Balcony fixing

Abstract

In various embodiments, the present invention provides a fixing for attaching a balcony to a building, wherein the fixing comprises at least one horizontally-extending load-bearing plate. The load-bea

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to fixings for fixing a balcony to a wall or fapade of a building. Background A balcony, such as might be installed on the fapade of a building, is generally supported by one or more structural beams (for example universal beams) which are anchored in the structure of the building and extend from the fapade. Various arrangements for fixing a balcony to a wall or fapade of a building are known in the art. Some known methods include casting one or more anchor bolts or sockets into a concrete slab which makes up part of the structure of the building. Metal H-shaped stubs are then bolted onto the slab. Insulation is provided around the slab as required. Weather-sealing may then be added before the fapade finishes are carried out. Finally the balcony is bolted on from the outside, by attaching a structural beam for supporting the balcony to the stub. Another known way of affixing the structural beam to the structure of the building, is to provide the concrete slab behind the fapade and drill the slab in situ in order to then fix the structural beam directly to the fapade. This can be problematic, as it may be difficult to then provide insulation around the structural beam to improve the insulation of the building. An alternative installation method is casting a concrete slab with the structural beam already disposed therein. This reduces the need for on-site assembly, however transporting the parts may be problematic due to the increase in length. Further, when the concrete slab is installed, the structural beam projects out from the fapade. This can be a trip hazard and / or obstruction the operation of other equipment on the exterior of the building such as mast-climbers. Further arrangements for balcony fixings are discussed in e.g. WO2018 / 189123. This publication proposes arrangements in which a balcony fixing comprises a socket defining a cavity for receiving a structural bar, and having a connection wall having load-bearing anchor aperture disposed thereon, through which load-bearing anchors extend. However, known arrangements such as those described above suffer from a number of problems. Firstly, many such arrangements require a number of different welded or other joints to be provided between the slab and the structural beam for supporting the balcony, providing a number of possible failure points, and increasing installation complexity. The present invention has been devised in light of the above considerations. Summary of the Invention The present inventors have realised that there may be advantages to providing arrangements for fixing a balcony to a wall or fapade of a building in which the fixing includes at least one load bearing plate having a portion configured to be cast-in to part of the building structure, and another portion configured for attachment to a structural beam of a balcony. Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a fixing for attaching a balcony to a building, wherein the fixing comprises at least one horizontally-extending load-bearing plate, the load-bearing plate comprising: a first ‘slab-side’ end configured to be cast-in to a slab which makes up part of the structure of the building, and a second ‘balcony-side’ end configured for connection to a structural bar for supporting a balcony. The present inventors have realised that there are a number of advantages of providing arrangements in which the balcony fixing comprises at least one horizontally-extending load-bearing plate which, in use, extends from within the slab (from the cast-in, slab-side end), to the structural beam of the balcony (to the balcony-side end). For example, such arrangements may provide simple structures providing a suitable load-bearing connection between the balcony and the slab, whilst reducing the total component part count for the fixing, relative to known arrangements. Moreover, the use of a load-bearing plate which extends across substantially the entire length of the fixing may increase the load the plate is able to bear, compared to conventional alternative arrangements. The terms ‘horizontally-extending’ and ‘vertically-extending’ are used herein to define the general extension direction of major surfaces of the respective plates. That is, a horizontally-extending plate is a plate whereby, when installed for use, the major surfaces of the plate extend in a substantially horizontal plane. A vertically-extending plate is a plate whereby, when installed for use, the major surfaces of the plate extend in a substantially vertical plane. The slab is preferably a concrete slab which conveniently forms part of a fapade of a building. The fixing is configured to be cast into the slab (i.e. the slab-side end of the fixing is held in position whilst the concrete slab is cast around it). In this way slab is moulded around the balcony fixing, thus strengthening the interface between the slab and the fixing. The horizontally-extending load-bearing plate is preferably elongated in a length direction of the fixing (i.e. extended towards and into the slab). Conveniently the load-bearing plate extends across substantially the entire length of the fixing. The load-bearing plate may comprise or consists of a slab-side portion and a balcony-side portion. Preferably the slab-side and balcony-side portions are integral to each other (i.e. they are sections of a single integral load-bearing plate). In some embodiments the slab-side portion and the balcony-side portion may have lengths that are approximately equal. In other embodiments, the relative lengths of the slab-side portion and the balcony-side portions may be different. Preferably the entirety of the slab-side portion is cast into the slab. The fixing may comprise a plurality of load-bearing plates having a first ‘slab-side’ end configured to be cast-in to a slab which makes up part of the structure of the building, and a second ‘balcony-side’ end configured for connection to a structural bar for supporting a balcony (directly or indirectly). In some preferred arrangements, the fixing comprises at least two such load-bearing plates. The fixing may comprise upper and lower load-bearing plates. In other words, the fixing may comprise two load-bearing plates, with the upper load-bearing plate disposed above the lower load-bearing plate, relative to a height direction. Providing upper and lower load-bearing plates may strengthen the load-bearing connection between the balcony and the slab. At least one of the upper load-bearing plate or the lower load-bearing plate is horizontally-extending. Preferably the upper load-bearing plate is horizontally-extending. In some arrangements both the upper and lower load-bearing plates are horizontally-extending. In some arrangements, one of the upper and lower load-bearing plate is a horizontally-extending plate, and one is a vertically-extending plate. Conveniently, the upper load-bearing plate is a horizontally extending plate, and the lower-load bearing plate is a vertically-extending plate. In this arrangement the provision of both a horizontally-extending load-bearing plate and a vertically-extending load-bearing plate may strengthen the connection between the fixing and the slab. The upper load-bearing plate may be configured to extend into the slab to a greater extent than the lower load-bearing plate. In such arrangements, the upper load-bearing plate therefore may serve as the primary load-bearing plate of the fixing, as the deeper penetration of the slab (compared with the penetration depth of the lower load-bearing plate) provides the upper load-bearing plate with a stronger connection and therefore may be able to accommodate greater loads from the balcony than the lower load-bearing plate. Each of the upper and lower load-bearing plates may comprise a respective first ‘slab-side’ end configured to be cast-in to the slab which makes up part of the structure of the building, and a second ‘balcony-side’ end configured for (direct or indirect) connection to a structural bar for supporting a balcony. In some embodiments, the fixing may comprise horizontally-extending upper and lower load-bearing plates, joined by one or more vertically-extending connection members. In such an arrangement the balcony-side portion of the horizontally-extending upper and lower load-bearing plates, together with the vertically-extending connection members define an H-beam shape. In arrangements where the fixing comprises a horizontally-extending upper load-bearing plate and a vertically-extending lower load-bearing plate, the fixing may further comprise a second horizontallyextending plate which, together with the upper and lower load-bearing plates define an H-beam shape. In this arrangement the vertically-extending lower load-bearing plate also acts as a connection member, to connect the two horizontally-extending plates. In other words, the balcony-side end of the fixing may have an ‘H’-beam shape. An ‘H’ shaped cross-section is common across different structural beams, and having a common cross-section can facilitate the attachment of the fixing to a structural beam on its balcony-side end. The fixing is preferably configured for flat-pack assembly. In other words, the fixing may comprise a plurality of plate-shaped pieces which can be transported flat, and which can subsequently be assembled to form the fixing. Providing arrangements in which the fixing is configured for flat-pack assembly may offer significant advantages in respect of efficiency of transportation of the fixings to a building site, as well as in relation to speed and cost of assembly of the fixing. The fixing may be assembled without structural welds (i.e. welds required to transfer a substantial amount of the load of the balcony to the concrete slab). Conveniently, the fixing may have welds to secure one or more component parts of the fixing into place relative to each other (i.e. non-structural welds). In this way the fixing may be welded together using lower-grade welds which are faster to complete, require less precision, and are cheaper than structural welds typically required on conventional balcony fixings. It is contemplated that in some embodiments, the fixing may be configured to be assembled without welding component parts of the fixing together. The slab-side end may include one or more projection features configured to provide a keying engagement with the slab when cast-in. In this application, the term ‘keying engagement’ is used to describe arrangements where the fixing is integrated into the slab via unique apertures in the slab moulded around the cross-section of the projection features. Keying engagement between the projection features and the slab strengthens the load-bearing connection between the slab and the balcony fixing by providing a bespoke interaction surface area between the projection features and the slab. The projection features are components configured to extend into the slab and / or be cast into the slab and may include features such as plates, anchors, teeth, stubs, studs, or fingers which extend the fixing in a length, width or height direction and are configured to be cast into the slab. The one or more projection features may be integrally formed with their respective load-bearing plate. Integrally forming the projection features with their respective load-bearing plate strengthens the load-bearing connection between the fixing and the slab and eliminates the need for a structural weld. Conveniently, it reduces the number of components of the fixing, which facilitates the manufacture and assembly of the fixing. Alternatively, the projection features may be fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate. The one or more projection features may comprise crenelations or teeth. Provision of crenelations or teeth on the slab-side end may strengthen the load-bearing connection between the fixing and the slab by providing an angular interface (i.e. the interface is comprised of ridges as opposed to being smooth or flat) between the slab-side end of the fixing and the slab that has a greater surface area. Both lateral sides of the slab-side end may comprise a plurality of crenelations or teeth. In other words, the slab-side end may have a serrated surface structure. In some arrangements, teeth may be symmetrical about a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extension direction of the horizontallyextending load-bearing plate. In other arrangements, teeth may be asymmetric, e.g. may have a sawtooth configuration As noted above, the projection features may in some arrangements be fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate. That is, the projection features may be provided by components that are initially separate to their respective load-bearing plate, but which are fixedly attached to their respective loadbearing plate during assembly of the fixing. The projection features may be fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate in any suitable manner, e.g. by welding or other suitable jointing means. In arrangements where a weld is employed to join the projection features to its respective load-bearing plate, the welding may be provided as a secondary joining means, relative to a primary joining means (e.g. a slotting mechanism) which transfers substantially the entire load between the projection features and its respective load-bearing plate. In this way the weld is not configured to transfer a substantial portion of the load between the components (i.e. the weld is not a structural weld). The projection features may comprise one or more plates which are fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate such that the plates extend orthogonally relative to the load-bearing plate. Conveniently, in this arrangement each projection feature may comprise a plurality of plates which are laminated together to form a laminated body which is fixedly attached to the respective load-bearing plate such that the laminated body extends orthogonally relative to the load-bearing plate. In such arrangements, each plate may have the same or a substantially similar planar shape. By laminating the plates together (i.e. overlaying the surface of a first plate with the surface of a second plate) such a laminated body can be formed. In this way the laminated body forms a block, fixedly attached to a loadbearing plate, which anchors the load bearing plate into the slab and consequently strengthens the connection between the slab and the fixing. The laminated body may have one or more holes formed therethrough, e.g. for receipt of a bar. Such arrangement can allow the projection feature to connect with e.g. rebar provided in the slab. The entire fixing is preferably formed from a single material. Providing arrangements in which the entire fixing is formed from a single material can offer advantages in terms of efficiency of supply chain management. Further, it can avoid issues resulting from differential hardness between components formed of different materials, which can lead to unwanted wear of components of a fixing in conventional arrangements where the fixing of formed from a variety of components formed from different materials. Conveniently, the fixing may be formed entirely from stainless steel. Stainless steel provides significantly less thermal transfer than mild steel, which is a material commonly used for balcony fixings. By producing the entire fixing from stainless steel, the fixing may provide suitable thermal transfer properties, whilst providing the other advantages of single material construction noted above. The fixing may include a thermal break plate formed of a material having relatively low thermal conductivity. The thermal break plate may form one of the vertically-extending connection members, e.g. a vertically-extending connection member located closest to the slab. In this manner, the plate may reduce or limit the amount of thermal transfer across the fixing into the slab. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a kit of parts for attaching a balcony to a building, wherein the kit comprises: a fixing according to the first aspect; and one or more joining plates for connection of the balcony-side end of the load-bearing plate of the fixing to the structural bar for supporting a balcony. In some arrangements, two or more, or a plurality of joining plates may be provided. Where multiple joining plates are provided, the joining plates together form an attachment apparatus for connecting the fixing to the structural bar. The attachment apparatus may comprise a horizontally-extending attachment plate which extends across and is configured to be fixedly attached to a balcony-side end of the load bearing plate (preferably an upper horizontally-extending plate thereof) and a fixing-side end of the structural bar. The attachment plate is configured to provide a load-bearing connection between the fixing and the structural bar. Conveniently the attachment apparatus additionally comprises at least one linking member which is configured to be fixedly attached to the balcony-side end of the fixing and a fixing-side end of the structural bar. Conveniently the at least one linking member is configured to be attached to a component other than the load-bearing plate. In arrangements where the fixing comprises more than one load-bearing plate (e.g. where the fixing comprises an upper and lower load-bearing plate) the at least one linking member is preferably configured to be attached to the other of the load-bearing plates. Each of the one or more linking members may comprise two wings connected via a rib, e.g. in an approximately ‘H’-shaped arrangement. This arrangement may facilitate the connection of the one or more linking members to plate-shaped components of the fixing and the structural bar (e.g. by inserting each plateshaped component between the wings). The attachment apparatus may also comprise wedges and / or brackets to reinforce and / or to space the components of the attachment apparatus from the fixing and / or the structural beam. In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of installing a balcony fixing onto a concrete slab, the method comprising: providing a fixing according to the first aspect; casting the slab-side end of the load-bearing plate of the fixing into the concrete slab; and attaching a structural bar for supporting a balcony to the balcony-side end of the load-bearing plate. The third aspect therefore provides a method of using the fixing of the first aspect to install a balcony onto a slab, by casting the fixing a slab-side end of the fixing into the slab and attaching the balcony-side end of the fixing to a structural bar. Conveniently the fixing is attached to the structural bar using the joining plate and / or attachment apparatus defined in relation to the second aspect. The invention includes the combination of the aspects and preferred features described except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided. Summary of the Figures Embodiments and experiments illustrating the principles of the invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art fixing for fixing a balcony to a wall or fapade of a building. Figure 2 shows a cutaway side view of the prior art fixing of Figure 1. Figure 3 shows (a) a perspective view of a first embodiment of a balcony fixing according to the present invention, and (b) an exploded view of the balcony fixing of Fig. 3(a). Figure 4 shows the balcony fixing of Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) cast into a concrete slab. Figure 5 shows (a) a perspective view of a second embodiment of a balcony fixing according to the present invention and (b) an exploded view of the balcony fixing of Fig. 5(a). Figure 6 shows (a) a perspective view of a third embodiment of a balcony fixing according to the present invention and (b) an exploded view of the balcony fixing of Fig. 6(a). Figure 7 shows (a) a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a balcony fixing according to the present invention and (b) an exploded view of the balcony fixing of Fig. 7(a). Figure 8 shows (a) a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a balcony fixing according to the present invention, and (b) and (c) magnified views of different components of the balcony fixing of Fig. 8(a). Figure 9 shows an attachment apparatus suitable for attaching a balcony fixing of any one of Fig. 1-8 to a structural beam. Figure 10 shows an exploded view of the attachment apparatus of Fig. 9. Figures 11(a) and 11 (b) show perspective views of the attachment apparatus of Fig. 9 attached to a structural beam. Detailed Description of the Invention Aspects and embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying figures. Further aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. All documents mentioned in this text are incorporated herein by reference. Figs.1 and 2 shows a prior art arrangement for a balcony fixing, as disclosed in WO2018 / 189123. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the balcony fixing 1 attached to a structural beam 3 of a balcony. The fixing 1 includes a socket 5, first and second load-bearing anchors 7a,b and first and second stubs 9a,b. The first and second load-bearing anchors 7a,b extend through respective load-bearing anchor apertures of the socket 5 (and the corresponding apertures of a connection plate 11). The load-bearing anchors 7a,b are threaded, and so nuts are positioned on the anchors either side of the connection wall and connection plate to secure the anchors 7a,b and stubs 9a,b in place. Fig. 2 is a cutaway side view of this same fixing. As can been seen, the load-bearing anchors 7a,b and the stubs 9a,b extend through the socket 5 and connection plate 11 and are fixed in place by nuts. The load-bearing anchors 7a,b and stubs 9a,b are configured to be cast into a concrete slab. By attaching the socket 5 to the load-bearing anchors 7a,b and stubs 9a,b, and subsequently attaching the structural beam 3 to the socket 5, the structural beam 3 of a balcony can be fixedly attached to the fapade of a building. Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of a balcony fixing 100 according to the present invention. Fig. 3(a) shows a perspective view of the balcony fixing 100, and Fig. 3(b) shows an exploded view. The fixing 100 comprises an upper horizontally-extending plate 101 (for convenience, also referred to herein as a ‘top plate’) and a lower horizontally-extending bottom plate 103 (for convenience, also referred to herein as a ‘bottom plate’), connected together via vertically-extending connection plate 109 and T-shaped slab facing connection plate 113 (for convenience, also referred to herein as a ‘T-shaped plate’ or ‘slab facing plate’). A horizontally-extending (top) reinforcing plate 111 is disposed between the top plate 101 and the connection plate 109. A vertically-extending (slab facing) plate 115 is positioned adjacent to the T-shaped plate 113. Projection features 117 are attached to the upper plate 101 and are configured to engage with rebar 121. Projection features 117 are also referred to as anchors 117 in the following description. In Fig. 3(a) the length / longitudinal, transverse / width, and height directions are defined. The length or longitudinal direction (L) extends towards (and into) the concrete slab at a substantially 90-degree angle and is parallel to the longitudinal edges of the top plate 101. The transverse or width direction (W) is parallel to the slab-side and balcony-side edges of the top plate 101. The height direction (H) is parallel to the slab-side and balcony-side edges of the connection plate 109. Fig. 4 shows fixing 100 cast into the concrete slab 123 which conveniently forms part of a structure (e.g. a fapade) of a building. As shown in Fig. 4, fixing 100 has a slab-side end configured to be cast-in to the concrete slab 123, and a balcony-side end configured for connection to a structural bar, which conveniently forms part of a balcony. The balcony-side end and the slab-side end define two portions of the fixing 100 (in other words, the fixing 100 can be considered to be comprised of a balcony-side portion and a slab-side portion), divided at a plane that extends parallel with the front face of the slab 123. In the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the balcony-side portion comprises substantially the left half of the fixing 100, and the slab-side portion comprises substantially the right half of the fixing (100). The upper and lower horizontally-extending plates 101, 103 extend across the fixing 100 from the balcony-side end to the slab-side end. The other components of the fixing 100 are disposed either on the balcony-side end or the slab-side end. In more detail, the projection features (anchors) 117 are disposed on the slab-side portion of the fixing (within the slab), and the connection plate 109, top reinforcing plate 111, T-shaped plate 113 and slab facing plate 115 are disposed on the balcony-side portion of the fixing (outside of the slab). The T-shaped plate 113 and slab facing plate 115 provide a slab engaging face of the fixing that, when the fixing is cast into the concrete slab, abuts or lies closely adjacent to the exterior surface of the concrete slab 123. The balcony-side end of the fixing 100 is conveniently H-shaped as shown in Figure 4. Returning to Fig. 3(b), showing an exploded view of the components of the fixing 100, each component is described in turn. The upper horizontally-extending top plate 101 is an elongate member (conveniently a rectangular plate). The top plate is elongated in a longitudinal direction (L) extending towards (and into) the concrete slab. The top plate 101 is load-bearing (i.e. is configured to transfer a substantial part of the load of the structural member of the balcony to the fapade of the building), and comprises several apertures 102, 104, 106, 125 through its plate surface configured to engage with protrusions provided on other components of the fixing 100. In more detail, on the balcony-side portion of the top plate 101, the top plate 101 is configured to receive the connection plate 109 in apertures 102 disposed substantially along its central longitudinal axis, such that the cross section of the top plate 101 and the connection plate 109 forms a T shape. These apertures 102 are elongated in the longitudinal direction (L). The top plate 101 is configured to receive the T-shaped slab facing connection plate 113 in a central aperture 125 through its surface along its central longitudinal axis. This aperture is elongated in the width direction (W) . At the slab-side end the top plate 101 is configured to receive tabs 119 of the anchors 117 into apertures 106 arranged across the horizontally-extending plate’s 101 surface (as discussed in further detail below). In more detail, Fig. 3(b) shows four apertures 106 arranged through the slab-side portion of the top plate 101 ’s surface. It is appreciated by the skilled person that these four apertures 106 are arranged at the positions of the vertices of a square or a rectangle. Such a configuration strengthens the connection between the top plate 101 and the anchors 117. The top plate 101 additionally has (preferably circular) apertures 104 which allow for connection of the fixing to a structural beam of a balcony, as discussed in further detail below. These apertures are configured to align with apertures 127 in the horizontallyextending top reinforcing plate 111. These circular apertures are disposed at the balcony-side end of the top plate 101. The vertically-extending connection plate 109 is a rectangular plate provided on the balcony-side portion of the fixing 100. The connection plate 109 comprises several tabs 108a, b extending from its longitudinal edge which are configured to be inserted into apertures provided on other components of the fixing 100. In more detail, the vertically-extending connection plate 109 comprises three tabs 108b extending from its top edge which are configured to be inserted into mating apertures 102 in the upper horizontallyextending plate 101 described above, and three tabs 108a extending from its bottom edge which are configured to be inserted into mating apertures 129 in the lower horizontally-extending plate 103 described below. The skilled person appreciates that the connection plate 109 can be configured with more or less tabs connecting the components of the fixing 100 depending on the geometry of the components and to tailor the strength of the connection. The vertically-extending connection plate 109 therefore acts as the primary member connecting the upper and lower horizontally-extending plates 101, 103, and together with the upper and lower horizontally-extending plates 101, 103 the vertically-extending connection plate 109 forms a ‘H’ shaped cross-section. Circular apertures 114 are provided through the surface of the vertically-extending connection plate 109 on its balcony-side end, in order to facilitate connection of the fixing 100 with a structural beam of the balcony. Recesses 112 are provided on either side of the balcony-side end top edge tab of the connection plate 109, in order to provide space for the horizontally-extending top reinforcing plate 111 to be disposed between the connection plate 109 and the top plate 101 whilst enabling the connection plate 109 to abut the top plate 101 along substantially its entire top edge. Apertures 127 in the top reinforcing plate 111, align with apertures 104 in the top plate 101, are provided in order to facilitate connection of the fixing 100 with a structural beam ofthe balcony. The top reinforcing plate 111 reinforces the connection between the top plate 101 and the connection plate 109, and in particular is configured to spread the shear load ofthe bolts connecting the fixing 100 to the structural beam 3. The top reinforcing plate 111 also may form part of the attachment apparatus as discussed later in relation to Figs. 9 to 11. The lower horizontally-extending (bottom) plate 103 comprises a slab-side end configured to be cast-in to the slab provided by fingers 105, 107, and a balcony-side end provided by a rectangular plate section. The fingers 105, 107 extend coplanar with the rectangular plate section. The fingers 105, 107 are configured to project into the concrete slab 123. The bottom plate 101 is load-bearing (i.e. is configured to transfer a substantial part of the load of the structural member of the balcony to the fapade of the building), and comprises several apertures 129 through its plate surface configured to engage with tabs 108a extending from the bottom edge of the connection plate 109. These apertures 129 are disposed substantially centrally along its longitudinal axis, such that the cross section of the bottom plate 103 and the connection plate 109 forms a T shape, and the cross section of the bottom plate 103, connection plate 109 and top plate 101 forms an ‘H’ shape. These apertures are elongated in the longitudinal direction (L) in a manner corresponding to the plane of the connection plate 109. The fingers 105, 107 comprise projection features which are conveniently a plurality of teeth (also known as crenelations, notches, or ridges) along longitudinal edges of the fingers 105, 107 (i.e. along lateral edges of the bottom plate 103). The teeth increase the surface area of the fingers 105, 107. Additionally, the presence of teeth are makes the interface between the fingers 105, 107 and the concrete slab angular and ridged. These features are configured to strengthen the connection between the concrete slab and the bottom plate 103 (and consequently the entire fixing 100). The T-shaped slab facing connection plate 113 is configured to engage with both the top and bottom plates 101,103. The T-shaped plate 113’s major surfaces are substantially orthogonal to both the horizontally-extending top and bottom plates 101, 103 and the vertically-extending connection plate 109. The T-shaped plate 113 is elongated in the width direction (W) via a base bar such as to abut the slabside edge of the bottom plate 103, and is elongated in the vertical direction via a central rectangular extension capped with a tab 114 configured to mate with a corresponding aperture 125 in the top plate 101 described above. The T-shaped plate 113 has slots 131 in the base bar configured to engage with the fingers 105, 107 of the bottom plate 103. The slots 131 are elongated in the width direction (W)- The elongated slots 131 are wide enough such as to allow fingers 105, 107 to be inserted into the elongated slots 131 such that when assembled, the surface of the T-shaped plate 113 abuts substantially the entire slab-side edge of the rectangular plate section of the bottom plate 113. The slab facing plate 115 is coplanar with the T-shaped edge plate 113 and is a rectangular plate elongated in the width direction (W), normal to both the planes of the horizontally-extending top plate 101 and the vertically-extending connection plate 109. The slab facing plate 115 has elongated slots 133 substantially similar and configured to align with the T-shaped plate 113’s elongated slots 131. The fingers 105, 107 are configured to be inserted into the elongated slots 133 of the slab facing plate 115, after the elongated slots 131 of the T-shaped plate 113, such that when assembled, the surface of the slab facing plate 115 abuts the surface of the T-shaped plate 113 (conveniently the surface of the base bar). The slab facing plate 115 provides a surface to brace the fixing 100 against the concrete slab, and spreads the compressive load of the fixing 100 on the face of the concrete slab by increasing the surface area of the slab engaging face of the fixing 100. The fixing 100 comprises anchors 117. The anchors 117 are attached to the top plate 101 and are configured to anchor the fixing 100 into the concrete slab. As shown in Fig. 3, each anchor 117 is comprised of a block formed from a plurality of anchor plates 118. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 there are two anchors 117. In more detail, each anchor plate 118 is a plate with the same or a substantially similar planar shape, and by laminating the anchor plates 118 together (i.e. overlaying the surface of a first anchor plate 118 with the surface of a second anchor plate) each anchor 117 is formed. Each anchor plate 118 has a shape substantially similar to that of two vertically-extending rectangular plates (i.e. elongated in the height direction (H)) connected by a third horizontally-extending rectangular plate connecting the top of the two vertically-extending rectangular plates. Circular apertures disposed through the surface of each anchor plate 118 (conveniently through the bottom end of the surface of the vertically-extending rectangular plates) form cylindrical channels through the cross-section of the anchor 117. These channels are configured to engage with rebar 121, as shown in Figs. 3(b) and 4. Each anchor plate 118 comprises several tabs 119 extending from its longitudinal top edge which are configured to be inserted into apertures 106 provided on the top plate 101. The tabs 119 and corresponding mating apertures 106 in the top plate 101 are configured such that the bottom surface of the top plate 101 abuts substantially the entire top edge of each anchor plate 118. Additionally, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 each anchor plate 118 comprises a ledge portion 120. The ledge portion 120 strengthens the connection between and the precision of the alignment of the anchors 117 and the top plate 101 by providing an enhanced interface surface area between the components for a weld, and by supporting said connection against bending forces from the weight of the balcony acting on the top plate 101. For this reason the ledge portion 120 extends towards the balcony-side end of the fixing 100. It will be appreciated by the skilled person that thermal transfer is reduced in the fixing 100 by the relatively small mass of metal in the fixing 100 and the relatively small size of the penetration of the fixing 100 into the concrete slab 123. In embodiments not shown in Fig. 3, a thermal break can be introduced between the T-shaped plate 113 and the slab facing plate 115, and the face of the concrete slab 123, to further reduce thermal transfer. In such arrangements, the thermal break is conveniently formed of a material having a relatively low thermal conductivity. It will be appreciated by the skilled person that substantially all the components of the fixing 100 are plate shaped. This enables a kit of the components of the fixing 100 to be stored and transported flat (e.g. a flat pack), providing significant advantages in respect of efficiency of transportation of the components of the fixing 100 to a manufacturing site, as well as in relation to speed and cost of assembly of the fixing 100. Moreover, the provision of plate-shaped (i.e. substantially two-dimensional) components enables the components to be manufactured using laser-cutting and other more precise and economical techniques, compared to conventional devices. As substantially all the components of the fixing 100 are metal plates, they can be made of the same material, preferably stainless steel, which provides significantly less thermal transfer than mild steel. It will also be appreciated by the skilled person that the fixing 100 comprises projection features on the top plate 101 and the bottom plate 103. These projection features are disposed in the concrete slab 123 and are configured to transfer load from the balcony to the concrete slab 123. In more detail, the fixing 100’s projection features are the anchors 117 extending from the top plate 101, and the plurality of teeth disposed on fingers 105, 107 extending from the bottom plate 103. The fingers 105, 107 are integral to the bottom plate 103. In contrast, the anchors 117 are fixedly attached to the top plate 101. Figs. 5 to 10 present additional embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated by the skilled person that these additional embodiments share many of the features and advantages of the first embodiment described above. When presenting the additional embodiments below features and advantages shared with the first embodiment will not be described; rather differences will be introduced and highlighted. Fig. 5 shows (a) perspective and (b) exploded views of a second embodiment of the fixing 200. Like the first embodiment of the fixing 100, the second embodiment of the fixing 200 comprises top and bottom plates 201,203, a connection plate 209, a T-shaped plate 113, reinforcing top and slab facing plates 211, 215, and anchors 217. The top plate 201, top reinforcing plate 211, and anchors 217 of the fixing 200 are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment of the fixing 100. With the first embodiment of the fixing 100, a first load-bearing feature was the top plate 101 which included a slab-side portion configured to be cast-in to the concrete slab and attached to the anchors 117, and a second load-bearing feature was the bottom plate 103 including fingers 105, 107 configured to be cast-in to the concrete slab. Whilst the second embodiment of the fixing 200 shares the first load-bearing feature with the first embodiment (i.e. its first load-bearing feature is the top plate 201 with the anchors 217), the second load-bearing feature of the fixing 200 is disposed on the vertically-extending connection plate 209, and not the bottom plate 203, as will be described below. The connection plate 209 is shaped as a rectangular plate section with a finger 205 coplanar with the rectangular plate section extending from the slab-side edge of the rectangular plate section (and the slab engaging face of the fixing 200) into the slab-side portion of the fixing 200. The finger 205 is configured to extend into the concrete slab 123. The connection plate 209 is load-bearing (i.e. is configured to transfer a substantial part of the load of the structural member of the balcony to the fapade of the building). Like the fingers 105, 107 of the first embodiment of the fixing 100, finger 205 is comprises a plurality of teeth (also known as crenelations, notches, or ridges) along its longitudinal (i.e. lateral) edges. As the finger 205 is coplanar with the vertically-extending connection plate 209, the teeth interface with the concrete slab in a height direction (H). This improves the fixing 200’s resistance to bending forces applied to the fixing 200 from the weight of the balcony, which acts in a vertical direction (i.e. downwards). A hole 230 is provided through the surface of the finger 205 at its slab-side end, which may be configured to engage with rebar of the concrete slab. It is appreciated by the skilled person that the finger 205 is like an enlarged version of the fingers 105, 107 of the first embodiment, except that the finger 205 is disposed on the connection plate 209 and is vertically-extending. The bottom plate 203 is a horizontally-extending rectangular plate section, elongated in the length direction (L), which flares outwards in a horizontal dimension towards its slab-side end. However, unlike the bottom plate 103 of the first embodiment, the bottom plate 203 of the second embodiment is not loadbearing and does not extend into the slab-side portion of the fixing 200. In place of the fingers 105, 107 the bottom plate comprises stubs 204 which extend from the slab-side edge of the bottom plate 203 and are configured to slot into apertures in the T-shaped plate 213 and the slab facing reinforcing plate 215. Conveniently the stubs 204 terminate at a distance such that the slab-facing edge of the stubs 204 form a flat slab engaging face of the fixing 200 alongside the slab facing reinforcing plate 215. T-shaped plate 213 and slab facing reinforcing plate 215 are substantially the same as T-shaped plate 113 and slab facing plate 115 of the first embodiment, however in addition to elongate slots 231,233 extending in the width direction (W) (now configured to receive stubs 204 of the bottom plate 203) the second embodiment comprises vertically-extending elongate slots 232, 234 configured to receive vertically-extending finger 205. As shown in Fig. 5(b), the slots 231,232, 233, 234 may be closed on all sides or open on one side. For example, the elongate slots 231,233 in the T-shaped plate 213 are open on its bottom edge. This enables the bottom edge of the T-shaped plate 213 (as well as the bottom edge of the slab facing reinforcing plate 215) to form part of a flat bottom surface of the fixing 200 alongside the bottom surface of the bottom plate 203. Figs. 6(a) and 6(b) respectively show perspective and exploded views of a third embodiment of the fixing 300. Like the first embodiment of the fixing 100, the third embodiment of the fixing 300 comprises top and bottom plates 301,303, a connection plate 309, a T-shaped plate 313, and reinforcing top and slab facing plates 311,315. The top and slab facing reinforcing members 311,315 and bottom plate 303 are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment of the fixing 100. Additionally, the third embodiment of the fixing 300 additionally comprises a finger 302 and a finger reinforcing plate 312. The fixing 300 comprises load-bearing features which extend from the balcony-side portion to the slabside portion. Like the first embodiment of the fixing 100, the first load-bearing feature of the third embodiment of the fixing 300 is the top plate 301, and the second load-bearing feature is the bottom plate 303. However, the top plate 301 is arranged differently. Instead of anchors 117, the third embodiment of the fixing 300’s first load-bearing feature comprises a finger 302 with teeth which is configured to anchor the fixing 300 to the concrete slab. The finger 302 is coplanar with the top plate 301 (i.e. it is horizontally extending). The other changes observed in the third embodiment of the fixing 300 are configured to facilitate the inclusion of the finger 302 into the fixing 300. The finger 302 is a part of the top plate 301. In more detail, the horizontally-extending top plate 301 is formed of a rectangular plate section and a finger 302 extending in the length direction (L). The finger 302 extend from the slab-side edge of the rectangular plate section, in a similar manner to how the fingers 105, 107 extend from the bottom plate 103 of the first embodiment, described above. The finger 302 is configured to be cast-in to the concrete slab. It is appreciated by the skilled person that the finger 302 is an enlarged version of the fingers 105, 107 of the first embodiment and fingers 305, 307 of the third embodiment. Accordingly, the finger 302 comprises teeth along its lateral (i.e. longitudinal) edges. The finger 302 is supported by the finger reinforcing plate 312. The finger reinforcing plate 312 is a horizontally-extending rectangular plate (i.e. coplanar with the top plate 301) elongated in the length direction (L), and is configured to reinforce the finger 302. In particular, the finger reinforcing plate 312 is configured to resist bending of the finger in the height direction (H). As such, the finger reinforcing plate 312 extends along and under the length of the finger 302 (e.g. in Fig. 6 the finger reinforcing plate 312 extends under substantially 50% of the length of the finger 302). The finger reinforcing plate 312 consequently extends across both the balcony-side and slab-side portions of the fixing 300, and is a loadbearing feature (forming part of the first load-bearing feature). The finger reinforcing plate 312 comprises an elongate aperture elongated in the length direction (L), configured to align with a corresponding aperture in the top plate 301 and to receive a tab 309a of the connection plate 309. In this way the finger reinforcing plate 312 is interposed between the bottom surface of the top plate 301 and the top edge of the connection plate 309. The finger reinforcing plate 312 additionally comprises an elongate aperture 335 elongated in the width direction (W), configured to align with a corresponding aperture 325 in the top plate 301 and to receive a tab 314 of the T-shaped plate 313. The connection plate 309 is adapted to accommodate the finger reinforcing plate 312. In more detail, in a similar manner to the recesses 112 around the top balcony-side tab 108b configured to accommodate the top reinforcing piece 111 as described regarding the first embodiment above, recesses 312 are provided around the top slab-side tab 308b configured to accommodate the finger reinforcing piece 312. The T-shaped plate 313 is also adapted from the T-shaped plate 113 of the first embodiment, in order to accommodate the finger reinforcing plate 312. The top edge ofthe T-shaped plate 131 is recessed around the tab 314 in order to accommodate the finger reinforcing plate 312. In other words, the tab 314 is extended in order to be received in both the width-extending elongated slot 335 in the finger reinforcing plate 312 as well as in the top plate 301. Moreover, in this embodiment, apertures 304 (conveniently circular apertures) are provided in the top plate 301, the top reinforcing plate 311 and the bottom plate 303 in order to aid the connection ofthe fixing 300 to a structural beam of a balcony. It is appreciated by the skilled person that these connecting apertures 304 may be disposed on any component on the balcony-side portion ofthe fixings of any embodiment and may be of any shape. Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) respectively show perspective and exploded views of a fourth embodiment ofthe fixing 400. Like the first embodiment ofthe fixing 100, the fourth embodiment ofthe fixing 400 comprises top and bottom plates 401,403, a connection plate 409, a T-shaped plate 413, and reinforcing top and slab facing plates 411,415. The connection plate 409, bottom plate 403, T-shaped plate 413 and slab facing reinforcing plate 415 are substantially the same as those ofthe second embodiment ofthe fixing 200. The top plate 401 (including finger 402) and finger reinforcing plate 312 are substantially the same as those ofthe third embodiment ofthe fixing 300. Accordingly, the fourth embodiment ofthe fixing 400 can be thought of as an amalgamation ofthe changes observed in the second and third embodiments compared to the first embodiment. In other words, the fourth embodiment ofthe fixing comprises a toothed finger 402 in place ofthe first embodiment’s anchors 117, as well as a finger 405 extending from the vertically-extending connection plate 409 in place of the first embodiment’s fingers 105, 107 extending from the horizontally-extending bottom plate 103. Technical descriptions of these features are described with regards to the second and third embodiments respectively. The skilled person will appreciate that in the fourth embodiment the provision of a horizontally-extending (e.g. coplanar with a horizontal plane) finger 402 in conjunction with a vertically-extending (e.g. coplanar with a vertical plane) finger 405 strengthens the load-bearing connection between the concrete slab and the structural beam of a balcony due to the provision of toothed edges of the respective load-bearing plates interfacing with the concrete slab in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Fig. 8 shows (a) a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the fixing 500, and (b) and (c) magnified views of different components of the balcony fixing. The fixing 500 comprises horizontally-extending top and bottom plates 501,503 connected by vertically-extending connection plate 509 and slab facing plate 513. Like the first embodiment, projection features are provided on the horizontally-extending top and bottom plates 501,503. Both the top and bottom plates 501,503 extend across the fixing 500 from the balcony-side end to the slab-side end of the fixing 500 and are load-bearing. Both the top and bottom plates 501,503 comprise fingers 502, 505, 506, 507 which extend into the slab-side portion of the fixing 500 and are configured to be cast-in to the concrete slab. Like the fingers of previous embodiments, the fingers 502, 505, 506, 507 of fixing 500 comprise a plurality of teeth along their lateral edges. In the fifth embodiment the connections between the components of the fixing 500 are arranged differently. This is shown best in Figs. 8(b) and 8(c), which show a perspective views of the slab facing plate 513 and connection plate 509 of the fixing 500 respectively. Vertically-extending connection plate 509 is formed as a rectangular plate with tabs 508 protruding from the top and bottom edges configured to engage with corresponding apertures 502 in the top and bottom plates 501,503. The tabs 508 first extend in the height direction (H) of the fixing 500, and then extend in the length direction (L) of the fixing 500 to form a hook 510. Returning to Fig. 8(a), when the connection plate 509 engages with the top and bottom plates 501,503 the tabs 508 are configured to slot through corresponding apertures 502 provided in the top and bottom plates 501,503 such that the end of the tabs 508 protrude from each respective exterior surface of the top and bottom plates 501,503 and then move laterally sideways to lock the connection plate 509 in place relative to the top and bottom plates 501,503. Slab facing plate 513 is also connected to the top and bottom plates 501,503 in a different way to the corresponding T-shaped plate 113, 212, 313, 413 of previous embodiments. Slab facing plate 513 is formed of a rectangular plate oriented parallel to the interfacing surface of the concrete slab, and orthogonal to both the horizontally-extending top and bottom plates 501,503 and the vertically-extending connection plate 509, like previous embodiments. However, slab facing plate 513 is configured to connect to the bottom plate 503 via a tab 514 which extends from the bottom edge of the slab facing plate 513 and, when assembled, is received between the bottom plate fingers 505, 507. As shown in Fig. 8(b), the slab facing plate 513 is configured to connect with the top plate 501 via fastening connections (e.g. bolts, pins or screws) inserted through apertures 515 in a top edge of the slab facing plate 513 and corresponding apertures 517 on the top plate 501. The top plate apertures 517 are configured to align with the slab facing plate apertures 515. In all of the embodiments of the fixing described above, welds may be utilised to strengthen the connections between the different components of the fixing. However, due to the design of the fixing and the connections between the components of the fixing as described above, the welds are not required to be structural or load-bearing (i.e. they are not configured to transmit substantial forces between the structural beam of the balcony and the concrete slab). Therefore, the fixing may be welded together using lower-grade welds which are faster to complete, require less precision, and are cheaper than welds required on conventional balcony fixings. In the case of the fifth embodiment, due to the hooks 510 the fixing 500 may not require welding at all to assemble and lock the components of the fixing 500 together: it will be appreciated that the other embodiments described above could be adapted in a similar manner. It will be appreciated by the skilled person that in all of the embodiments shown, the first (top) loadbearing feature is configured to extend into the concrete slab to a greater extent than the second (bottom) load-bearing feature. The first (top) load-bearing feature therefore serves as the primary load-bearing feature of the fixing, as the deeper penetration of the feature into the concrete slab provides the first loadbearing feature with a stronger connection and therefore is able to accommodate greater loads from the structural bar of the balcony than the second load-bearing feature. Figs. 9 to 11 shows one convenient arrangement for attaching an H-shaped end of a first structural member to an H-shaped end of a second structural member. Whilst the arrangement shown in Figs. 9 to 11 shows the attachment of the structural beam 3 to a beam stub 4, the skilled person appreciates that the fixings of all previous embodiments may be attached to the structural beam 3 in a similar manner to how the beam stub 4 is attached to the structural beam 3 as shown in Figs. 9 to 11: the fixing is accordingly suitable for attaching a balcony fixing of any one of Fig. 1 -8 to a structural beam. Fig. 9 shows the beam stub 4 attached to the structural beam 3 via an attachment apparatus 600. Fig. 10 shows the attachment apparatus 600 in more detail, with nuts, bolts and washers removed for clarity. Fig 11(a) shows a first perspective view of the attachment apparatus where the beam stub 4 is not visible. Fig. 11(b) shows an alternate perspective view of the attachment apparatus where the structural beam 3 is not visible. As best shown in Fig. 10, the attachment apparatus 600 comprises a horizontally-extending joining top plate 601, a vertically-extending joining side plate 603, a horizontally-extending bottom plate 605, a bottom member 608, curved wedges 609, 611, and a top shim plate 613. H-shaped member 615 is a packer placed onto the attachment apparatus 600 once the height adjustment of the balcony is complete and is not a part of the attachment apparatus 600. The attachment apparatus 600 straddles both the beam stub 4 and the structural beam 3 (i.e. the attachment apparatus 600 overlaps both a portion of the beam stub 4, specifically a balcony-side end of the beam stub 4, as well as a stub-side end of the structural beam 3). As shown in Fig. 9, the attachment apparatus 600 is configured to align beam stub 4’s ‘H’ shaped cross-section with the structural beam 3’s ‘H’ shaped cross-section. The attachment apparatus 600 is configured to be load bearing (i.e. substantially the entire load is transmitted between the beam stub 4 and the structural beam 3 via the attachment apparatus 600). When attached to the structural beam 3, the beam stub 4 may be slightly spaced from the beam 3 via the attachment apparatus 600. Conveniently, the ends of the structural beam 3 and beam stub 4 are spaced from each other via the bottom member 608 and the curved wedges 609, 611, as the bottom member 608 and the curved wedges 609, 611 interpose between and physically abut the bottom flange of the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. In more detail, the bottom member 608 physically abuts the structural beam 3 and the curved wedges 609, 611 physically abut the beam stub 4. In some arrangements, as will be explained below, the curved wedges 609, 611 are removed from the attachment apparatus 600. In these arrangements the bottom member 608 physically abuts both the bottom flange of the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. We will now consider each of the components of the attachment apparatus 600 in turn. Returning to Fig. 10, the joining top plate 601 is a horizontally-extending elongate plate with a substantially rectangular shape. The joining top plate 601 is elongated in the length direction (L). The joining top plate 601 has various apertures 621,622, 623, through its surface configured to align with corresponding apertures on the beam stub 4 and the structural beam 3, as well as to align with other components of the attachment apparatus 600 and the wider balcony system. In more detail, the joining top plate 601 has two apertures 621 on its beam-side end configured to align with corresponding apertures in the top shim plate 613 and the structural beam 3. The joining top plate 601 also has two apertures 622 configured to align with corresponding apertures in the beam stub 4 (which correspond with, for example, apertures 104 in the fixing 100). Bolts are placed through these aligned apertures to connect the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4 together via the joining top plate 601. The joining top plate 601 also has elongate slots 623 elongated in the length direction (L), configured to connect with other components of the balcony (e.g. the balcony cassette) via aligned apertures. The elongate slots 623 are disposed towards the stub-side end of the joining top plate 601 and are positioned outboard of the beam stub 4 (i.e. along the outer longitudinal edge of the joining top plate 601 such as not to align with the beam stub 4). Additional apertures and slots are provided to facilitate connection of the joining top plate 601 to other components of the wider system (e.g. the balcony cassette) as needed. The joining top plate 601 is extended in the length direction (L) towards the beam stub 4 to a greater extent than it is extending in the length direction (L) towards the structural beam 3. In other words, the joining top plate 601 overlaps the beam stub 4 more than it overlaps the structural beam 3. The top shim plate 613 is a packing shim configured to align two different beam types with differing top flange thicknesses. The top shim plate 613 is a rectangular plate configured to be disposed between the joining top plate 601 and structural beam 3. A shim plate may be provided at every connection point between the joining top plate 601 and other components. The joining side plate 603 is a substantially rectangular member with a plurality of apertures 604 formed through its surface. These apertures 604 are configured to align with corresponding apertures on interior surfaces of the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. The plurality of apertures 604 ensure that at least one aperture aligns with an aperture on the structural beam 3, and at least one aperture aligns with an aperture on the beam stub 4. Bolts are then used to connect the joining side plate to the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4 via the apertures 604,. Conveniently two bolts are placed through two vertically aligned apertures to make each connection (i.e. two vertically aligned apertures 604 are themselves aligned with corresponding apertures in the interior surface of the structural beam 3, and two vertically aligned apertures 604 are themselves aligned with corresponding apertures in the interior surface of the beam stub 4. A bolt is placed through each of the four aligned apertures to make the connection. In this way the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4 are joined via the joining side plate 603). The joining side plate 603 is configured to take the vertical shear between the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. As shown best in Fig. 10, an end of the joining side plate 603 is curved outwards with respect to the length direction (L), to enable ease of handling of the joining side plate when it is aligned with the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. The bottom plate 605 is connected to the bottom surface of the structural beam 3 via bolts which extend through aligned apertures. These bolts also secure the curved wedges 609, 611 to the bottom plate 605 as will be explained in more detail below. The bottom plate 605 is formed of two wings 606, 607 connected via a central strut, such that the bottom plate forms an ‘H’ shape in the horizontal plane. The horizontally-extending ‘H’ shape enables the bottom plate 605 to interlock with the vertically-extending H-shaped cross section of both the beam stub 4 and the structural beam 3, as shown best in Figs. 11(a) and (b). Both the central rib of the beam stub 4 and the central rib of the structural beam 3 are received between the two wings of the bottom plate 605 and the central strut. This arrangement facilitates the aligning of the cross-sections of the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. The curved wedges 609, 611 are rectangular plates which are curved substantially 90 degrees along an axis to form an ‘L’ shape with a horizontal portion that extends along the length direction L as well as a vertical portion that extends along the height direction H. The horizontal portions of the curved wedges 609, 611 are secured to the bottom plate 605 via bolts through open apertures 612. The vertical portions of the curved wedges 609, 611 are configured to slot through apertures on the bottom plate 605 and sit between the beam stub 4 and the bottom member 608. If, during the connection of the structural beam 3 to the beam stub 4 using the attachment apparatus 600, the structural beam 3 is angled too high relative to the beam stub 4 (which, when connecting a structural beam 3 to a balcony fixing (e.g. the fixing 100) embedded into a concrete slab would result in an angled balcony arm, which is unsuitable for balconies which desire a horizontally level arm to support a horizontally level balcony floor), the curved wedges 609, 611 can be removed from the attachment apparatus 600, such as to allow the angle of the structural beam 3 relative to the beam stub 4 to drop, facilitating a horizontally level connection between the structural beam 3 and the beam stub 4. *** The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof. While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For the avoidance of any doubt, any theoretical explanations provided herein are provided for the purposes of improving the understanding of a reader. The inventors do not wish to be bound by any of these theoretical explanations. Any section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described. Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” and “include”, and variations such as “comprises”, “comprising”, and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and / or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and / or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. The term “about” in relation to a numerical value is optional and means for example + / -10%.

Claims

aims:

1. A fixing for attaching a balcony to a building, wherein the fixing comprises a plurality of plateshaped pieces configured to be assembled to form the fixing, the fixing including at least one horizontallyextending load-bearing plate, the load-bearing plate comprising:a first ‘slab-side’ end configured to be cast-in to a slab which makes up part of the structure of the building, anda second ‘balcony-side’ end configured for connection to a structural bar for supporting a balcony.

2. The fixing according to claim 1 wherein the fixing comprises upper and lower load-bearing plates.

3. The fixing according to claim 2 wherein each of the upper and lower load-bearing platescomprises a respective first ‘slab-side’ end configured to be cast-in to the slab which makes up part of the structure of the building, and a second ‘balcony-side’ end configured for connection to a structural bar for supporting a balcony.

4. The fixing according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fixing comprises a horizontally-extending load-bearing plate and a vertically-extending load-bearing plate.

5. The fixing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fixing comprises horizontallyextending upper and lower load-bearing plates, joined by one or more vertically-extending connection members.

6. The fixing according to claim 5 wherein the balcony-side portion of the horizontally-extending upper and lower load-bearing plates, together with the vertically-extending connection members define an H-beam shape.

7. The fixing according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the fixing is configured for flatpack assembly.

8. The fixing according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the slab-side end includes one or more projection features configured to provide a keying engagement with the slab when cast-in.

9. The fixing according to claim 8 wherein the one or more projection features are integrally formed with their respective load-bearing plate.

10. The fixing according to claim 7 wherein the one or more projection features comprise crenelations or teeth.

11. The fixing according to claim 10 wherein both lateral sides of the slab-side end comprise a plurality of crenelations or teeth.

12. The fixing according to claim 8 wherein the projection features are fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate.

13. The fixing according to claim 10 wherein the projection features comprise one or more plates which are fixedly attached to their respective load-bearing plate such that the plates extend orthogonally relative to the load-bearing plate.

14. The fixing according to claim 13 wherein each projection feature comprises a plurality of plates which are laminated together to form a laminated body which is fixedly attached to the respective loadbearing plate such that the laminated body extends orthogonally relative to the load-bearing plate15. The fixing according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the entire fixing is formed from a single material.

16. The fixing according to claim 15 wherein the fixing is formed entirely from stainless steel.

17. The fixing according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the fixing includes a thermal break plateformed of a material having relatively low thermal conductivity.

18. A kit of parts for attaching a balcony to a building, wherein the kit comprises:a fixing according to any one of claims 1 to 17; andone or more joining plates for connection of the balcony-side end of the load-bearing plate of the fixing to the structural bar for supporting a balcony.

19. A method of installing a balcony fixing onto a concrete slab, the method comprising: providing a fixing according to any one of claims 1 to 17;casting the slab-side end of the load-bearing plate of the fixing into the concrete slab; and attaching a structural bar for supporting a balcony to the balcony-side end of the load-bearingplate.

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