A balcony with a view can be such a delight, but in many cases it just sits there underused and forlorn. Perhaps the problem is that it’s just too small to warrant employing the services of a team of tradesmen to lay conventional tiles. Or perhaps you are living in a property that is rented and therefore spending money on something that you don’t own or can take with you is not exactly your priority. Irrespective of your situation however there are certainly are ways to bring life to those valuable balcony spaces which won’t cost you a fortune or force you to employ expensive tradespersons.

Whatever materials you choose, they must be sufficiently heavy or securely fixed in place so they will not blow away in strong winds. Also you should check with the building owner or letting agent to ensure there are no special restrictions on what can be placed on your balcony. If laying down tiles, you also need to ensure that any drainage holes or channels on the balcony will not become blocked.

If your balcony is narrow and not normally used for entertaining or relaxing, one surfacing option is to simply place large porcelain or stone tiles on the surface and just butt them together without any adhesives or grout. You could also leave out the odd tile and fill the space with some large polished stones for a more interesting arrangement.

If it’s a concrete balcony, then maybe you could either stain or paint the concrete with commercially available products. Some surface coating products can also give a textured finish for more interest although the downside is that they can collect more dust and dirt than a smooth surface.

Possibly one of the biggest and easiest ways of covering your balcony deck is to use interlocking deck tiles. The tiles just snap into place over the top of any hard surface. Once they are securely locked in place, there’s no danger of them sliding off your balcony and providing you are not in a hurricane or tornado prone region, they won’t be affected by strong winds either.

You may need to cut a few tiles to fit around pipes or any odd shaped areas and also to fill any space left between the last row of tile and the outside wall of your apartment or condo. If you are using the wood tiles, these can easily be cut with a handsaw or jigsaw, but if you are you using granite, slate or porcelain tiles, then you’ll need to use a more specialized wetsaw. But if you don’t wish to go to the trouble of cutting the tiles, then one solution is to leave out the tiles where the posts or pipes are causing a problem and simply fill in the area where the tile has been removed with some attractive river pebbles.

Interlocking deck tiles are now available in a variety of colours, styles and surface materials, so you have a huge variety of options in creating an attractive balcony deck. With some brands of tiles you can also mix and match the types of deck tiles, for example combining a wood tile with a slate tile for a very effective appearance.

Another idea when you are using deck tiles is to randomly leave out a few tiles on the surface of the balcony, and then fill in these areas with some river pebbles or other similar landscaping materials. This is also an excellent solution when you don’t want to cut tiles to fit around post or pipes.

No matter which option you choose, without a lot of effort and hard work you will soon have a much improved looking balcony. Add a few potted plants and a few other landscaping touches and you can be sure that everyone will delight in your newly remodeled balcony.

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