Wooden balcony - Even small cracks in beams

hi!

we have a balcony made of wood. we don't have a roof over it, and no neighbor above us, meaning the balcony is exposed to the weather. now the wooden beams are slowly showing small cracks, or are slightly split. you probably know what I mean.

is that dangerous, or is it normal as long as it is superficial?

thanks.

Dear homeworker! If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. Wood expands and contracts, that's no different with a wooden floor, the wood can shrink or expand. Is your balcony secured at the bottom? Regards

For freestanding wooden constructions exposed to the weather (here your wooden balcony and probably also the decking) made of regular squared timber, cracks, both smaller and larger, are to be considered "normal." Only the use of [BSH (Brettschichtholz/Leimholz)] excludes the risk of cracking.

Yes, my balcony is secured at the bottom, with steel beams? I think..

So, back then for me, in the old apartment, it already became a bit dangerous. Especially since the wood was not really of high quality. Due to sun, snow, rain, etc., it also deteriorated from the inside and there was a risk of breaking through. It was secured, but only at the edge, i.e. the balcony as a whole, but not the actual surface.

Good day,
Drying shrinkage cracks in wood are normal. In particular, these cracks occur in the most commonly used construction wood in Germany, spruce and pine.
As a rule of thumb: cracks are only considered structurally concerning if the
crack depth is greater than 1/4 of the cracked area
crack length is greater than 1/3 of the total length

If this is the case, an expert examination is advisable.