It may seem that attaching a balcony to a room is not such a difficult matter. However, people often face a situation where, after glazing the parapet and removing the old door block the balcony becomes a source of colossal heat loss. Moreover, glaring mistakes are made not only by home craftsmen who decide to cope on their own, but also by hired professional builders. Let's figure out what misconceptions prevent you from doing everything correctly, what pitfalls exist, and how to get around them.
Myth No. 1: A balcony is practical and convenient
If we consider finished projects country cottages, then almost every one of them has a balcony. As practice shows, in the private sector this element of the building is extremely rarely used, especially when it is located on the front side of the facade. People make it and then throw it away. Until a certain point... until the first troubles begin. The wall near the slab freezes and gets wet, the materials on the street gradually deteriorate (the surface of the site crumbles, the fences rust), wooden door It dries out and begins to seep through it.
Important! Balcony stationary slab is tied with outer wall building, it goes directly into the room at floor level and is a huge bridge of cold. In a private house, it makes sense to build a balcony made of wood; it is advisable to use hinged and attached structures with support columns.
Approximately the same horrors are observed in an apartment in a high-rise building. But if in the private sector the owner can, by a strong-willed decision, completely abandon the construction of a balcony, then in a high-rise building people have nowhere to go, they have to do something. It turns out that the balcony is one of the most problem areas, it’s definitely the same in an apartment. It turns out that the home owner has additional structures “on his balance sheet,” moreover, external ones, which should be protected from wind, snow, rain, and the scorching rays of the sun. Every season something needs to be tinted, lubricated, adjusted, etc.
So, open balcony structures require regular careful maintenance, but some of the problems can be eliminated by glazing and insulation. The implementation of an insulated balcony is akin to a construction site in miniature, since you will need to build/assemble walls, create a roof (at the extreme top floor), take care of heating and electricity.
Myth No. 2: Any translucent structure can be used for glazing
In fact, there are two types of glazing: warm and cold. Frameless and most sliding structures are elements of cold glazing - if the balcony remains a space isolated from the rooms. The warm option is used when the area is attached to the room. For such purposes, only the most technologically advanced products are suitable, which are distinguished by the greatest resistance to heat transfer, because windows will be the main enclosing structures, and their area is quite large.
Most aluminum systems here cannot provide normal thermal insulation; it is better to give preference, for example, wooden structures(modern, of course). However best characteristics For energy saving, PVC windows are shown on the balcony. But these should be models with a multi-chamber (5-6 chambers, total frame width from 80 mm) profile, which allow the use of filling with two-chamber bags and corresponding sandwiches (from 32 mm). Obviously, double-glazed windows must be used with maximum thermal insulation capacity - that is, with three glasses in which argon and special spraying are used.
Important! Swing systems with several sealing contours have proven themselves to be the best for insulation. Sliding models (as well as frameless solutions) usually do not provide sufficient thermal insulation and tightness, although there are so-called tilt-slide and tilt-slide systems that have quite a decent level of energy efficiency.
As for the configuration and configuration of the glazing, it is worth mentioning the mandatory use of some standard components, which in all respects correspond to the tasks assigned to the insulation. These include:
- corner connection profiles(has chambers and allows you not to build a supporting frame);
- straight H-shaped connecting profiles (allows you to fill a long opening with several frames, has cameras and elastic seals);
- stand elements (makes it possible to insulate the floor);
- expanders (allows you to insulate the ceiling and blank walls).
To increase the heat transfer resistance, the cavities of these components can be filled mineral wool, or polyurethane foam.
You need to understand that even the highest quality glazing has relatively poor thermal insulation properties. Therefore, it is better to assemble a massive or frame parapet around the perimeter of the slab and insulate it, and install windows from the solid fence to the ceiling. If the PVC balcony structure is still chosen “from floor to ceiling”, then it is not necessary to fill all the frames with double-glazed windows; in some openings it will be more effective to install a warmer sandwich (PVC+EPS+PVC) - for example, on the end walls of the balcony, the lower part ram.
Myth #3: Anyone is enough modern insulation layer of 3-5 centimeters
Insufficient thickness of the thermal insulation layer is the most common mistake. It may seem that since the area of the balcony is relatively small, it would not be logical to “eat up” it with thick enclosing elements. But, if you make simple calculations (see the article on calculating the thickness of thermal insulation), it becomes clear that minimum layer additional insulation will be 100-120 mm, and sometimes even 150-180. It is clear that the polyethylene foam canvases so beloved by domestic craftsmen will not cope with the assigned tasks. Here you definitely need to apply:
- basalt wool;
- Styrofoam;
- or extruded polystyrene foam.
Moreover, of all the options for density/thermal conductivity, it is worth giving preference to the most effective ones (thermal conductivity coefficient from 0.040 W/(m*K) and below), which will allow for high-quality insulation and will still help save usable space.
Myth No. 4: The ceiling and floor need not be insulated
Sometimes you hear that a property owner does not want to spend money on thermal insulation of some elements of a balcony/loggia, since “the neighbors above and below also have glazed balconies.” But we cannot know what level of thermal insulation is implemented there; maybe there is no insulation in the structures at all, and cold glazing was used. Even if it turns out that the neighbors insulated properly, there is no guarantee that over time these or other residents will not change their minds and change something.
Also, do not forget that, as we have already noted, this is a powerful bridge of cold: a concrete balcony slab with its three ends faces the street. Therefore, in winter it freezes easily, and this happens even more intensely if, on the neighbors’ side, it is reliably fenced off from the heating system by a layer of heat insulator. That is, it does not warm up and cools even faster; this cold from the balcony will definitely go into your apartment.
Important! Due to the freezing of the massive element at the end, the blank walls of the loggias, even those isolated from the side of the adjacent apartment, are also subject to full insulation.
Myth No. 5: First of all, the frames are assembled, and then the insulation is laid
Frame sheathing really is the best option finishing the balcony, which is exposed additional insulation, because the wet method of bonded thermal insulation, as on the facade, seems to many to be too impractical indoors - for example, overly susceptible to squeezing. However, when assembling frames, craftsmen make the same mistake - first they install the subsystem close to the load-bearing base, and then attach polystyrene foam or stone wool. As a result, the thermal insulation layer breaks, and cold stripes are obtained, which are clearly visible when examining the frame with a thermal imager. It turns out especially bad if you use metal profiles instead of wooden blocks. Wood is preferable here; such insulation is, of course, better than nothing, but freezing is possible.
Important! The insulation, be it polystyrene foam or cotton wool, must be inserted behind the frame elements and the sheets joined tightly to each other and to the load-bearing elements. If foam plastic and EPS, such as penoplex, are used as an insulator, then it is recommended to foam the joints and gaps. When using direct hangers, they must be drilled in advance and secured to the base through thermal insulating gaskets, and the insulation can only then be placed on them by piercing (most likely, you will need elongated U-shaped brackets).
Myth No. 6: Moisture on the balcony is not particularly scary
Just exactly the opposite. There can be a lot of unpleasant options when water, during the operation of an insulated balcony/loggia, can get where it is not needed. The greatest danger is slanting rain. The glazed balcony is a prefabricated structure with a large number of elements and connections various materials. Water can get into the insulating layer through poor-quality connections, which then ceases to perform an insulating function. Most often, leakage is observed in the area where the frames meet the top and bottom slabs, if the ebbs/canopies are not installed correctly.
Important! IN mandatory and metal or plastic visors must be used in a special way. The top one should be fixed to the slab, and the bottom one to the frame. Installation gaps must be filled with quality foam. By the way, we must not forget about the area where the frames join and outer wall at home, very often they “forget” to use the strips that protect the foam from both water and ultraviolet radiation.
If you need to make a roof, then you can’t do without a corner that will cover the joint roofing material and walls. It is best to use a Z-shaped galvanized profile with polymer coating, which with one shelf crashes into the wall. Also, if the humidity in the rooms sometimes rises too much, then it is recommended to cover the insulation from the inside with vapor barrier films and glue the panels with tape.
Myth No. 7: A radiator from under a window can be moved to the balcony parapet without any problems
For a number of reasons, this is not the most reasonable solution. If, after removing the balcony door block, the part of the wall on which the battery hung is also dismantled, then heating device It is better to install it on the side wall of the balcony. Even if you transfer to the front wall, you will have to install the supply and return lines open method. It is dangerous to lay the pipeline in the floor, as on almost any winter day, the pipes located in the thickness of the insulation can be thawed and damaged by destruction if the heating is stopped for even a day.
Perhaps the most practical and in a safe way The glazed balcony will be heated by electric heated floors. For example, implemented using self-regulating cables, rods or infrared film, which can be laid directly under the finishing floor covering.
Continuation of “a balcony not like everyone else’s.”
It came down to some furniture on the balcony; there wasn’t much room for it, so we decided to make do with a couple of cabinets. The furniture makers did their job normally, but there was a nuance that apparently was beyond their control, or there were other arguments. The hostess was satisfied with everything, except for the design of the junction of the table with the window sill. On the one hand, it seems like you can’t do it the other way, especially since the window sill turned out to be bent, on the other hand
hallway very good small - 1.2 meters long and 2.4 meters wide. need to place a closet. Planned along the wall. The classic closet depth of 60 cm will eat up half the hallway, so it was decided to make the depth 40 cm (the “hangers” will have to be placed lengthwise, not across, in the closet). I looked at the cabinet from the gallery “photo from Gregory”, photo #19, as a suitable option. But there are no frame-by-frame recommendations for its manufacture ((((((I realized that first the frame is made (the left wall of the cabinet in the photo), the plasterboard is sheathed, and then the “filling" is sized inside. So? And what is that light strip at the top and bottom cabinet? Is this also a gypsum plasterboard profile? For what?
- 110 replies
Now we in the cities are doomed to count everything. The crazy “craftsmen” immediately rushed to teach everyone how to twist water ones. And then she was born" typical diagram" installation of a water meter, which includes a valve that prevents manipulation of the device. Because of these valves, problems with boilers began to arise and moans and panicked cries rushed across the forums - "Achtung! The pressure in the heating pad is rising! What should I do?" If there weren't this valve, there wouldn't be any problems. And manufacturers and traders began to profit from the so-called "security groups". But that's another topic...
- 37 replies
Show something different from the tables on the blog, otherwise I haven’t been there for a long time.
Children's theme in Lately I was captivated in a way that was not childish. Various items They asked me to make it for kindergarten.
The first subject is educational, necessary and useful. This is a traffic light, children will learn the rules using it traffic, an extremely important thing.
Let me make a reservation right away: they also made a pedestrian version with people, but a simpler one made from cardboard.
In principle, they asked me to make this three eyes into a simple cardboard one, but can I really do it without any problems)) I thought about making a reliable educational object right away, and I did it. How long is enough?
The concept of the figure is that it is large enough for everyone to see, stable, durable and with rotating mechanism, the point is that there are 4 sides, one side shows all the signals for a general understanding of the device.
The other three sides are given one signal, the teacher can turn and show any color out of 3 and ask the children about its purpose.
In general, it seemed to me that it would be right
Initial thoughts about color circles on magnets and other light bulbs had to be canceled; we need a simple, understandable solution that is difficult to break; magnetic circles can get lost, light bulbs and batteries can fail.
I don’t know whether the idea succeeded, but time will tell.
The entire base is MDF, which was glued together with PVA; for temporary tack, I also fastened it with a micropin.
Separately, I would like to note that you can make circles of various diameters on a circular saw, and most importantly same size, using a simple device, we first cut square blanks, and then, using the device, rotating the part, we cut off the corners to a polyhedron, and then rotating the part, we finish it to a circle.
I glued the box together, the visors are halves of the eyes of the circles, I made a groove under them with a router, so such things cannot be securely glued into the end.
The whole thing rotates on a pipe from the joker system, in my opinion, for shelving, so that the stops do not fall out and fall through, which were fixed by bugs.
The base was made massive and wide from thick layers of MDF; with such a base, the traffic light is not so easy to tip over on its side.
I played the fool and drilled right through the pipe, so I had to put a plate on the return side.
I spray painted everything, then varnished it, the thing is ready.
I didn’t paint the signal circles; they were cut out of self-adhesive paper, which makes it easier to update the display item.
Who finished reading, look at the slides
Hello, brothers in repair! I haven’t written anything here for a long time, and in general I started to come in rarely, it’s all somehow too much time: either drinking, or partying, and now a new “attack” has attacked me. But knowing that, despite everything, you stubbornly do not forget me, I decided not to be a pig and tell you about my new hobby. I’ll start from afar: I have worked almost my entire adult life as an electronics engineer, moreover, as an engineer-developer of electronic and electrical devices of the widest class and purpose, and at the same time purely in the defense industry. It is clear that the scope of my amateur radio interests was limited only by my laziness, there were simply no restrictions on radio components for me, I had EVERYTHING! Well, following the trends of the amateur radio fashion of that time, my main focus was on radio receivers and amplifiers, of course, on transistors and microcircuits. I haven’t worked in this field for a long time, and I threw all the parts into the landfill a long time ago, but all this time I had a dream in my soul - to make a tube power amplifier, and not a simple one, but one that would make everyone gasp. But I must say that at work I spent most of my time dealing with electric vacuum devices, radio tubes, to put it simply, so this topic was very familiar to me. And then there’s this fashion for “warm tube sound”, which people are literally going crazy about. In short, a year ago I decided to make my dream come true. I immediately decided: the mainstream, ordinary tube amplifiers with an output transformer, are not interesting to me, this is not a royal matter! Shouldn't I invent a TRANSFORMER-LESS tube amplifier? Well, I well imagined the difficulties along this path, and I had some of my own thoughts on this matter, but still I decided to consult with the radio amateurs. I found a suitable group on Facebook, started publishing in it, and once asked a question
Independent connection and insulation of the loggia is a whole story with additional construction, complex technologies and a sea of paperwork. And with an unpredictable result: it happens that after all the work, the insulated wall sticks out from under the glazing, the window handles are too high, and condensation drips from the ceiling. We will tell you how to make a loggia a full-fledged part of the apartment and not regret it!
Mistake 1: reconstruction and redevelopment without permission
Even if you do not want to demolish the wall between the apartment and the loggia, but only want to insulate the space outside the window, it is better to notify the BTI representative of your intentions - so that later you do not have problems, for example, with selling the apartment if there are inconsistencies in the technical passport of the housing.
InMyRoom tip: glaze the balcony using sliding double-glazed windows aluminum profile– and thus equip a summer unheated loggia. This measure will still add space (for example, for storage), and there will be significantly fewer drafts from the balcony. No permit is required for such glazing.
Error 2: moving the radiator to the loggia
If you have received permission to rebuild, then you are unlikely to plan to pull off such a trick. But in any case, be aware that it is not allowed to extend the pipes for the radiator and the battery itself outside the outer wall of the building. The heat loss on the loggia is too great; if the pipes are not insulated correctly, they can freeze, and accidents are possible; For the heat supply of recently uninhabited meters, one would have to pay an additional significant amount after individual recalculation. One way or another, the batteries are not transferred to the loggia - remember this at the design stage of the insulated balcony.
InMyRoom tip: An electric floor heating system will help you or oil radiator– it can be attached to the wall in the same way as a regular battery.
Mistake 3: installing frameless glazing
Frameless doors look great - when closed they are smooth surface, sometimes not disturbed even by edges. In addition, the doors are conveniently assembled “into an accordion” without taking up the space of the loggia. However, this solution is not suitable for an insulated balcony: single glazing and gaps between the panels cannot protect against the cold. In addition, dirt and dust quickly accumulate on them, fingerprints remain and the mosquito net does not attach.
InMyRoom tip: Take a closer look at the latest developments - for example, thermally insulated tilt-and-slide windows. But best choice for glazing warm balcony PVC double-glazed windows with good old swing doors remain. In fact, they do not take up much space - they can only be opened for ventilation, and opened twice a year to wash the glass outside.
Error 4: remote glazing on brackets
In an effort to increase the area, or more precisely, the volume of the attached loggia, apartment owners build a frame for glazing with a projection of several tens of centimeters. A wide canopy appears along the upper perimeter, on which snow constantly accumulates, and in the off-season rain loudly beats on it. The most important thing is that a glass growth appears on the facade, which spoils the appearance of the building.
InMyRoom tip: an alternative is possible only within the framework of façade uniformity. If your house is completely open balconies(or they should, in fact, be so) – it’s worth parting with the idea of joining or even just glazing. And improve the loggia with green plants.
Mistake 5: insulation in one layer
To create an insulated loggia, the parapet and walls are duplicated with masonry made of foam blocks 70–100 millimeters thick - this material has excellent thermal insulation properties and frost resistance, so some believe that there is no need to additionally insulate the walls and parapet lined with foam blocks from the inside. In fact, masonry of this thickness can freeze.
InMyRoom tip: add either extruded polystyrene foam panels or stone wool slabs to the insulation cake.
Mistake 6: neglecting vapor barrier
It is especially dangerous if you use mineral wool as insulation - without vapor barrier material it will become damp and ruin the walls and floor on the balcony, and neighbors may find condensation on the ceiling of their loggia. Inside an outdoor building room connected without a vapor barrier, condensation will certainly appear instantly.
InMyRoom tip: even if you only use polystyrene foam or other foam materials for insulation, nothing will stop you from adding to them thin layer vapor barrier film. For mineral wool, such an additive is an absolute must-have!
Mistake 7: Overusing sealant without protection
Seams with blistering polyurethane foam- a perfectionist's nightmare. Aesthetically unattractive, they also threaten to ruin the climate in the apartment: the fact is that the foam of polyurethane sealants does not tolerate direct Sun rays and exposure to moisture. And without proper protection, it quickly collapses, opening previously sealed gaps and cracks to drafts and street noise.
InMyRoom tip: carefully treat the “foamed” seams - cut off excess sealant, sand the material with a fine sandpaper and cover with putty or acrylate paint (it is better to use both options). If you don’t have putty or paint on hand, take special mounting tape - but keep in mind that paint will not adhere well to such seams.
Mistake 8: Improper floor design
Do not try to make the floor perfectly flat using a thick sand-concrete screed, on which a solid layer of tile adhesive will subsequently fall, and then ceramic cladding. It is dangerous to overload the ceiling. It’s better to insulate the floor using ultra-light materials (let’s immediately agree that in this example we are not talking about a heated floor system).
InMyRoom tip: There are many recipes for insulating a loggia floor, but they all essentially boil down to using soft insulation directly on top of concrete slabs (you can take penoplex or mineral wool). Then it is recommended to put a second layer of insulation - and be sure to apply waterproofing (lay hydroglass insulation with an overlap of more than 15 centimeters). You can make a thin screed on top - and many craftsmen simply lay plywood if there is no significant slope on the balcony: the plywood is thin, light, smooth, and on top of it, in a warm and moisture-protected loggia, you can lay both carpet and laminate. Error 10: inattention to the little things
This error occurs normally in absolutely everyone. But the most common punctures can be eliminated in the bud:
- when glazing, plan and discuss the height of the handles, as well as the material, thickness and method of installation of the window sill board (if you decide to add a window sill to the frames);
- figure out whether a mosquito net is needed and how it will be attached;
- the gaps between the parapet and the floor slab that do not reach the ceiling or the glazing plane of the wall will need to be filled and completed. Determine what materials and tools will be needed - and carry out the work before insulation begins.
InMyRoom tip: If the insulation pie on the walls turns out to be quite thick, take care of additional profile extenders so that the wall does not protrude far from under the glazing.
The problem of shortage square meters very relevant for residents of standard high-rise buildings. One way out of the situation is to insulate the balcony from the inside and turn it into a living room.
Warm balcony opens ample opportunities for a more efficient layout of the interior space of the apartment. However, in order to turn your balcony into a full-fledged room, you should carry out a number of works to insulate it.
This step-by-step instruction Do-it-yourself balcony insulation is designed to answer all the questions that arise in this case, minimize the expenditure of time, effort and financial resources, and warn you against encountering all possible pitfalls.
Possibility of using an insulated loggia
A warm loggia, being part of the interior space of the apartment, can be used in several ways. The possibility of using each of them depends on the features internal layout apartments and the needs of the home owners. Here are some of them:
- How independent room. Here you can place a study, a relaxation room, a home workshop, etc. In this case, the balcony entrance group is retained, which now acts as a partition between the hall (kitchen) and the new room.
- Combination with a living room or hall. Makes it possible to significantly increase their size by adding additional areas due to warm loggia. The connection of two rooms occurs due to the dismantling of glazing and doors entrance group. In some cases, the partition located under the windows is also dismantled.
- Combining with the kitchen or moving this room to the loggia. This allows the former kitchen to retain its functions exclusively dining area, and place the stove and cooking tables on the loggia. To do this, the balcony entrance group located on the kitchen side is also dismantled.
How to legalize the combination of a loggia with internal premises
Before redevelopment, obtain all necessary permits
A step-by-step guide on how to insulate a balcony with your own hands is necessary not only for the correct step-by-step work, but also to avoid violations of construction and administrative regulations.
Often, when insulating a balcony room, apartment owners set the goal of combining it with the rest of the rooms by dismantling the entrance group and the balcony partition. It should be taken into account that the rules for the operation of residential premises in apartment buildings It is strictly forbidden to make unauthorized changes to their layout.
Unauthorized demolition of partitions, and even more so load-bearing walls(which are and external walls facing the balcony) is fraught with a serious conflict with the management organization.
To avoid such problems, before insulating the loggia with your own hands, it is always recommended to begin work by obtaining all the necessary permits. To do this, you should create project plan upcoming work and submit it to the relevant supervisory authorities - the architectural committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
After receiving their approval, you should coordinate the upcoming redevelopment with specialists management company. Only after the “go-ahead” has been received from all organizations, will it be possible to calmly get down to work without fear of any administrative or legal claims.
Stages of insulation work
Step-by-step instructions for insulating a loggia with your own hands, first of all, provide for the entire complex necessary work- only in this case can we talk about effective insulation of the room. Neglecting any of the stages of comprehensive insulation can ultimately negate all the work done.
Phased insulation of the loggia involves the following work:
- glazing of the balcony facade;
- sealing construction joints;
- waterproofing device;
- installation of insulation;
- decorative interior decoration.
Glazing of the balcony facade
Balcony glazing is one of the main works, without which it is impossible to create an internal thermal circuit in the room. In this regard, it is necessary to approach glazing with all responsibility. Balcony glazing performs a number of important functions:
- thermal insulation;
- moisture insulation;
- sound insulation;
- providing access to sunlight inside the room.
Modern glazing option - with aluminum or PVC frames
When glazing a loggia, you can use both the classic version of the design with wooden frames and more modern windows made of aluminum or plastic profile with multi-chamber double-glazed windows.
To create and maintain within comfortable temperature it is recommended to choose window designs with multi-chamber double-glazed windows. Depending on the climatic conditions of the region, the number of cameras can vary from two to six.
Window groups using double-glazed windows can be quite heavy, so you need to make sure that the parapet of the loggia can support their weight.
Strengthen the balcony structure if you are not sure of its strength
If there is the slightest doubt about the ability of the fence to withstand the load, it would be best to play it safe and further strengthen it. For this you can use a design from metal corners or channels.
At the same time, you should not overdo it in the quantity and thickness of the metal - there will be an excessive load on balcony slab is not at all included in the construction design of the building.
Trust the glazing to professionals
Give preference when choosing window groups better designs, well established in this market. Window installation should also be left to professionals. The fact is that you are unlikely to be able to install a window group efficiently without experience. Moreover, in case self-installation you may lose warranty service manufacturing company.
To avoid the accumulation of excessive dampness and condensation on the balcony, it is best to install plastic windows with built-in valves for air exchange.
Preliminary cleaning and puttying of surfaces
Level the walls and remove all bubbles, rough edges and peeling paint
Instructions for insulating a balcony pay special attention preliminary preparation internal surfaces. If you are going to mount thermal insulation material Using any adhesive or cement (polymer) based composition, all internal surfaces should be thoroughly cleaned of the old finish.
In this case, special attention should be paid to peeling, bubbling or crumbling fragments of whitewash, paint or plaster.
Surfaces painted with glossy paint should also be sanded with coarse sandpaper or grinder to improve their adhesion (coupling) with the adhesive composition.
All cracks and crevices at the joints balcony structures must be thoroughly puttied. Large gaps, for example, between a wall (parapet, ceiling) and glazing, can be sealed with polyurethane foam.
If you leave even the smallest cracks unfilled, inner space Cold air and dampness will inevitably penetrate through them, which will lead to the formation of condensation and dampness.
Waterproofing
The balcony floor can be covered with roll insulation material
For this you can use any suitable material. On modern market finishing materials there is a large selection of various mastics and sealants based on polymer and bitumen, as well as rolled waterproofing materials.
For maximum efficiency The mastic should be used according to the instructions for use.
All joints of balcony structures should be treated with liquid moisture-repellent compounds. In order to prevent the formation of condensation and dampness, you can cover all internal surfaces of the loggia with mastic.
Roll material (roofing felt, isospan, etc.) covers the walls, floor and ceiling of the loggia. Sheets cut to the required size are attached to the surfaces of the loggia using construction adhesive, mastic, or pressed with a slatted frame.
For greater efficiency, the joints of the sheets should overlap and be sealed with sealant or tape.
Choice of insulation
Thermal insulation should reliably protect the balcony from the cold
After the internal surfaces have been puttied and waterproofed, you can proceed directly to insulating the balcony. The choice of material depends on many factors: the location of its installation, minimum winter temperatures in your region, cost, etc.
Thermal insulation must, first of all, efficiently fulfill its main purpose - to protect the internal space from the external cold. To choose the right heat-insulating material, you should carefully familiarize yourself with its operating features, pros and cons.
Penoplex
Penoplex or extruded polystyrene foam is modern heat-insulating material. Do-it-yourself insulation of a balcony with penoplex has a number of advantages. It has excellent performance characteristics - it retains heat well, is not afraid of dampness, is light in weight, but at the same time quite dense.
Penoplex is easily cut into sheets required sizes with an ordinary knife and can be used to insulate any surface.
Insulating the loggia floor with penoplex does not require the installation of an additional frame. Thanks to its high density, it can support a lot of weight without deforming or breaking.
Styrofoam
Foam insulation has the same advantages as the previous option - it is lightweight and has good heat-insulating properties. But unlike penoplex, it is less dense.
Therefore, it can only be used to insulate loggia floors as a frame filler. It is not recommended to cover floors with it directly under the finishing coating: under the weight of people and furniture, it can quickly crumble and become unusable. To learn how to quickly glue polystyrene foam, watch this video:
Mineral wool
This insulation is made from various minerals(glass, stone, slag) by melting them and foaming them with compressed air in a centrifuge. The result is fibers from which insulation is pressed. It has a low density and is available in the form of rolls or tiles.
Minvata has good thermal insulation properties, is economical, but it also has a number of serious disadvantages.
When working with it, particles of stone or glass dust rise into the air and settle in the respiratory tract, on the skin, mucous membranes, causing itching and irritation. Another disadvantage of the material is hydrophobicity. It is afraid of dampness and, when wet, loses its thermal insulation properties. To learn how to insulate a balcony, watch this video:
When working with mineral wool, you should strictly wear protective suits, gloves and goggles.
Foil materials
Relatively recently, a new generation of insulation materials, the surface of which is covered with thin metallized foil, has appeared on our market. The most common among them is penofol - a foamed polymer covered with foil on one or both sides.
Its main feature is its excellent thermal insulation qualities. With a thickness of only 3 - 5 mm, it is equivalent in this indicator to mineral plate 100 mm thick. This is achieved thanks to the special structure of foamed polyethylene, consisting of large quantity closed pores with air bubbles.
The surface covered with foil has the property of reflecting back up to 95% of thermal radiation. This makes penofol and other foil materials unusually effective. To learn how to insulate a balcony with penofol, watch this video:
When installing, penofol should be laid with the foil side facing the inside of the room. Also, you should not compress the material, because this will significantly deteriorate its thermal insulation properties.
Installation of insulation
Before you begin insulating the balcony from the inside with your own hands, you should mount a frame on the walls, ceiling and floor. It can be made from wooden blocks or metal profiles.
We will need it for fastening decorative finishing– plasterboard, PVC or laminated chipboard panels, etc. After installing the frame, we begin filling its cells with insulation.
Insulation boards can be fixed with special glue
The specifics of the insulation installation work directly depend on the type of material you choose. You can use either special adhesive compositions, or fasteners.
Adhesive compounds are used to attach fairly dense materials, for example, penoplex or polystyrene foam. Using fastening devices, less dense insulation materials are used - mini-plya, penofol. But with the help of dowels, foam plastic with penoplex can also be attached.
It is best to use plastic mushroom dowels with wide caps with a diameter of 50 mm for installation. To install using this method, we cut out sheets of insulation of the required size and insert them into the cells of the frame. In several places, using a hammer drill, we drill holes through the insulation in concrete slab or a wall into which we insert “fungi” and fix them by hammering plastic nails into them (included in the kit). About the qualities of ecowool insulation, see this video:
Subsequent finishing
Lining is one of the most environmentally friendly pure materials for finishing
After installing all the insulation sheets (plates) into the frame cells, all gaps between them and the frame profile are carefully sealed with sealant, putty or polyurethane foam.
After this, you can begin covering the frame with finishing finishing materials– gypsum board sheets, laminated chipboard, MDF, PVC panels, floor covering etc. On the floors, on top of dense insulation such as penoplex, you can make cement-sand screed or poured floors, on top of which lay tiles.
As you can see, using the instructions for insulating a balcony, doing all the work yourself will not be difficult. To do this, it is necessary to strictly follow the recommendations of the material manufacturer and comply with the requirements of building regulations when carrying out work.
Should I insulate the wall on the balcony side of the house? Yes, we always insulate interior wall on the balcony or loggia. They ask us: “Why? She’s warm!” Yes, the main part will be warm, but the very corners along the inner perimeter will not be quite so. They can cause trouble in winter or even put an end to a warm balcony. It's no good if the corners start to get moldy.
Therefore, we definitely work with this wall and it is not thick at all - only 30 mm. The profile for the cladding will one way or another choose this thickness, and with our scheme of working with it we will insure you (and ourselves) from troubles in this way.
There are three main reasons to thoroughly insulate an interior wall. Some are more relevant for panel houses, others for monolithic and brick.
Three main reasons for its insulation
First reason: internal corners may freeze
After insulating the balcony, most of the wall will warm up and really become warm. But the corners around the perimeter of the wall will remain cold and during prolonged frosts, in winter, condensation may form on them.
Even if there is no condensation, a few centimeters of brick or concrete is not a serious barrier to the cold. These cold corners along the perimeter of the wall will cool the balcony, and this is a big problem - heat loss where there is no central heating. Warmth must be conserved.
Dew point
In Fig. 1, the zone with the “dew point” temperature is indicated in blue. This is a risk area. If there is access to warm, humid air from the apartment, condensation will begin to form. To completely eliminate this unpleasant phenomenon, from the very first order we always insulate the internal wall along with others. Figure 2 shows roughly what this looks like.
It would be possible to limit ourselves to insulating only the corners to a depth of 20 - 25 cm inside the room, and thoroughly plaster the rest of the surface for the reason indicated below. And this would also be correct, but the resulting step is of no use to anyone and makes it difficult finishing. There is no benefit from it. We continue the wall to the window opening, as in the picture above. Those. our work scheme is continuous, closed loop from insulation.
Second reason: drafts through masonry or panel seams, plaster
An equally important reason why it is necessary to insulate and cut off the internal wall on the balcony or loggia from the connection with the apartment. This is never done by anyone, but this does not mean that it should be so. In most cases of unsuccessful balcony insulation, this is another important factor, failure to take it into account leads to a sad outcome.
Draft
As long as the balcony or loggia communicates freely with the street, this phenomenon does not occur or is not noticeable. There is no pressure difference - no drafts through masonry seams or interpanel seams, bark beetle plaster in monolithic houses. But everything changes when airtight windows are installed and all external walls on the balcony are sealed. The balcony becomes part of the apartment and the pressure also becomes common. As a rule, it is lower in an apartment than outside with normally functioning ventilation. And then all the air that circulates in the masonry or between the panels rushes through the inner wall to the balcony. Each small crack adds up to a noticeable effect on the entire surface of the wall.
If a wall has insulation inside, this does not mean that it is warm
Wall in brick house The structure resembles a sieve and the tightness too. We know this well when all other surfaces are insulated, but this wall is not yet. Every seam (albeit not always obvious) in the masonry becomes a source of draft, so we always insulate and cut off the balcony and apartment from communication with the inner wall.
Very often, it is its lack of insulation that is the cause of the cold on the balcony, and then in the apartment. Inside such walls as in the figure above, there is insulation 150 - 200 mm thick. As a rule, this is mineral wool. So it is loose and also communicates with the street through many seams below or above the balcony, which simply cannot be made absolutely airtight. And drafts circulate inside this well in the wall.
It feels great when we do end-to-end technological holes through this wall into the apartment. Air begins to blow, as if from an oxygen burner, only very cold (in winter!). If you simply cover this wall with plasterboard on a frame, this draft begins to travel behind the sheathing and intensively cool it. Not to mention the fact that it will blow from all the outlets on the balcony.
Insulated wall in a monolithic house
The same applies to the insulated wall in monolithic house. The thickness of the “bark beetle” plaster with which it is covered is only 3 mm. And it's all porous. After combining the volumes of the apartment and the balcony, an active draft begins through it. Many people think that since it is insulated, then nothing needs to be done with it when insulating the balcony. This is wrong. There is detailed explanation the reasons for problems with it, and inappropriate handling of it.
The third reason: we exclude condensation from neighbors above
Unfortunately, steam condensation in the neighbors above is possible if you have insulated your balcony, but have not sealed it enough. Water vapor from your apartment goes upstairs through cracks in the walls or ceiling of your loggia, perhaps good neighbor. The walls on his balcony are covered with frost or even ice. This is especially possible when the ventilation in the apartments of your house does not work correctly.
Look at the picture above: all these seams in the masonry are a potential threat not only of cold air blowing into your balcony, but also of warm, humid air being carried out of it if the ventilation malfunctions. That is, when the neighbors above you had lower pressure than in your apartment.
By sealing and insulating the inner wall, we completely get rid of possible problems with neighbors. If they have condensation on the balcony, they can demand through court that you return your balcony to its previous condition. And the court will most likely be on their side.
Therefore, it is important to completely isolate your balcony or loggia from communication with the walls of the house that you share with your neighbors.
Does the interior wall actually heat up?
There is also an argument that this wall supposedly itself then heats the balcony - “it’s warm.” And therefore it should not be insulated. This is wrong. You won't get any significant heating from it.
Even if there is a radiator in the wall (or even more so in front of it), then insulation is laid inside the wall. This is also true in Soviet-built houses (expanded clay, for example). Now all the walls come with insulation inside. And this insulator prevents heat from penetrating outside the wall. Otherwise, a house with such radiators and walls would never be heated due to excessive heat loss.
So this is not a serious argument and it is impossible to heat a balcony through such a wall. Regular opened door brings most of the necessary heat to the balcony. And, if there is an additional heat source on the balcony, for example, then it will be comfortable on the balcony and in the apartment too. Our customers note this when we work in cold weather in winter. 
Conclusion:
Be sure to insulate the interior wall. And the main reason is not possible heat loss, but sealing. It is she who guarantees that you and your neighbors above will not have problems.
Of course, you need to save every centimeter on the balcony. But this is not the case. In addition, the interior wall must also be finished with plasterboard and lathing. This is only a couple of centimeters less than we need.
We also do all electrical wiring on the internal wall. With an insulated wall we can do this without any problems. There is never any blowing through our sockets.
You shouldn’t rely on chance - build the inner wall like the others, and do it well. Then your insulated balcony will be a joy for you and will not cause trouble for your neighbors.
Warm Balcony, 2012 (updated 2015)