Do you own the property?

A Juliet balcony is just as legal as a deck and railing. It would need to meet the same requirements for a”guard” both in height and width between balusters.

It is important to install the ledger board when it easy to use through bolts instead of lag bolts. I use aluminum brackets so water can drain down the wall. (Maine Deck Brackets)

You can get information from the local building dept.

JDS - Yes, we own the property. Closed on it last month. :-) Trying to finalize building plans and this is one of those things we feel like we're banging our head on the wall about.

jmm1837 - I actually like the idea of doing the guard on the inside. I'd rather make some patch and paint repairs to the interior VS having holes in the vinyl siding or doing some kind of frame around the sliding door that only lends itself to that guard rail, and might look useless after the guard rail is gone (?). Thank you for sharing! :)

I can’t look at the code right now but it’s probably section R311. Some inspectors think it violates the requirement for a landing on the exterior side of a door. That might be the local interpretation. All you can do is ask the inspector.

I call this a contrary interpretation.

Section R311.3 requires a 36” landing on both sides of an exterior door. There is an exception that says an exterior balcony less than 60 s.f. and only accessible from a door is permitted to have a landing less than 36 in. measured in the direction of travel.

Thats what makes a Juliet balcony legal but you never know when an inspector will disagree.

If it isn't intended to be permanent... I mean, say I have an existing house with a slider out to a deck that needs to be torn down and replaced. :-\

I guess the final inspection on new construction is what it is. :-\ I really wish we could just screw the door shut. LOL

But thank you, I'll def go see if I can talk to an inspector at the county and see if there is a way to not spend money on a landing I intended to rip down as soon as we can move in.

If they won’t allow a Juliet balcony ask what is the smallest balcony they would allow. Could it be 1 ft x 4 ft? Or 6” x 3 ft? They couldn’t reject one the width of the operable door X 3 ft. Such small balconies could be supported on wall brackets with 3 ft high guards

When this happens to me, I say I’m not sure of the wording of the code and go get the book (with amendments scribbled in the margins) from the trunk of my car and open it to the relevant section. Sometimes the contractor has misrembered the wording of the code and sometimes he doesn’t recognize the book.

Since you own the land, have you hired the builder yet? Because, his inflexibility would give me pause.

Building a Juliet in Raleigh currently.

David Cary - yes, we have already hired them, sent the plans in for our loan appraisal before we closed on the land.

Does yours have a landing on the other side?

They are stating that a Juliet rail without a landing on the other side won't pass inspection / isn't code. From what I've read on other posts / threads / forums it's not uncommon to have a dilemma about a landing on the other side of an exterior door. I don't want anything because, weather and schedules pending, we plan to build the deck as soon as possible after moving in, and removing whatever was installed to get through the final inspection so we can move in.

And I suppose I can understand the builder not wanting to get tangled up in me hiring my own subs, esp with the word family attached. * shrugs * Factor in them losing some money on the deck and I can understand. But for what they quoted me for a 10' X 16', the family I have that can do this can build a deck the entire length of the back of the house... same money, twice the amount of deck.

But the builder doesn't seem eager to want to investigate a temporary solution to the issue (they've said they'd put the ledger board in so we wouldn't have to take off the vinyl siding). I'm going down to the county office this week to ask specifically what can be done.

Thank you for your reply.

The practical definition of a Juliet balcony is a deck that doesn't have a platform, only guard railings. The code interpretation issue is whether or not the exception to R311.3 that allows a landing less than 36" in the direction of travel is satisfied with a dimension of 0". The next question is what dimension would be allowed (2", 4", 6" etc.) I suspect you will find that your contractor knows what he is talking about.

You won't be the first person to ask the building department for an interpretation of the exception to R311.3 and you may be successful but the only thing that is certain is that they cannot refuse the 4x6 deck the contractor proposed and they might accept brackets down to the existing foundation that would avoid foundation piers. They might also accept a 3x3 deck. The biggest waste of money would be the construction of two foundation piers that would later be abandoned. Ask your contractor if brackets to the foundation would reduce the cost of a 4x6 deck. If so, that might be the best solution.

The contractor's offer to install the ledger board is a sign of good faith. Make sure it is through-bolted and properly flashed according to the new more strict code requirements added to the IRC after so many fatal deck failures. I recommend Grace Vycor Plus under the building wrap and over the top of the pressure treated ledger board and that should be protected with metal flashing (no unfinished aluminum). Metal flashings do not weather well when in constant contact with water on top of a ledger board so the vycor will prevent water intrusion when the metal flashing inevitably fails. the metal is essentially protecting the Vycor from UV rays.

I stopped using ledger boards 40 years ago even for decks close to the ground. I always use Maine Deck Brackets.

We did this at our last build. Wasn't an issue, interior sliding glass door was just locked and guard pieces to prevent door opening put in till we built one. Seemed common in our neighbourhood.

In most jurisdictions a guard with balusters would be required regardless of any other precautions and as an architect I would require it in my drawings because of the extreme liability involved. A door can be unlocked and an obstruction removed so someone could get seriously injured. Temporary work is carefully controlled in building codes for good reason.

Ok I had a conversation with the county inspectors and they replied:

If the sliding glass door does not serve as a required exit, then securing a handrail and pickets assembly fasten to the exterior in front of the sliding door would be acceptable. This has been done on past projects waiting to construct exterior decks at a later date.
Please submit me a floor plan for review if possible, or I can meet with you at our office after the week of the fourth.
Hope this helps.

Code Enforcement Director / County Inspection Department

SO YAY! :-D

Now my next question is, if there is a guard attached to the exterior of the sliding glass door will it leave issues with the vinyl siding?

Well done by you and by the building official.

If the door will have solid exterior trim, you should be able to secure a horizontal guard at 36" above finish floor with LedgerLok screws through the trim and into the framing of the door opening. Then you can add vertical balusters to meet the code. These high strength screws need no pre-drilling but If you want to avoid replacing the door trim it might help to pre-drill so you can plug the holes in the trim after you remove the guard.

JDS - thank you for your input. :) Truly, thank you.