Course Description:

Balconies are one of the most maintenance-intensive elements of any building enclosure, not because they’re inherently complicated, but because they sit at the intersection of two competing demands: they need to be weathertight today and replaceable tomorrow. When renewable assets like balcony membranes are installed without accounting for the primary enclosure functions behind them, even a routine re-waterproofing job can become a much bigger problem.

In this live studio broadcast, RDH Building Science specialist James Bourget deconstructs a balcony interface mock-up to show how surface water management and renewable detailing work together, and where they can come apart. Participants will see how balcony membranes can be detailed to allow future replacement without disrupting the primary building enclosure functions responsible for maintaining long-term energy performance.

The session covers sequencing decisions and material compatibility considerations that are easy to overlook at the design stage but critical to get right during installation. Drawing on job-site experience, James walks through practical strategies for balancing durability, accessibility, and enclosure continuity at this often-complex interface.

This session is ideal for builders, architects, and trades working on multi-unit residential or mixed-use projects where balcony interfaces are a recurring challenge. The goal: give you a clear, visual understanding of how to detail the balcony connection so it performs well now and stays serviceable well into the future.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Understand how to replace renewable assets such as balcony membranes without affecting the primary building enclosure functions responsible for maintaining low energy performance.
2. Identify sequencing and material compatibility factors that contribute to successful balcony interface installations.
3. Discuss how surface water management strategies at the balcony interface support long-term enclosure durability and performance.
4. Recognize how balcony interface detailing decisions affect the buildability and maintainability of the enclosure over the life of the building.

PRESENTED BY: James Bourget | RDH Building Science

This webinar is Part 4 of RDH’s five-part High-Performance Enclosures series.