Do you use your second story terrace?

They can be nice, but nearly anywhere with weather tends to wear out an uncovered balcony. I can’t tell you how many of these are improperly drained or maintained and even an unsavvy home owner often gets the vibe that this is the throwaway balcony.

The real clincher, I think, is whether there is a kitchen or library on the second floor. Most houses focus on bedrooms upstairs, so the upstairs balcony is also more personal than social, and comes with less amenities than the one downstairs, near the coffee pot.

You mean a deck? We converted ours to be a covered screen room. It’s my favorite place to take a nap.

^^Is your deck off of a main living area? We might build an additional garage and I was thinking I could maybe build a balcony or deck off of the attic space/bonus area. I’m not sure it would work, I’m not an architect. Might have to do a dormer and terrace maybe?

I have a balcony off my second story bedroom that was part of the previous owners’ remodeling. I go out on it maybe 5 times a year briefly to look at the moon. There is a nice view over the rooftops but I tend to sit more on the deck that is off my kitchen.

It was added off the second story after the house was built. It was a double bonus, it left a covered area underneath so we have a shaded sitting area on the first level too. We added pavers, grilling area and a water feature.

@Blackwater_Park Oh, that’s true of mine too that it adds shade to the deck which is where I have my outside table and chairs.

I was thinking about that also, that it would give a covered area below, which I might want anyway. It will depend on price. If I make it into a deck, then I have to spend on railing and if I want to cover the deck, then it is obviously more than just building a covered patio. The house actually has a nice sized cover patio already, so it is kind of unnecessary to pay for it on the garage.

As far as terminology, I think of decks as being made from wood or fake wood, this would probably be cement, so that is why I called it a terrace or balcony, but all the same idea.

My house is built on slanted ground, so the deck off the main living area is well above the ground below.
I like being out there, but in evening and night there are too many bugs.

Yes, I have a balcony off the back bedroom upstairs. It overlooks the canal. It could be very nice but I spend zero time out there. I use the terrace out front and the lanai on the back main level. The lanai is screened and sits right on the canal underneath the balcony.

It’s mostly for use in case of emergency (for fire or burglary exit). Our cats love hanging out there when the weather is nice (watching all the wild animals come and go).

When I had one, I used it rarely. It wasn’t that big and the wrought iron(?) table and chairs my girlfriend had out there was not good for lounging. Also, traffic noise travels up, and we lived off a main artery, so I think it was noisier.

Once when I was 19 or 20, my buddy and I slept on chaise lounges on the large deck off his bedroom, and we both woke up yelping when the New Mexico sun came out and practically scorched our faces.

My second floor is only the master bedroom/bathroom and a small landing I use as a library. I have thought of adding a balcony when I rebuild the small deck below.

I have a tiny balcony off my first storey lounge. I never use it and it suffers from drainage problems at times of heavy driving rain.

I use it all the time to sit and read and watch the ocean.