AliDeck Aluminium Decking Board Spans and BS8579:2020

A crucial aspect of any balcony is the flooring element and the new British Standard for balcony design (BS8579:2020) provides substantial guidance on achieving excellent design outcomes.

Termed within the Standard as the “uppermost trafficked surface”, a range of issues relating to safety and functionality within the pedestrian surface are explored and defined and definitive requirements on deflection performance are provided.

BS8579:2020 (Guide to the design of Balconies and Terraces) provides clarity on loading and deflection requirements for balconies and for the first time gives clear and concise specific instruction for the maximum deflection permissible in the balcony or terrace pedestrian surface.

The Standard states that, “for occupant comfort”, the balcony pedestrian surface must not deflect more than 5mm under a static 2kN point load. This is measurable in an individual decking board as suspended between two support fixings at a defined span, as demonstrated in the following animated clip;