A mid-century modern home in Aldgate, South Australia is a beautiful example of the use of clinker brick which provides lots of warmth and character.
“We recently had Alistair visit for a Dr Retro house call. It was such a valuable experience – reinforcing some of the ideas we already had for a future renovation and suggesting some new ideas we wouldn’t have even thought of. It was fantastic to be able to spend a couple of hours picking Alistair’s brain and drawing on all his experience with mid century homes. We would highly recommend his service.”
A mid-century modern home in Aldgate, South Australia is a beautiful example of the use of clinker brick which provides lots of warmth and character.
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Secret Design Studio
Secret Design Studio is a small, boutique building and interior design studio that specialises in retro homes of the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s.
You may have heard about the balcony collapse in Victoria’s Anglesea the other day, which injured eight people (and a dog). I was curious about the possible cause of this failure as one of my clients owned a neighbouring property.![]()
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The photos show that the home was built in the 1990s and that the balcony was integral to the design and not a later addition. It would have needed to comply with the building regulations and Australian Standards at construction time.![]()
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The house is very close to the shoreline, so it would have been exposed to lots of wind and salt-laden air. This can cause issues with steel fixings, even galvanised ones over decades of salt exposure.![]()
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The house was last sold in 2019, and photos show that the decking was degraded and looked like it needed maintenance. The balustrade was replaced after 2019 to meet current building regulations. Without visiting the property, I could speculate that while the balcony may have been fine for supporting one or two people, the load of eight people (and a dog) was too much.![]()
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I suspect the wall plate (between the balcony structure and the brickwork) may have failed. This may be due to the timber rotting—there was no eave, so rainwater may have collected between the wall plate and the brickwork, and the rotten timber may have been concealed. The steel fixings for the wall plate may have rusted from exposure to the salt-laden air, or it may have been a combination of these factors.![]()
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This failure made the balcony drop down from the sliding door, which in turn, broke the span between the two front piers. The dropping balcony then pushed one of the front brick piers forward as it was designed for a vertical compressive load and not a horizontal lateral load.![]()
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While it is sad that eight people ended up in the hospital, it could have been much worse. I suggest that all homeowners, especially those in coastal environments, annually check the structure of their external balconies and external stairs for rotten timber and rusted fittings, especially before hosting a gathering when more people will be using the balcony.![]()
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If you are interested in reading about my client’s house next door, which had similar issues, please visit:![]()
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secretdesignstudio.com/past_clients/fe-and-des-mid-century-beach-house-anglesea-victoria/
