WO2016178016A1

WO2016178016A1 - Fixing for a balcony

Info

Publication number: WO2016178016A1
Application number: PCT/GB2016/051273
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Parsons; Tim Hill; Tristan PARSONS
Original assignee: Sapphire Balustrades Limited
Priority date: 2015-05-05
Filing date: 2016-05-04
Publication date: 2016-11-10
Also published as: GB2555736A; GB201507666D0; GB201720016D0; GB2555736B

Abstract

The present invention provides a fixing for attaching a balcony to a support which allows for significant accommodation of the construction tolerances in the installation of the support whilst still securely attaching the balcony to the support. In one embodiment, the fixing includes: a connector section; a clamping section for securing the fixing to the support by clamping at least part of the support between the clamping section and the connector section, the clamping section being adjustably attachable to the connector section by at least one first fastener; a support section for supporting the balcony relative to the support, the support section being adjustably attached to and separated from the connector section by at least one second fastener; and at least one third fastener for securing the balcony to the fixing. The present invention also provides a balcony and a method of installing the balcony which allow the pitch of the balcony to be adjusted once installed and secured in place, preferably only through access from the upper side of the balcony

Description

FIXING FOR A BALCONY

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fixing. It is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with a fixing for attaching a balcony or other structure to a protruding support and with a method of fixing a balcony onto a support.

Background of the Invention

Many buildings are designed with balconies to allow the occupants, particularly of flats or apartments at higher levels, to have access to outside space. Due to their nature as extending in a cantilevered fashion from the building, balconies are not normally constructed as part of the overall structure of the building.

The balconies are therefore often manufactured off site and delivered as units ready for craning into place. One known method of mounting the balconies is to cast individual brackets into the concrete slab, then bolt individual stubs onto each of those brackets. Once the stubs are in place, then an accurate site survey of those stubs is carried out and each balcony is purpose-made with special hole positions to try and match where the stubs ended up, thereby accommodating any variations in up/down and left/right position of the stubs. The finished balcony is then delivered to site, lifted by crane and bolted it into place.

This method often requires using stacks of packers to bring the stubs into line with each other (adjusting for in/out variations). This method is very time-consuming and takes away efficiencies of mass production as each balcony has to be individually designed and made. Also, if any error has crept in along the way it is very difficult to rectify this once the balcony is in position.

Another known method is to fix projecting arms in place, then make the balcony with apertures which slide over the arms. This can accommodate variations in in/out and left/right positioning, as the aperture is deliberately made significantly larger than the arm that passes through it.

However, this approach still encounters problems in dealing with up/down variations, as it is very difficult to fix the arms at exactly the right height, and it is also not possible to adjust the balcony once in position. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fixing, a balcony and a method of fixing which enable the balcony to be secured firmly in the correct position while accommodating the tolerances or inaccuracies that occur during construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fixing, a balcony and a method of fixing which enable the balcony to lock onto the projecting arms to stop it moving.

Summary of the Invention

At their broadest, aspects of the present invention provide fixings, balconies and methods for attaching a balcony which allow a fixing to be connected to a support, the relative position of the balcony and the support adjusted and the balcony secured to the fixing and thus to the support.

A first aspect of the present invention preferably provides a fixing for attaching a balcony to a support, the fixing including: a connector section; a clamping section for securing the fixing to the support by clamping at least part of the support between the clamping section and the connector section, the clamping section being adjustably attachable to the connector section by at least one first fastener; a support section for supporting the balcony relative to the support, the support section being adjustably attached to and separated from the connector section by at least one second fastener; and at least one third fastener for securing the balcony to the fixing.

The fixing of this aspect can allow balconies to be manufactured with significant tolerances to the possible variations in the position and orientation of the supports. The fixing allows the balcony to be secured to the support(s) even with such tolerances by firstly securing the fixing to the support, then adjusting the relative position of the balcony and the support and then securing the balcony to the fixing.

In particular, by providing a fixing according to this aspect, the apertures of the balcony which slide over the supports can be made significantly larger than the dimensions of the supports as the balcony can be secured to the support regardless of the relative positions of the support within the aperture when the balcony is installed.

In certain preferred embodiments, there are two first fasteners and, when the fixing is assembled, the clamping section, first fasteners and connector section form a closed loop around support. The clamping section may be a U-shape which is joined to the connector section by a first fastener at each end. This allows the fixing to be clamped securely onto the support by the compressive force exerted on the support by the first fasteners which urge the connector section and the clamping section into contact with opposing sides of the support. In this configuration, the fixing can wrap completely around the cross section of the support. These embodiments can be used with supports of any cross section, but preferably the connector section and/or the clamping section are profiled so as to substantially match the cross section of the support.

In alternative embodiments, the clamping section has two separate parts which are each connected to the connector section by a first fastener and, when the fixing is assembled, each part of the clamping section clamps a different part of the support to the connector section. In this configuration the clamping section, connector section and first fastener act as a G clamp onto a part of the support. Multiple clamping sections can be provided, for example to attach opposing ends of the connector section to either side of a support with an l-shaped cross section. These embodiments are particularly useful where the profile of the support is such that clamping onto the lower surface of the support is difficult or not possible, for example if the support has an angled profile along its length.

The first fasteners may be bolts, with the corresponding nuts welded to the clamping section. The clamping section can then be connected to the connector section by screwing the bolts into the nuts. Tightening the bolts draws the clamping section towards the connector section.

The second fastener may be a grub screw and a nut. By making the second fastener a grub screw, it can be made accessible from the upper surface of the balcony, but not bear on the balcony. The nut (or other threaded portion engaging with the bolt) may be welded to the grub screw and arranged so that the support section bears on it. The grub screw may engage with a welded or captured nut or other threaded portion in the connector section. Screwing the grub screw upwards causes the height of the nut relative to the connector section to increase and therefore force the support section upwards. As the balcony will typically be bearing against the upper surface of the connector section and gravity will be acting downwards, the grub screw counteracts this force and its adjustment can adjust the separation of the balcony from the connector section and thus from the support.

Preferably the support section has at least two second fasteners so that the pitch of the support section relative to the locator section may be adjusted. This allows the level of the balcony to be adjusted so that the upper surface of the balcony is preferably substantially level in the horizontal plane and so that the support section remains in contact with the balcony over substantially its entire area, thereby spreading the load of the balcony. Preferably each of the fasteners can be adjusted from the upper surface of the balcony. This allows the balcony to be installed by lifting on a crane and sliding the apertures onto the supports, but the final adjustments and the securing of the balcony to be carried out by working from the upper surface of the balcony, thereby avoiding the need for high-level access platforms or scaffold. Preferably the fixing further comprises an insulating layer on either the clamping section or the connector section or both such that there is no thermal path between the support and the balcony.

The supports and the balcony will typically be made from metal. The insulating layer ensures that there is no metal/metal contact between the balcony and the support, therefore avoiding a cold bridge between the support and the balcony and electrically insulating the balcony from the building. The insulating layer can also act as a compressible washer between the fixing and the arm/balcony.

Alternatively or additionally, the fixing may further comprise an insulating layer on the support section and the second and third fasteners so that there is no thermal path between the balcony and the support.

The fixing of this aspect may include some, all or none of the above described preferred or optional features in any combination.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a balcony for attaching to a plurality of supports projecting from an existing construction, the balcony having a plurality of apertures through which said supports pass when the balcony is attached to the existing construction, wherein: at least one of said apertures has retained therein a fixing according to the above first aspect, including some, all or none of the preferred or optional features of that aspect for fixing the balcony to at least one of the supports, and the height of the attached balcony is adjustable relative to the support using the second fasteners. The balcony of this aspect can be manufactured with significant tolerances to the possible variations in the position and orientation of the supports. In particular, the apertures of the balcony can be made significantly larger than the dimensions of the supports as the balcony can be secured to the support regardless of the relative positions of the support within the aperture when the balcony is installed by using the fixing.

Preferably the balcony has at least one cross beam which, when the balcony is attached to the supports is substantially perpendicular to the supports and wherein said apertures are apertures through said cross beam. This can allow the balcony to be of a lightweight frame construction as the balcony does not require cross-bracing between the cross beams as this is provided in the installed balcony by the supports.

Preferably there are a plurality of second fasteners which can be adjusted relative to each other to adjust the pitch of the balcony relative to the support.

This allows the level of the balcony to be adjusted so that the upper surface of the balcony is preferably substantially level in the horizontal plane. In certain embodiments, the pitch of the balcony may be adjusted to provide for a deliberate, albeit small, slope towards one side or one corner in order to allow for drainage of the balcony. Such fine adjustment is possible using the balcony of this aspect, but is almost impossible to achieve where the inaccuracies of the installation of the supports cannot be adjusted for in the installation process.

Preferably there are a plurality of said fixings and the pitch of the balcony can be adjusted relative to the supports by adjusting the second fasteners of different fixings. This allows the pitch of the baicony to be adjusted by adjusting corresponding fixings to ievei the baicony in the horizontal plane (or achieve a desired slope in a particular direction on the balcony). For example all the fixings on the inner or the outer side of the balcony could be adjusted to change the front-to-back pitch of the balcony, or all the fixings on the left or the right side of the balcony could be adjusted to change the side-to-side pitch of the balcony.

Preferably each of the fasteners can be adjusted from the upper surface of the balcony. This allows the balcony to be installed by lifting on a crane and sliding the apertures onto the supports, but the final adjustments and the securing of the balcony to be carried out by working from the upper surface of the balcony, thereby avoiding the need for high-level access platforms or scaffold. The balcony of this aspect may include some, all or none of the above described preferred or optional features in any combination.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a method of attaching a balcony to a plurality of supports extending from a building or other construction, the balcony having a frame with a plurality of apertures and at least one fixing mounted in one of said apertures, the method including the steps of: sliding the balcony onto the supports by sliding the apertures over the supports and positioning the balcony in the desired horizontal position relative to the building; securing the fixing to one of the supports; adjusting the spacing between the balcony and the support by adjusting the fixing; and fixing the balcony to the fixing, thereby securing it to the support.

The method of this aspect provides a three-step approach to attaching the balcony using the fixing. First the fixing itself is secured to the support which passes through the aperture in which it is located. Second the relative spacing between the balcony and the support is adjusted. Finally the balcony is fixed to the fixing, securing it in place. The method of this aspect can allow balconies to be manufactured with significant tolerances to the possible variations in the position and orientation of the supports. In particular, the apertures of the balcony can be made significantly larger than the dimensions of the supports as the balcony can be secured to the support regardless of the relative positions of the support within the aperture when the balcony is installed by using the fixing. Preferably the step of securing the fixing to the support includes the step of tightening at least one first fastener which joins a first section and a second section of the fixing to clamp at least part of the support between said sections. Accordingly, the fixing can be securely attached to the support before the balcony is positioned and fixed in place.

Preferably the step of adjusting includes the step of adjusting the separation of a support section, which is in contact with and supports the balcony, from the body of the fixing which is in contact with the support. By adjusting the separation between the support section and the rest of the fixing which is secured to the support, the separation of the balcony and the support can be adjusted.

Preferably the adjustment is in a substantially vertical direction. More preferably the support section supports the weight of the balcony and the adjustment acts against the weight to provide the desired separation. In this configuration, the adjustment only needs to act in one direction (against gravity), but an adjustment which positively adjusts the position in both directions is also possible.

Preferably the step of fixing the balcony includes the step of tightening at least one fastener which secures the balcony to the fixing. Once the relative position of the balcony and the fixing have been adjusted, the balcony can be secured to the fixing thereby preventing relative movement of the balcony and the support and securing the balcony in place relative to the building.

The method may further include the step of adjusting the pitch of the balcony prior to securing the balcony to the support. This allows the level of the balcony to be adjusted so that the upper surface of the balcony is preferably substantially level in the horizontal plane. In certain embodiments, the pitch of the balcony may be adjusted to provide for a deliberate, albeit small, slope towards one side or one corner in order to allow for drainage of the balcony. Such fine adjustment is possible using the method of this aspect, but is almost impossible to achieve where the inaccuracies of the installation of the supports cannot be adjusted for in the installation process.

In one preferred embodiment, there are a plurality of said fixings and the step of adjusting the pitch includes adjusting the spacing between the balcony and the support at each of said fixings. This allows the pitch of the balcony to be adjusted by adjusting corresponding fixings to level the balcony in the horizontal plane. For example all the fixings on the inner or the outer side of the balcony could be adjusted to change the front-to-back pitch of the balcony, or all the fixings on the left or the right side of the balcony could be adjusted to change the side-to-side pitch of the baicony.

Preferably the steps of securing, adjusting and fixing are all performed from the upper surface of the balcony. This allows the balcony to be installed by lifting on a crane and sliding the apertures onto the supports, but the final adjustments and the securing of the balcony to be carried out by working from the upper surface of the balcony, thereby avoiding the need for high-level access platforms or scaffold.

The method may use the fixing of the above described first aspect or the balcony of the above described second aspect, including some, all or none of the optional and preferred features of those aspects described above. However, the method may also use alternative fixings and balconies. The method may include some, all or none of the above described preferred and optional features.

Brief Description of the Drawings

accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a balcony according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a fixing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows an alternative view of the fixing of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a cross-section through a balcony according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 shows a balcony according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 6 shows a fixing according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description and Further Optional Features of the Invention Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a balcony 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention which incorporates two fixings 20A, 20B according to a further

embodiment of the present invention.

The balcony 10 is shown in a fitted position where it has been slid onto a cantilevered arm 30 which projects from and is secured to the building or other construction (not shown). Although a single arm 30 is shown in all of the figures for simplicity, there will normally be a plurality of such arms 30 supporting each balcony (typically three) to provide support against rotation of the balcony and to spread the load across the arms 30. The arms 30 are typically of I-beam construction and are fixed to the building by casting into a concrete structure or by bolting the arms onto plates or stubs which are cast into the concrete structure. The balcony 10 is of the "slide-on" variety, for example as shown in in Figure 4 of GB

2507365A and has a hollow-frame construction in which the cross beams 1 1 have a plurality of apertures 12 (shown in Figure 5) which are arranged so that the balcony 10 can be slid onto the arms 30. The finished balcony has a flat upper surface 13 which is mounted on top of the frame. In the example shown in Figure 1 , the upper surface 13 is timber-decked.

Fixings 20A, 20B are used to secure the balcony 10 to the arm(s) 30. The fixings 20A, 20B are positioned in the apertures 12 and secured to the arm 30 and to the balcony 10 as described further below.

However, the skilled person will appreciate that the fixings of the embodiments described, as well as fixings according to other embodiments of the present invention can also be used with different balcony constructions and attachment methods. For example, the balcony may be of the telescopic type where a tube is formed in the balcony which slides over the arm when the balcony is installed. In such configurations, fixings according to alternatively embodiments of the present invention may be installed in the tube to locate and secure the balcony to the arm in a similar manner to that described below.

In a further example, the balcony may simply have a planar structure which sits on top of the arms when installed. Again, fixings according to further embodiments of the invention may be used to secure the balcony to the arms.

Figure 2 shows a fixing 20B according to an embodiment of the present invention in perspective view from above. Figure 3 shows the same fixing 20B in perspective view from below. The fixing 20B has three main components: a clamping section 21 , a connector section 22 and a support section 23 which are connected by two identical sets of fasteners, each including three fasteners: a clamping fastener 24, an adjustment fastener 25 and an aiiau II [ ICI n laSicuci e.u. r\o oi iu vi i in r iyuic inc ivvu ocia ui laaict ici o aic μυοιιιυι n ι mirror image on either side of the fixing 20B.

The clamping section 21 is a U-shaped bracket which is configured to pass around the bottom of the arm 30 and extend up either side. An M10 nut 24a, forming one half of the clamping fastener 24 is welded onto each vertical side portion of the clamping section 21.

The side portions of the clamping section 21 are made to be smaller in height than the height of the arm 30. This allows the connector section 22 to be fastened to the clamping section 21 by the clamping fasteners 24 and the fixing 20B to be secured to the arm 30 by the tightening of the clamping fasteners 24 which causes the connector section 22 and the horizontal portion of the clamping section 21 to engage with the upper and lower surfaces of the arm 30 respectively and be held in place by friction. The vertical side portions of the clamping section 21 have two arms which hold the nut 24a. However, alternative arrangements in which the vertical side portions retain a nut in an alternative configuration, or which have a threaded hole forming part of the clamping fastener 24 are also possible. In the embodiment shown, in addition to nut 24a, the clamping fastener 24 includes a bolt 24b which passes through the connector section 22 to engage with the nut 24a and can be tightened from above.

The connector section 22 is made up of two flat plates 22a, 22b which lie horizontally across the top of the arm. When fastened to the clamping section 21 , the lower plate 22b engages with the upper surface of the arm 30. The two plates 22a, 22b are provided to strengthen the connector section 22 and for ease of manufacture. However, it will be appreciated that the connector section 22 could readily be constructed from a single part.

The support section 23 is a single flat pate 23a. The support section 23 is connected to the connector section 22 by two adjustment fasteners 25. The adjustment fasteners 25 maintain and adjust the separation between connector section 22 and the support section 23. The adjustment fasteners 25 are M16 grub screw bolts 25a with hexagonal key heads at the top and a welded nut 25b part way down which bears against the lower side of the support section 23. The bolts 25a engage with a threaded portion in the connector section 22 and turning the bolts 25a thus causes the bolt to move up or down relative to the connector section and the welded nut to do likewise, thus maintaining a separation between the connector section 22 and the support section 23.

The balcony 10 generally rests on the upper surface of the support section 23 and therefore the weight of the balcony 10 acts downwards on the support section 23 and thus on the adjustment fasteners 25. It is not generally necessary therefore to provide for positive adjustment in the downward direction as moving a supporting element downwards will result in the support section 23 and the balcony 10 moving downwards under gravity.

However, the skilled person will appreciate that alternative configurations of the adjustment fasteners 25 are also possible. For example, the support section 23 may have a welded nut or a threaded hole which engages with a bolt. The lower end of the bolt could then bear against the upper surface of the connector section 22 thus adjusting the separation between the connector section 22 and the support section. The fixing 20B is fastened to the balcony by the attachment fasteners 26. The attachment fasteners 26 are M10 button-head bolts which engage with threaded holes in the connector section 22 to secure the balcony 10 to the fixing 20B. The attachment fasteners 26 are located in counter-sunk holes in the cross beam and the heads of the fasteners 26 can thus exert downward pressure on the balcony 10 when they are tightened.

The clamping section 21 , connector section 22 and support section 23 are formed by laser cutting and folding stainless steel sheets.

The fixing may also include plastic isolation material (not shown) between the fixing 20A, 20B and either the arm 30 or the balcony 10 or both where the fixing and arm/balcony contact. This ensures that there is no metal/metal contact between the balcony and the arm, therefore avoiding a cold bridge between the arm and the balcony and electrically insulating the balcony from the building. The isolation material can also act as a compressible washer between the fixing and the arm/balcony.

The other fixing 20A has a slightly different configuration to that of the fixing 20B described above and forms a second embodiment of the present invention. Only the differences between the fixings will be described here, and the fixing 20A is otherwise the same as fixing 20B previously described.

The fixing 20A of the second embodiment has the same three part construction as fixing 20B of the first embodiment: a clamping section 21 , a connector section 22 and a support section 23 which are connected by two identical sets of fasteners, each including three fasteners: a damping fastener 24, an adjustment fastener 25 and an attachment fastener 26. The two sets of fasteners are positioned in mirror image on either side of the fixing 20A.

The primary difference between the fixings 20A and 20B of the first and second

embodiments is that the clamping section 21 of fixing 20A of the second embodiment is formed as two separate sections and does not completely surround the support 30. This allows the fixing 20A of the second embodiment to be used in situations where, as shown in Figure 1 , the under side of the arm 30 has an angled profile and so securely clamping a fixing such as that described in the first embodiment would not be possible.

Each of the clamping sections is formed of a clamp 21 a which is retained in a slot 21 b in the side arm of the clamping section. The slot 21 b limits the horizontal movement of the clamp 21 a. The clamping fastener 24 is an M12 bolt which engages with a threaded portion in the top section of the clamp 21a. Tightening the clamping fastener 24 causes the clamp 21 to slide up the slot 21 b until it reaches the top of the slot. Further tightening causes the clamp 21a to pivot against the top of the slot 21 b and thus act as a lever to generate a clamping force acting at the free end of the clamp against the arm 30. The bolt can be tightened from above

As shown in the Figures, the fixing 20A of the second embodiment has two such clamping sections. However, the skilled person will appreciate that clamping is possible using only a single such section, and that further sections could also be used to provide a more secure attachment (at the expense of more parts and extra labour in securing the fixing to the support).

The method of attaching the balcony 10 to the arms 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be set out.

The arms 30 are attached to the building during construction. The balcony 10 is manufactured off-site and delivered by lorry. The fixings 20A, 20B are placed within the apertures 12 after assembly of the balcony 10 and loosely held in place by the attachment fasteners 26.

The balcony 10 is lifted up level with the arms 30 and the apertures 12 slid over the arms 30 such that the arms pass through the fixings 20A, 20B. The apertures 12 of the balcony are made with significant tolerances compared to the dimensions of the arms. This allows for significant potential variations in the position and orientation of the arms 30 to be accommodated and the balcony 10 still put in position. As discussed below, the fixings allow the balcony to be secured in place despite the tolerances between the dimensions of the arms 30 and the apertures 12. The fixings also allow the final vertical position of the balcony at each aperture to be adjusted relative to the arm and thereby accommodate the variations in position and orientation whilst retaining the desired final position and levelling of the balcony.

When the balcony is in the correct position horizontally, the fixings 20A, 20B can be secured in place. Firstly the fixings are secured to the arms 30 by tightening the clamping fasteners 24 (by screwing the bolt 24b into the nut 24a). This causes the connector section 22 and the horizontal portion of the clamping section 21 to engage with the upper and lower surfaces of the arm 30 respectively and be held in place by friction. Once the fixings 20A, 20B have been secured to the arms 30, the vertical positioning of the balcony 10 relative to the arms 30 can be adjusted to ensure that the upper surface 13 is, or will be, level in all directions. This is done using the adjustment fasteners 25 in each fixing which can be adjusted in both directions to level the balcony. By screwing down the bolts 25a, the separation between the connector section 22 and the support section 23 can be reduced. Conversely, by unscrewing the bolts 25a, the separation between the connector section 22 and the support section 23 can be increased. As the apertures 1 1 are sized with significant tolerances with respect to the arms as discussed above and a typical balcony will be supported by at least two arms and have at least two cross beams with apertures in them, by adjusting the fixings in different apertures, the balcony as a whole can be levelled in both horizontal directions in this manner.

Once the balcony 10 has been levelled, the balcony itself can be secured to the fixings 20A, 20B (and thence to the arms 30). This is done using the attachment fasteners 26 which are screwed into threaded holes in the connector section 22, thereby clamping the connector section 22 (and the fixing 20A, 20B as a whole) to the balcony 10. As the heads of the attachment fasteners 26 are set in countersunk holes in the cross beam 11 , when they are tightened, they bear downwards on the cross beam 11 , thereby securing the balcony 10 to the fixing 20A, 20B by clamping it against the support section 23.

It will be appreciated that all of the steps of adjusting the fasteners described above can be performed from the upper surface of the balcony 10 itself, as the heads of all of the fasteners are accessible from above.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

All references referred to above are hereby incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. A fixing for attaching a balcony to a support, the fixing including:

a connector section;

a clamping section for securing the fixing to the support by clamping at least part of the support between the clamping section and the connector section, the clamping section being adjustably attachable to the connector section by at least one first fastener;

a support section for supporting the balcony relative to the support, the support section being adjustably attached to and separated from the connector section by at least one second fastener; and

at least one third fastener for securing the balcony to the fixing.

2. A fixing according to claim 1 wherein there are two first fasteners and, when the fixing is assembled, the clamping section, first fasteners and connector section form a closed loop around support.

3. A fixing according to claim 1 wherein the clamping section has two separate parts which are each connected to the connector section by a first fasteners and, when the fixing is assembled, each part of the clamping section clamps a different part of the support to the connector section.

4. A fixing according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first fasteners are bolts, with the corresponding nuts welded to the clamping section.

5. A fixing according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the second fastener is a grub screw and a nut.

6. A fixing according to any one of the preceding claims where the support section has at least two second fasteners so that the pitch of the support section relative to the locator section may be adjusted.

7. A fixing according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising an insulating layer on either the clamping section or the connector section or both such that there is no thermal path between the support and the balcony.

8. A balcony for attaching to a plurality of supports projecting from an existing construction, the balcony having a plurality of apertures through which said supports pass when the balcony is attached to the existing construction, wherein: at least one of said apertures has retained therein a fixing according to any one of the preceding claims for fixing the balcony to at least one of the supports, and

the height of the attached balcony is adjustable relative to the support using the second fasteners.

9. A balcony according to claim 8 wherein the balcony has at least one cross beam which, when the balcony is attached to the supports is substantially perpendicular to the supports and wherein said apertures are apertures through said cross beam.

10. A balcony according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein there are a plurality of second fasteners which can be adjusted relative to each other to adjust the pitch of the balcony relative to the support.

1 1. A balcony according to any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the balcony has a plurality of said fixings and the pitch of the balcony can be adjusted relative to the supports by adjusting the second fasteners of different fixings.

12. A balcony according to any one of claims 8 to 1 1 wherein each of the fasteners can be adjusted from the upper surface of the balcony.

13. A method of attaching a balcony to a plurality of supports extending from a building or other construction, the balcony having a frame with a plurality of apertures and at least one fixing mounted in one of said apertures, the method including the steps of:

sliding the balcony onto the supports by sliding the apertures over the supports and positioning the balcony in the desired horizontal position relative to the building;

securing the fixing to one of the supports;

adjusting the spacing between the balcony and the support by adjusting the fixing; and

fixing the balcony relative to the fixing, thereby securing it to the support.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein the step of securing the fixing to the support includes the step of tightening at least one first fastener which joins a first section and a second section of the fixing to clamp at least part of the support between said sections.

15. A method according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein the step of adjusting includes the step of adjusting the separation of a support section, which is in contact with and supports the balcony, from the body of the fixing which is in contact with the support.

16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15 wherein the step of fixing the balcony includes the step of tightening at least one fastener which secures the balcony to the fixing.

17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, further including the step of adjusting the pitch of the balcony prior to securing the balcony to the support.

18. A method according to claim 17 wherein there are a plurality of said fixings and the step of adjusting the pitch includes adjusting the spacing between the balcony and the support at each of said fixings.

19. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 18 wherein the steps of securing, adjusting and fixing are all performed from the upper surface of the balcony.