Second Story Balcony Repair

[Michael McCartney]

I bought a duplex and have completely renovated the interior and will start on the exterior soon. My first big problem is the second story balcony, it is very unstable and I was looking at some tips for repairs. First I was going to replace the posts with 6x6 treated wood or metal posts and take them all the way to the ground instead of 45'ing them into the house.

The boards that run front to back that jet out of the house actually go into the house and are attached to the roof joists for the first story ceiling. Those will need to be replaced too due to rotting.

Do you think the span between the support posts will hold the weight properly or should I add an additional post in the center for support? Any other comments or recommendations would be helpful.