will come over and try to fly unsuccessfully...

Should I just aim to not have a balcony or should I just choose my friends more carefully?
I'm serious by the way.

Hey, no one answered my question from page 3. It is legitimate: What about safety concerns? Steely... Any thoughts? Are you ever worried about the liability of guests who may be drinking or whatever?
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  #93  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 7:48 PM
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Hey, no one answered my question from page 3. It is legitimate: What about safety concerns? Steely... Any thoughts? Are you ever worried about the liability of guests who may be drinking or whatever?
i don't have any safety concerns on my balcony, the railing is steel, 48" high, anchored into the reinforced concrete floor, and bow-shaped which is a naturally strong shape. there is absolutely no way anyone could accidentally fall off of my balcony, you'd have to be pretty damned determined to get over the 48" high railing. the biggest concern i have is to keep my friends from flicking their cigarette butts over the edge (a big no-no and a potentially large fine if caught).

as for mushrooms or acid, those days are gone forever..... over a long time ago..... oh yeah.......
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Last edited by Steely Dan; Dec 5, 2007 at 8:04 PM.
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  #94  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 8:02 PM
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^ok, thanks for replying. I gues it comes down to making sure to have a strong, tall railing huh?
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  #95  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 8:42 PM
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^I think so. When I used to live in Lakeview, I lived on the 14th floor and had basically a cantilevered or portruding balcony, and the railings were low, thin, old and slightly rusted. It was very scary. I always told people, mostly drunk, not to lean on it or mess around outside, or they might go splat. The chances of it breaking may have been small, but still. Many times Ive read the paper where some people had a party and someone fell to their death etc.

I now have a recessed balcony, with high and very strong railings, and the difference is huge. I feel much more comfortable now letting my drunk homeys go outside on it.
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  #96  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 9:26 PM
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i have a friend at loyola who got very drunk at a party and went out onto the balcony, and next thing anyone knew, she was laying unconscious on the ground three stories below. yikes! she's fine, though. somehow. But in a highrise? the railings had better be pretty high! 48" seems high enough
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  #97  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 9:34 PM
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Snow

Steely do you shovel your balcony ? Looks like most have been blown clean ( not a good view from here ).
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  #98  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 10:20 PM
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nah, i don't shovel my balcony. the wind keeps the snow from accumulating in any meaningful way. besides, i put my christmas tree up outside a week ago and it looks great with the dusting of snow on the balcony.
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  #99  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2007, 10:32 PM
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if i were living in a low-rise, would definitely want a balcony but if i were in the upper floors of a high-rise, probably not. then again, i would not want to live in anything above 15-20 stories.
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  #100  
Old Posted Dec 6, 2007, 1:37 AM
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^ that's because entitlement runs mighty high in our beloved town
what does entitlement have to do with doing whatever the hell you feel like it regardless of how it affects your neighbours.
THAT's entitlement.
sounds like a mighty american streak of logic there.
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