# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  removing  brick hob on balcony slab

## perestroika

Hey terminators, 
I have a 55 y.o. double brick "palace" with a balcony that causes a lot of headache for me. The balustrade is falling apart and the balcony floor is leaking to a storage room below. I want to waterproof and re-tile the balcony, and put a new balustrade. 
The balcony currently has a brick hob (475mm wide, 245mm high, 4.5m long) that the balustrade is sitting on (except for the stairs, where there is no hob).
Before re-tiling, I want to remove this brick hob. Problem: will removing of the hub affect the wall-to-slab joint? What is the hob for? The wall under the hob is a single brick wall. From the underside, I can't understand how it is joined with the balcony slab. I see no support for the slab at that particular wall, and the adjacent wall is similar (also single brick). The opposite wall (the house wall) is a double-brick, and I can see it has 2 top courses of bricks that stand in so that the balcony slab can sit on them. But the single brick wall is a mystery to me. Looking at the the bricks from the front outside, you see no slab, of course. Are they using split bricks at the slab level, to close off the front? And the slab is sitting on half of the brick?
Please look at the picture attached. 
So, my questions are:
- what is the brick hob for, currently?
- is it safe to remove the brick hob?
- how is the balcony slab joined to the front single brick wall, is it supported by that wall?
- where does the slab end at the front? If I remove the hub, will I expose a hole between the wall and the slab? (That was really stupid question of me, but...) 
Thanks everyone!

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## goldie1

Are you sure the front wall is single? The out side is face brick the inside looks like commons. 
The hob might be just there to put pot plants on.

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## perestroika

Goldie1, thanks for replying. 
Yes most definitely it is single. Before having joints re-pointed by myself I could observe my front yard from inside the storage under the balcony through the holes. And I had a window cut in the side wall! It's single!

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## goldie1

That is a bit of worry. I understood a slab had to bear on at least a full brick. Are there any piers ? Do you have a pic of the ends?

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## perestroika

No piers. I'm not too worried as it stood for 60 years. The problem is it's now leaking and water may cause rust in the steel inside the slab. Pic is attached. Thanks!

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## barney118

Agree with Goldie, appears hob just for plants, which will be a good source of moisture for the slab/ reo under.
Concrete is porous unless sealed/tiled/covered. I wouldn't have an issue taking it out. It would be just mortar joins, but at 60 yrs old maybe like concrete now!  
Cheers Barney
Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

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## goldie1

I am not an engineer but as you say its been there for nearly 60 years with out moving so it properly isn't 
going to fall down any time soon. 
The slab edge must be covered with split face bricks. The hob is on top of the slab so the only thing it is  
supporting is the balustrade.. As Barny said it would be just held together by mortar and the tiles. The  
balustrade posts would have a steel rod down into the hob.

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## perestroika

Updating the post:  After a bit of hammer job it turns out the slab is sitting on half brick width indeed. The attached pic shows the hob (soil inside, so it was a flower bed) and split bricks covering the slab edge, under the hob. Which means I have one question regarding fixing the balustrade on the slab: How much I have to go in from the edge so that the dynabolts don't split the slab and the new balustrade is held reliably? Also, is my 80-90mm slab thickness enough to hold posts (wrought iron or aluminium balustrade)? And how about waterproofing? The post fixing will pierce the waterproofing, how can it be re-sealed reliably?  Any input is appreciated!

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