I have mixed feelings about balconies.
I used my balcony in one of my previous condos all the time and loved it, but that was a relatively large 150 sq.ft. balcony that could easily accommodate an outdoor sofa set, a couple planters and a BBQ as it had agas line. It also had excellent unobstructed tree-top views. I used it all the time, it was great for entertaining and I sometime use the BBQ in the wintertime when it wasn’t too cold.
In another condo, I rarely used the balcony. Even though it had stunning unobstructed lake and city views from the 30th floor,the noise and dirt from the nearby Gardiner Expressway was a little too much to bear even at that height. The lack of a gas line for a BBQ really limit my use of my balcony and being at considerable height you become a little disconnected from the ground and it gets a little windy up there.
An issue I see with balconies is the premature deterioration of interior flooring as the concrete balcony floor slab continues into the interior with no thermal break or insulation. This causes condensation to form under the floors of the interior near these balconies. I have seen a lot of condos where the hardwood or laminate floors are warped or deteriorated within a foot of an exterior window wall. This may look like there has been a water leak atthe base of the window wall, but in fact it is due to condensation that forms underthe finish floor due to the cold concrete slab meeting the warm wood/laminate floors.
Due to this many condo units require floor repairs or replacement in as little as 4 years of being built.
Terraces are a better option, as the floor of the terrace is built up and provide a little more insulation and don’t directly continue into the interior of the unit creating a thermal bridge. I also like having thatstep up when going to out to my terrace.
With all those factors in mind, my next place I chose acondo that is not located near a freeway, has a generously sized terrace, an unobstructed view that is not too high up, and has a gas hook up for my BBQ.
