Any way to stop rain water coming inside balcony?

6

6pack

Luminary
I'm having this problem where rain water is falling inside my balcony and falling on the washing machine. I looked at what the neighbours have done and some have put plastic sheeting like the one on trucks or shower curtains and one major drawback i see is these blow in the wind either inside or outside and make a racket of a noise.

Was thinking of bamboo screen but those are extremely expensive and look tacky because they have tarpaulin in them. Plus another thing i noticed is these plastic things don't allow wind/air to pass through and air inside house becomes stuffy and damp soon. I spent the entire day searching on Amazon when i got some free time and don't know what to do now. Any ideas on how to accomplish this? I saw a product by Hippo with some mosquito net stiched in between. Probably the closest to what i want but don't know if it can stop water coming inside. Seems to be just loosely stitched nylon or plastic threads.
 
I have the same problem. I don't think there's any cheaper alternative other than plastic.
I have decided on installing aluminium sliding before next season, will be expensive but worth it.
 
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Install this. It is useful round the year all seasons..
 
To stop the rainwater entering in the balcony you need a roof extension just like nritech suggested. It will solve both issues, no more rainwater and no more suffocation inside room.
 
nRiTeCh said:
View attachment 171737

Install this. It is useful round the year all seasons..
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Forgot to add. My balcony is closed from top. Only the part above the grill is open. Cement walls on all 3 side. Plus it's a society so can't do such things. Only temporary stuff is possible which can be removed easily if some nosy society person takes offense.

What i want is something that will stop rain when it falls diagonally inside the balcony due to wind. Even if i installed that awning, it won't stop rainwater falling diagonally downward towards the balcony. Thanks for taking time and giving me advice. (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)
 
Lets see..
Your requirements:
Stop rain water coming from top, diagonal
Should be airy and allow air.
Temporary solution to ward off unwanted attention.
Also should not flap around and not create any noisy situation.

I remember you posting a picture of your balcony when asking for advice from our blr_p
Suggest a washing machine within 25k max

Really tricky, but I would suggest you to get a shower curtain which has aluminium rings all around that you can tie up on nails ( get them done) on the sides and top and physically tie up on the balcony grills in the bottom dont get nails in the bottom might scratch out your legs when in a hurry. When you want to air out just pull it down.

Bamboo blinds are a no go. If you have a very heavy rainfall, it wont dry out easily and catch fungus soon and if you roll it out to air out the balcony then it will multiply faster. Moreover the life of such blinds are not long enough. Also they take a lot of space to dry out. Similar plastic blinds are also available but I don't know how much sun you get over there.

Another option is to get Garden net with 75% HDPE UV treated but make sure you have Aluminium/Cloth rings to enable you to tie and remove faster. It also ensures live of the said net/curtain.
Something like this
Shalimar Multipurpose Shade Net/Agro Net/Green Net - 75% (Green Colour) (10 ft x 15 ft)
Shalimar is a well respected brand but nowadays many brands are available. Just ensure you split the balcony area into 2/3 parts and buy accordingly. This will ensure
1) less tearing in case of heavy rainfall/winds
2) easy to put up and remove in an emergency
3) In case of 3 parts, You can have part behind the washing machine intact and the rest two sides removed to get some air.
 
6pack said:
Forgot to add. My balcony is closed from top. Only the part above the grill is open. Cement walls on all 3 side.
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Is yours a rented flat?
Balcony closed from top and walls on 3 sides is a confusing thing. I assume ceiling is there, and walls on left and right side and front is the grill right? Correct me though

The roof ext. can be used here as well to drain/fall the water a bit away from the grill so that balcony remains dry.
 
Install a UPVC window with sliding doors maybe? Since there are walls in three sides, I'm guessing it can be mounted on top of the balcony grill.
 
logistopath said:
Install a UPVC window with sliding doors maybe? Since there are walls in three sides, I'm guessing it can be mounted on top of the balcony grill.
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Can't do that. The society is very strict. They don't allow permanent modification of flat. Adding a pvc window will make it similar to adding additional footage to my house even though the builder already charged for it. The ceiling height of the balcony is around 8-9 ft i think. It will become like door instead of windows.

In another housing society I've seen people allowed to increase the space of their hall with full size french windows to just 1/2 ft away from the grill. Can't grab the entire balcony else the municipality will come to demolish whatever extra was done.

Want to give an update too. I moved my washing machine inside the house last evening because it was raining really hard and the machine got completely wet. Spent some time cleaning it up.
Balcony is empty now. So will go with the shower curtains or just simple mosquito net to cover that open front.
 
If you think about it, your balcony is just a giant window. Install sliding panels and close them when it's raining. Install odd number of panels to ensure you can open more than half. Permanently close off the bottom part using frosted glass panels to reduce cost.
 
Go to nearby welding works, they will tell you all options available in your area and price which varies. Normally it is iron pipe frame with fibre sheet/metro sheet on top.
 
lockhrt999 said:
It might help if you can post a photo. Let us see the dimensions. Or draw a sketch.
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Suggest a washing machine within 25k max

Want to go for Front loader to save water. Lot of water problems in my society. I only get water for 30 minutes per day and the pressure is low. So not enough to fill the water tank completely. A top loader uses almost 60% of the water in the tank. Looking for a 5 star energy rated wm...
techenclave.com techenclave.com
6pack said:
I'm having this problem where rain water is falling inside my balcony and falling on the washing machine. I looked at what the neighbours have done and some have put plastic sheeting like the one on trucks or shower curtains and one major drawback i see is these blow in the wind either inside or outside and make a racket of a noise.
Click to expand...
What exactly is the problem here? Is only the machine getting wet or more?
6pack said:
Was thinking of bamboo screen but those are extremely expensive and look tacky because they have tarpaulin in them. Plus another thing i noticed is these plastic things don't allow wind/air to pass through and air inside house becomes stuffy and damp soon. I spent the entire day searching on Amazon when i got some free time and don't know what to do now. Any ideas on how to accomplish this?
Click to expand...
The machine you cover with a cloth (a couple of old bedsheets?) and an additional all body plastic cover.

The balcony you can't do anything useful. It will be more hassle than worth it since all the usual solutions are off-limits for you.

Why do you care if the balcony gets wet anyway? Other than the machine you don't have anything else there and so long as the water drains away and does not stagnate it will be dry within a few hours.
6pack said:
I saw a product by Hippo with some mosquito net stiched in between. Probably the closest to what i want but don't know if it can stop water coming inside. Seems to be just loosely stitched nylon or plastic threads.
Click to expand...
It won't but it will reduce it a good deal
 
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blr_p said:
What exactly is the problem here? Is only the machine getting wet or more?
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Yes, it was dripping with water when i bought it inside. It's in my kitchen now so no problem anymore. Still searching for mosquito net or similar stuff to close the balcony and stop insects from coming inside.

On a side note, no problem with machine leveling now since its on a level tile surface. Almost no noise when the machine works or spins slowly. Only when it spins at full speed can i hear it.
 
If its only to prevent rain water, use shower curtains as someone mentioned. I have done that and it does the job.
It dries out quickly and is eaily adjustable. And in summer, it comes useful to cut out the extrene sun as well as move it completely to one side when required.
 
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