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Clara Kuehn asked:

Aug 13, 2020
What do I do about this flooring issue on my balcony?
My balcony seems to be covered in a plastic-like material, presumably to prevent leakage into the units below me. I don’t know what is underneath the cover, but the surface is very uneven. This is preventing water from getting to the drainage spout in the corner of the balcony. Whenever it rains I have a pond on my balcony. If it warms up after the rain, it does get smelly. When I first moved here these rubber mats were covering the balcony floor, but I don’t like the look of them and they definitely do not solve the drainage issue.

Mason Hearn of HomeMasons, Inc. PRO answered:

Aug 18, 2020

Hard to tell for sure without a close look, but the roofing / waterproofing material looks like TPO, a single-ply roofing membrance.  It is not made for direct traffic, so appears someone has installed rubber pavers over it to protect the membrane.  Not an unusual application.  The membrane should have positive drainage to what appears to be scuppers, and any water falling on that balcony wants to be able to freely drain - meaning, any pavers installed should have a means of drainage on the underside.  Appears to me that these rubber walkpads really do not.

Have a professional roofer /waterproofing company take a look and work with you toward a solution.

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