Case Study · SB 721 · CSLB #1060736

SB 721 Balcony Ledger & Framing Rebuild — 72-Unit Apartment Community, Gilroy

24 stacked balconies reframed where they attach to the building and where they rest on their posts — the two connections that looked sound from above and had decayed underneath.

Gilroy, CAThree-story garden apartment community, post-supported stacked balconiesCompleted Q3 2026

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Rebuilt stacked apartment balconies on new pressure-treated posts at a Gilroy garden apartment community

Balcony Repair

Project facts

Location: Gilroy, CA
Service: Balcony Repair & Restoration
Property: Three-story garden apartment community, post-supported stacked balconies
Units: 72
Client: Property management company
Scope: 24 balconies reframed · new ledgers and joist hangers · new posts and corner beams · existing railings reinstalled
Timeline: 8 weeks · residents in place
Completed: Q3 2026
Budget range: $210k–$270k

01 The situation

The challenge

From the balconies themselves, nothing looked urgent: the surfaces were usable and the metal railings were solid. The SB 721 inspection found the problems underneath, at two connections. At the wall, water running down the stucco had soaked the ledger boards that hold the balconies to the building — the wood had gone dark along its length, the joist hangers had rusted, and the ledger had decayed at its ends. At the outer corners, the tops of the posts had split and gone soft directly under the beams, where water collected on the end grain, and the bolted plates holding post to beam were corroding.

The layout made the repair harder. The balconies are stacked on the same lines of posts, so the third-floor balcony depends on the framing of the second-floor balcony below it. Opening one level without support would have left the level above without its load path, and all three floors — including the ground-floor patios under the balconies — stayed occupied for the whole job.

02 Execution

What we did

We worked one stack at a time, from the ground up:

Shored each stack from the ground before cutting anything, so the balcony above stayed supported while the one below was opened

Removed the decayed ledgers, bolted new pressure-treated ledgers through to the building framing with flashing lapped above them, and hung new joists in new galvanized hangers

Replaced the decayed posts and corner beams with new pressure-treated members set on concrete piers, joined with new galvanized plates and through-bolts

Reinstalled the existing metal railings on the new framing and removed the shoring only after each level was complete and checked

03 Outcome

The result

24 / 24balconies reframed

3floors kept occupied

8 wksinside the 120-day repair window

Every reframed balcony now carries its load through a new ledger, new hangers and new posts, and the connection at the wall is flashed so water running down the stucco no longer reaches the wood. The SB 721 findings were closed inside the 120-day repair window, and reusing the existing railings kept the work focused on the framing the inspector had flagged.

Results at a glance