# project balcony



## Birman_4ever (Oct 22, 2006)

Hallo everybody!
We have a balcony and we want to make it safe for our two cats. Now I `m looking for some ideas to fix the safety net. Especially I`m searching for a solution without dowel into the house wall.
Who amongst you has an idea how to make it?
In additon, have you any ideas to design the balcony as an "adventure place" for my cats?
See you 
Birman_4ever :catmilk


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

What is your house made of? Are you attaching to wood or concrete?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Maybe you can provide some pictures of the balcony, it would help you get better suggestions...


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I don't know if these are available in Germany, but 3M makes a whole line of adhesive-backed hooks under the name "Command." The adhesive releases from the surface without any residue or damage by pulling on a tag.

3M Command adhesive hooks


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

There are also fasteners that wedge into the space between bricks, making a strong, easily removable attachment point. 
I forgot the name,  but they are commonly used in New Orleans to secure plywood over windows for hurricane protection.
:kittyball


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## Birman_4ever (Oct 22, 2006)

> What is your house made of? Are you attaching to wood or concrete?


I'm attaching to concrete.


> Maybe you can provide some pictures of the balcony, it would help you get better suggestions...


As soon as possible I will take photos of the balcony. Perhaps a small description can help. The frame of the balcony consists of wood shelves and is about 1 meter (3 ft) high. It is about 1 meter (3ft) depth and 6 meter (18ft) width. The house wall is very rough.
:catmilk


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## Spunster (Dec 16, 2006)

I've fenced in my entire yard, which included one side of a terrace.

I ordered through this company for the terrace parts:

http://www.boy-netze.de Edit to add: I checked the links and it looks like this company no longer exists.

I ordered three clamps to hold the poles so no drilling was required. The clamps are attached to the railing, the poles are put through the net. It took maybe 15 minutes to assemble.

For the rest of the yard I ordered a fence attachment that makes the top of the fence (which is 180 cm tall anyway) tilt in - cats can't get over it. They have a page for balconies too:

http://www.catfence.de/pet-zet/balkonnetz.htm

I've had the nets up for about a year now and they are still in perfect shape - they seem to be of higher quality than the net you can buy at pet supply stores. 

I hope that helped!


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## MandyJoBo (Apr 13, 2006)

We had to block off the balcony of our loft with a big sheet of fiberglass nailed to the walls. This is indoors, so it's probably not an option for you, as you'll still want to be able to see out.  It works, though.


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## Birman_4ever (Oct 22, 2006)

Hallo!

Finally, the sun appears with us and I could do the photos of my balcony you ask me to do. 
Here they are. I hope they will help you.:
























The last picture shows the wall structure.
Now, have you any idea how I can fix my cats protection net at my balcony?
By the way I have another question: Which plants aren't toxic by cat's smelling and chewing on them? The problem is, that my cats chew at everything they see. But I reluctantly would renounce on plants on my balcony. Do you know any? 
Thanks a lot.

See you 
Birman_4ever :catmilk


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

What's on top? Is there another balcony above you? If there is something tere it looks easy enough. You could just staple gun netting or screening to the wood. If not, it looks like you you can attach tall planks to each post with some metal braces (so you don't damage the exisiting balcony with screws). Does that make sense? Sort of build a simple frame and attach it to the existing posts. Then attach netting to that. You may not even need to attach it to the stucco, but I'm not am engineer. :? 
As for plants, I have them all over my balcony. Many, many plants are toxic to some degree but a lot of the plants that are often listed as "toxic" include things like causing skin irritation or mild tummy upset. Obviously, I'd stay away from any truly toxic plants like lilies. There are tons that are safe though. To start off, geraniums, lavander, nastertium, namesia, linaria, bacopa, million bells, petunias, pansies, any of the mint family, ferns....are all easy to care for and beautiful. I also have catnip and grass for them. Oh, and Swiss Chard and lettuce! They are catually for me but the cats love 'em! Go figure.

P.S. I used to have a great website bookmarked that had all the plants listed and gave the exact level of toxisity. Unfortunately, my computer crashed and it's not there anymore.  I think I got it through poison control. But, in the meantime, here's one that doesn't look bad.
http://members.tripod.com/~Cicero/tsplants.htm


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I'd just drill into the concrete and also the railing and put in anchors appropriate to each. Both are easily patched when you need to remove the enclosure. You just pound the anchors further in until they're below the surface and then cover with concrete patch or colored wood putty.


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

Here's a couple I found last time I was looking for cat toxicity information:

http://www.catfocused.com/cat-health/toxic-plant-database.php?pl=a
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/bytox1.htm

Hmm. The toxic plant database has added Impatiens, and I've noticed quite a few toxic plant lists now have them, too, although I know before I bought mine last summer, I specifically looked to see if they were OK. Clearly they can't be that toxic as Stormy ate one leaf by leaf over the course of last summer with no apparent ill effects. (It's apparently yummier than basil, if you're a black cat.)

That's the problem with "toxic plants" lists: they contain so many plants that are not really that toxic (like poinsettias) that it's hard to know what's really dangerous.

If anyone has been growing pot in their closet, you'll be relieved to hear that it has only low toxicity. ;-)


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