Finishing and insulation of balconies and loggias in the home
Having decided to make repairs in the apartment, you, of course, will not ignore the balcony. Who has a balcony, who has a loggia - and in some apartments there is both.
What is their difference? The balcony is a remote construction, the basis of which is a balcony slab, enclosed by a parapet.
It is located outside the exterior walls of the house. The loggia is actually part of one or two rooms of the apartment, although it is fenced off from them by a wall.
The outer part of the loggia also has a parapet. Sometimes the loggias can be adjacent to neighboring apartments, which, as a rule, does not please the owners.
The space of the loggia is not comparable more than the area of the balcony, so it is often combined with the main room, or arrange a separate room in it. But for this, warming of the loggia and decoration should be done.
Of course, you cannot name a balcony a room, but there are methods that allow you to expand it a little. This will require the help of specialists, since these works are carried out outside the house, on a lift.
But the decoration of the balcony and insulation can be done by hand, and our little instruction will help you succeed in this.
The content of the article
Warming
Despite the fact that the loggia is larger than the balcony, it is much easier to warm it. She has only one outer wall, and at the balcony - three.
Performing any work on the balcony, you need to take into account their weight, since the balcony slab is not designed for heavy loads. On the loggia, you can build any wall: even from brick, even from concrete blocks - and insulate it so that it will be possible to arrange at least a winter garden there.
Window
Warming and decoration of loggias and balconies begins with the installation of windows. How much heat will be in this room in winter will also depend on their design.
It is unlikely that now someone is putting wooden windows on the balcony. They can not compete with plastic windows for tightness: the tree is drying up, decays, requires annual painting.
This can not be done from the outside of the balcony, so the wooden balcony frames come into disrepair quite quickly.
- Plastic windows solve all these problems, and also have additional advantages. For maximum insulation, you can order two-chamber double-glazed windows, there are even options with sound insulation, as can be seen in the photo below.
- The thickness of the glass can also be different, as well as their properties. There is a so-called I-glass (energy-saving glass).
It has a high reflectivity and surpasses ordinary glass in thermal insulation properties due to the special coating. - Naturally, the price of such glass is higher, which will affect the cost of the entire window. The design of the window profile also has differences - there are three-chamber and five-chamber options.
So you can choose a suitable double-glazed window for any climatic conditions. - Windows are installed on a brick or concrete parapet. So, if on your balcony there is a fence made of iron bars with a railing, you will first have to lay out the wall.
How this is done, you can watch the video, or invite a specialist to perform this work.
When the windows are installed, insulation and decoration of balconies and loggias begins with them. As a rule, there are through slots around the frame.
To avoid drafts in the future, they need to be filled with mounting foam. If the gaps are quite large, you can first fill them with pieces of foam.
Waterproofing
The next stage of work will be the waterproofing of structures. If it is not performed, the heaters will get wet and deteriorate, dampness will be felt.
So:
- The most inexpensive waterproofing material is roofing material. Since cardboard is its basis, ruberoid is short-lived. Over the years, cardboard rots and needs to be replaced.
- But it’s on the roof, and it’s quite suitable for the balcony, because there will not be direct rainwater. So, pieces of roofing material are overlapped on the floor of the loggia and glued with a special bitumen glue.
Joints can be welded using a gas burner. - If you want to make a more durable insulation, use penetrating compounds, such as: penekrit, penetron, water glass, various dry mixes. There are many varieties of waterproofing compounds: both domestic and imported.
The mixture is diluted with water to the desired consistency, and applied with a brush or roller to an insulated surface. When it dries, a reliable moisture-proof film is formed.
Insulation layer
Warming and finishing the loggia should be done carefully, especially if there will be a living room. The choice of materials that can be used to create a thermal insulation layer is quite wide.
So:
- The most affordable and cheapest of them is polystyrene. It is not afraid of moisture and fungus, has soundproofing properties, has a low weight.
Its only drawback: polystyrene is a highly flammable material. - Therefore, manufacturers have developed fire-resistant polystyrene material that looks like foam. You can use the traditional option - mineral wool.
Or turn to a new generation of material called Isolon.
- There are many varieties of Isolon, since the scope of its application is not limited to thermal insulation of structures. This material has many advantages: no odor, microbiological and chemical resistance.
- Given that the insulation must necessarily be covered with a vapor barrier film, it is easiest to use a foil version of the isolon or penofol. What thickness of insulation you will need will depend on the method of finishing the balcony.
- Finishing and warming of the loggia, and in particular its floor, can be done in this way: as an insulation you can use expanded clay, which costs mere pennies. Usually, the balcony floor mark is significantly lower than in the apartment.
Therefore, a thick layer of expanded clay not only insulates well, but also raises its level.
- The floor structure will be slightly different from that where soft insulation is used. In this case, waterproofing is not necessary, a vapor barrier film is simply laid on the concrete, and expanded clay is poured on top.
- A reinforcing mesh is laid on the expanded clay layer, which is poured with liquid cement mortar. It turns out a sealed design.
Usually, a screed is made from above, which allows laying ceramic tile, laminate or linoleum.
And for the walls and ceiling, it will be possible to choose a different type of insulation from those options that we talked about. If frame cladding is used as the finishing finish, the finishing and warming of balconies is combined.
Frame Paneling
Let us consider in more detail how insulation and decoration of the balcony are done with your own hands. First, find out from the neighbors on top if the floor on their loggia is insulated.
If the answer is yes, you do not need to insulate the ceiling, as well as the wall adjacent to the room.
So:
- When the waterproofing has dried, we proceed to the device of the frame. Let's say you will sheathe the walls and ceiling with plastic. You need to start from the ceiling - then it will be easier to make walls.
- If the ceiling is to be insulated, a roll insulation is first glued to its surface. Then, fasten the starting profile with screws to the plastic frame of the window, and to the walls with dowels.
With a pitch of 40-50 mm in the middle of the ceiling, mount the suspensions that will hold the guide profile.
- Do not forget to leave the conclusions for the lights, cut the start panel and fasten it to the profile. Next, we mount the slats from plastic using the comb-groove method, and fix with self-tapping screws.
The last panel will have to be cut in length. - The frame can be made of wood, you can mount on it not only plastic, but also MDF, a lining board. If there is no need to insulate and sheathe the ceiling, you can simply glue the ceiling tile onto its surface as a decor, or putty and paint it.
- Wall cladding begins with a parapet. The start profile is attached to the bottom of the window sill with screws. In accordance with it, level marks are made on the walls.
According to these marks, the guide profile is also attached.
- In the internal space of the frame, pieces of insulation are laid. If it is mineral wool, do not forget about the vapor barrier film, if foil isolon - immediately close the panels.
All joints of the surfaces will be hidden by skirting boards: both on the ceiling and on the floor.
If it is planned to mount a wooden frame for lining, you should use bars with a section of 40 * 40mm, and be sure to check them for curvature and knots when buying, otherwise you will be tormented.
Lining
Finishing and warming the balcony with your own hands is not for everyone. But even if invited experts do this, their work needs to be controlled.
To do this, you must know how this or that stage of work is performed:
- Waterproofing of vertical surfaces is done using penetrating compounds, which were described at the beginning of our article. It is better not to use polystyrene as a heater for lining.
- Wood itself is a combustible material, and even polystyrene. Use the expanded polystyrene or isolon better.
The pieces of insulation must be cut exactly to the size of the cells of the wooden frame, and fixed with glue. - Any resulting voids must be filled with mounting foam and glued with tape. The lining is nailed to a wooden frame, and upon completion of work, it is covered with stain or varnish.
- Such a coating will give the wooden surface not only a beautiful appearance, but also protect the wood from moisture.
Decorating and warming loggias and balconies can be done in other ways. For example, if you want to paint or wallpaper the walls of these rooms.
There are two options for this: mount drywall sheets on the walls or plaster surfaces. To make plastering possible, a reinforcing mesh is mounted on the insulation layer.
This is the only way the solution can stay on the wall, that is, the usual alignment is done. After that, the walls can be decorated at your discretion.
Isolon showed himself very well as a heater.Firstly, it is good at installation, it bends, it is quite strong. Secondly, the insulating properties are excellent, comparable to a thickness of a few centimeters of mineral wool.