Modern Wrought Iron Balcony in Chicago

A balcony is one of the few pieces of metalwork that changes how the whole front of a building looks. This is a modern exterior balcony in Chicago: square bar, powder coated satin black, built clean and low-profile.

A balcony is also where code matters as much as looks. Anything you can stand on more than 30 inches up needs a guard, and on a home that guard has to stand at least 36 inches tall under the 2024 IRC, with openings tight enough that a 4-inch sphere can’t pass through. Those numbers exist to keep a kid from going over or through it. We build to them as a floor and confirm the specifics for the address.

Powder coat is the finish for anything cantilevered out into Chicago weather. It is baked on, tougher than paint, and holds up 15 to 20 years against sun and salt, which is the case we make in our powder coating writeup. The catch, as always, is that you can’t touch it up on the wall, but on a balcony you rarely need to. The wrought iron is built and installed by the same crew.

If you are adding a balcony or replacing one that has seen better winters, let Signature Metal Works talk it through with you.