A balcony in a modern apartment is a fairly functional room, therefore, such a question as insulation and decoration of a balcony is important, and its solution should be approached very responsibly. Especially if you want to increase the total living space at the expense of the balcony. Compliance with the basic rules of insulation and decoration will help turn the balcony into a cozy and beautiful lounge.

The easiest way to get a beautiful front lawn

You, of course, have seen the perfect lawn in the movies, in the alley, and possibly on the neighbor's lawn. Those who have ever tried to grow a green area on their site will no doubt say that this is a huge work. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think so, professionals have long known about an innovative tool - liquid lawn AquaGrazz.

Basic rules for insulating a balcony

Balcony insulation work, as a rule, begins with the dismantling of the previous finish, old window frames and the installation of new double-glazed windows - this will significantly reduce heat loss and increase the room temperature by several degrees. Then you should start insulating the floor, walls and ceiling. Before starting work on replacing double-glazed windows, you should decide on the material window profile(wood, aluminum or PVC profile) and additionally reinforce the balcony parapet with reinforcement. the best option... It has a high level of thermal conductivity, is not subject to moisture and temperature extremes, corrosion and decay.

The main types of windows:

• with two-, three-, four-, five-chamber double-glazed windows;
• with an extended profile;
• with swing doors;
• with a sliding or swing-out system.

The window profile can be not only metal-plastic, but also wooden. Modern wooden frames differ significantly from their predecessors - they are adjusted in size, have a beautiful appearance, high-quality fittings and mechanisms, similar plastic models... However, wood is a non-hermetic material, so its use is more justified in regions with a warm climate. A well-made glazing not only retains heat, but also reliably protects the room from wind, rain, and dust. Therefore, you should choose not only the profile, but also the thickness of the glass. The optimal solution would be glass with an energy-saving coating, which is reflective and has a higher level of thermal insulation.

To complete this stage of work, we recommend using the services of specialized firms, since without certain skills and experience it is difficult to quality, and most importantly, to correctly install window profiles.
The algorithm for warming a balcony with your own hands includes:

1. Clearing the area from foreign objects.

1. Dismantling of old structures, strengthening the parapet (especially important for old buildings).

1. Installation of a new window profile, heat-saving double-glazed windows.

1. Electrical wiring, heating system installation.

1. Choice insulating materials, floor, wall, ceiling insulation.

1. Decorative surface finish.

If all the work is done independently, you will need the following tools: drill, hammer drill, screwdriver, building level, square, tape measure, drywall knife, electric jigsaw.

The main types of insulating materials for warming a loggia or balcony

The modern market offers a wide variety of materials with which you can perform high-quality insulation balconies or loggias, but the most popular are: polystyrene, polystyrene, mineral wool, expanded clay, foil-clad polyethylene, isolon, penofol. The choice of insulating material directly depends on the operating conditions, base and number of storeys of the balcony. For example, at high humidity, mineral wool should not be used, as it is prone to the accumulation of water vapor, which provokes damage to the coating and contributes to the formation of mold during operation. The best option would be to use expanded polystyrene, penofol or isolon as insulation. Polyfoam, despite the affordable price and ease of installation, has one significant drawback - rapid flammability, therefore, it is preferable to use more modern insulating materials with a high level of fire resistance. Extruded polystyrene foam is a modern insulating material that is characterized by ease of installation, durability and moisture resistance. Its only drawback is its high cost, which, by the way, is fully justified by the ease of use and high quality of thermal insulation. The choice of material also depends on the season of work, because some insulation materials change their operational properties under the influence of moisture or negative temperatures.

If the balcony is insulated in spring or autumn, consider high humidity, which complicates the process of gluing the layers and has a detrimental effect on the performance of most insulating materials (with the exception of polystyrene, penofol and penoplex). In this case, the main work must be started from above, because the insulation of the ceiling will allow you to continue working even in case of sudden rain. If the insulation work needs to be done in winter period(if the air temperature is not lower than 20 degrees), then you should use special glue and adhesive cement mixtures, which, unlike conventional cement, do not freeze, but solidify even at low temperatures.

Important - polyurethane foam should also be selected taking into account temperature regime, since some of its species are destroyed by frost.

Basic rules for floor insulation

If you want to insulate your balcony with high quality - Special attention should be given to the arrangement of the floor. To complete this stage, you will at least need: wooden slats, self-tapping screws, foam, insulation. Floor insulation consists in leveling it, laying a waterproofing layer (with the obligatory processing of joints with a sealant), heat insulator, pouring concrete screed(if necessary, a floor heating system can be installed at this stage) and finishing. Advice: if it is not possible to fill the screed, you can skip this stage. Then you will need to lay special logs (wooden slabs), between which you should place a heat-insulating layer (for example, expanded clay or penoplex). From above, the logs are covered with chipboard or plywood, then you can start finishing the floor. To insulate the floor of the loggia, you can use an inexpensive insulating material - expanded clay, which, in addition to thermal insulation properties raises the floor level, which is very convenient when expanding the living space due to the loggia. In addition, its use does not require the use of a waterproofing layer, it is enough to use a vapor barrier film, on which expanded clay is placed, covered with a reinforcing mesh. The tightness of the structure is ensured by pouring a cement mortar, which, when solidified, forms a solid, even surface. As flooring you can use linoleum, laminate or tiles.

The list of works at this stage includes:

• cleaning the surface from debris and dust;
• sealing cracks and crevices (using sealant, polyurethane foam or polyurethane mastic);
• high-quality steam and waterproofing;
• installation of a wooden frame;
• installation of a heat-insulating layer;
• fixing base boards;
• decorative interior decoration.
• Balcony wall insulation

Before proceeding with the insulation of the walls, you should treat the surface with a special antifungal solution and carefully seal all the cracks on the balcony. For this purpose, most suitable polyurethane sealants and mastics, which have high plasticity and frost resistance. Then you can proceed with the installation of the vapor barrier film (the joint seams are glued with a special construction vapor barrier tape). This is followed by the installation of a wooden or metal lathing and laying out the selected insulation (for example, polystyrene, polystyrene foam). The final stage will be the sheathing of the frame profile with moisture resistant sheet materials(plywood, drywall) and decorative wall decoration. Pay attention - if the wall of the loggia faces the street, you should use a double layer of insulation. If penoplex was chosen as insulation, you should make sure that the butt seams of the layers do not match.

Basic principles of ceiling insulation

Ceiling insulation is an important aspect that cannot be ignored. Especially if you do not have neighbors from above - in this case, in addition to insulation work, you should choose high-quality roofing material.

Advice: before starting work on inner side it is recommended to apply a special soundproofing coating on the roof.

In any case, the choice of materials for roof insulation depends on many factors - climatic zone, wind direction, cardinal direction.
The roof insulation algorithm includes installation:

• waterproofing layer;
• windproof membrane;
• anti-condensation layer (for additional protection of insulation materials);
• wooden frame;
• thermal insulation materials;
• additional vapor barrier for insulation.

Ceiling insulation is carried out in the following sequence:

1. Installation metal frame(suspensions).

1. Laying a vapor barrier layer.

1. Fastening of insulation (polystyrene, isolon, penoplex).

1. Application of a foil-clad insulating layer.

1. Finishing finish.

How to avoid mistakes when insulating a balcony

Please note that when performing any construction work, the technology and recommendations of the manufacturers should be strictly followed. Even if you have certain skills, this is a complex multi-stage process that requires adherence to all technological conditions. This is especially true for insulating the balcony with your own hands, because any mistakes will affect the final result. So, when insulating the "outside the window" area, observe the order of the layers - the vapor barrier is installed only after the heat-insulating layer, and not vice versa. The presence of a vapor barrier is a prerequisite that reduces the risk of destruction of insulating materials under the influence of moisture. internal insulation will not reduce energy costs and is an ineffective way to save heat. The use of low-quality materials contributes to heat loss, therefore, the choice of building materials should be approached as responsibly as possible.
Excessive haste also affects the quality of insulation - non-compliance with the technology, insufficient sealing of the cracks with a sealant, ignoring the rules of waterproofing, of course, affect the final result.

Methods for additional insulation of the balcony

If you plan to use your balcony as a living room or lounge, you should take care of additional heating. In order for the temperature to be comfortable even in severe frosts, it is necessary to install an additional heat source: a radiator, air conditioner or underfloor heating system. Please note: you can combine the heating method, for example, if an air conditioner is installed in the room, then it is enough to install a warm floor on the balcony to maintain a comfortable temperature. However, if the apartment is heated with a central or autonomous heating, batteries should also be installed on the balcony.

Decorative finishing of the insulated loggia

Correctly performed insulation and finishing of the loggia with your own hands will not only reduce heat loss, but also save money. For decorative finishing loggias or balconies, drywall and plastic panels... Moisture-resistant drywall is one of the better ways balcony finishing. It is easy to install and is suitable for further decorative finishing (painting, plastering, wallpapering, facing with tiles or artificial stone). decorative panels also has many advantages. Their distinctive characteristics are: ease of installation (even a beginner can work), a large selection of colors, moisture resistance, frost resistance, durability, ease of maintenance.

The decorative panel finishing procedure consists of several stages:

1. Surface preparation: dismantling the previous coating, removing traces of mold (if necessary).

1. Installation of a wooden frame.

1. Fixing panels (work is carried out from the doorway, along the wall, the outer side of the sheets is fixed with special brackets).

1. Installation of skirting boards, window and door openings.

Please note that the panels can be used for decorative finishing of the ceiling (in this case, they are fixed not along, but across) Having studied the features of the loggia and balcony insulation, you can independently perform all the basic work, which will expand the living space of the apartment, creating comfortable conditions for relaxation , make a study or a corner for needlework. Insulation and decorative finishing of the balcony is not particularly difficult, so all you need is the desire and availability of the necessary materials and tools.

Do-it-yourself insulation of the loggia will allow you to significantly expand the living space of the apartment: the room previously used as a storage room or dryer will turn into a full-fledged room.

Insulating a loggia means creating a so-called thermal effect around the entire perimeter of the room. This process involves a whole range of works:

• glazing;
• preparatory stage;
• floor insulation;
• insulation of the ceiling;
• wall insulation;
• installation of waterproofing;
• insulation of external surfaces;
• fine finishing.

Each stage is discussed in more detail below.

Loggia glazing

Obviously, the insulation of an open unglazed loggia is meaningless, so the process should be started with the installation of windows.

The glazing of the room is performed according to the standard algorithm, but using an additional (additional) profile to resize the window opening. Framing the entire structure around the perimeter, it is intended so that the surfaces (walls and ceiling) subsequently thickened with insulation do not overlap the glass.

Important! Do not try to save money when choosing a profile and double-glazed windows: "cold" glazing using inexpensive structures will be able to protect the loggia from precipitation, but will not cope with the drop in temperature outside.

You can find out how to choose and install a plastic frame on a loggia by watching this video.

Insulation of the loggia from the inside

After installing the double-glazed windows, you can proceed to the insulation of the loggia floors. However, this stage also requires a number of preparatory work.

Preparatory stage

First of all, you must determine which surfaces on the loggia require insulation, and which do not. As a rule, only "cold" floors are covered with thermal insulation, "warm" ones are not "processed" to save useful space.

"Warm" slabs are surfaces adjacent to heated rooms.

The next step is the choice of material for thermal insulation of the room. and its thickness is selected based on climatic conditions. Descriptions of materials on the market, their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages are given in the next section.

Important! In cold climates, it is better to give preference to tiled thermal insulation, which is connected according to the "thorn-groove" system.

The final stage of preparation is foaming of cracks and voids in ceilings. This procedure is necessary: ​​it will help protect the future from the negative effects of natural factors.

Materials for thermal insulation

When choosing thermal insulation materials, pay attention not only not to their thermal conductivity, but also to the thickness: in a small area of ​​the loggia, saving space also means a lot.

Many people who insulate balconies and loggias still use traditional, but outdated materials, while modern industry offers a wide range of insulation.

Extrusion (extruded) polystyrene foam... This material is commercially available in the form of panels (plates) or rolled in a roll. It has excellent thermal insulation characteristics, low specific gravity and provides a good level of moisture insulation. The only drawback of expanded polystyrene is mediocre vapor permeability. This circumstance makes additional requirements for the organization of ventilation of the room: if you do not drain the condensate from under the thermal insulation, the loggia has every chance of becoming moldy from the inside. Due to the low vapor permeability of the material, before insulation with expanded polystyrene, the surface should be treated with a special antifungal compound, and a vapor barrier should be attached to the insulation itself with tape.

When insulating a loggia with expanded polystyrene, it must be remembered that it belongs to fire hazardous materials and releases toxins during combustion.

Expanded polystyrene in the form of panels and slabs is on sale under the name "Penoplex"; it is for them that it is most convenient to insulate the ceiling and walls, while the roll material can also be used for the floor.

Thanks to the standard panel sizes, it is very easy to calculate the required number of panels. Do-it-yourself insulation of the loggia with penoplex will not cause difficulties: holes for dowels are drilled in the plates, the material is fixed. The hole is filled with foam, the excess of which is cut off with a knife (then the surface in this area is sanded with sandpaper).

Polyethylene foam. This material is characterized by a porous internal structure and therefore has excellent thermal insulation characteristics. At the same time, the surface of polyethylene foam is smooth: this circumstance prevents moisture from getting inside. This type of insulation provides not only heat preservation, but also good sound insulation; is produced in the form of plates (panels) or rolls.

Today it is easy to find on sale improved polyethylene foam, which has even higher heat and moisture protection properties. Laminated with a layer of foil on one or two sides, it is produced in rolls under the names "Penofol" or "Izolon".

Penofol is indispensable in humid climates, as it is perfectly vapor-insulating and moisture-insulating.

Polyurethane foam. This material is commonly known as foam rubber or polyurethane foam. It has a low specific gravity, is characterized by high thermal insulation performance, good protection against noise and moisture. One of the main advantages of foamed polyurethane foam is the presence of a continuous film on the surface. It is she who prevents moisture penetration.

Today, you can use the progressive technology of warming a loggia with polyurethane foam - spraying. The material is not mounted, but is sprayed with high pressure water on the wall in the form of a powder, which immediately after hitting the surface sticks together and forms a solid heat-insulating layer.

The advantages of this method are obvious: work on insulating a loggia of any area can be done in as soon as possible... In addition, the use of this method allows significant savings in useful area: the thickness of the insulating coating is minimal.

Styrofoam . One of the most common and available materials is precisely the foam. It demonstrates high heat and sound insulation properties, is not susceptible to the action of fungi and can be used even in humid climates. The only drawback of this material is its absolute instability to chemical liquids. However, they are not used in everyday life, so this property will have to be taken into account only during the repair on the loggia.

It is quite simple to insulate the loggia with foam: the plates of the material are attached to the dowels.

Important! In addition to insulation, you will need a number of other materials. Before starting work, prepare foam and a cleaner for it, foil tape, antiseptic (antifungal composition), dowels with a plastic and metal core, self-tapping screws, nails, timber for logs and pads for logs, metal profile and drywall.

Required tools: level and tape measure, foam gun, screwdriver, pliers, hand construction tool, scissors for metal, shoe or clerical knife.

Thermal insulation of the vertical surfaces of the loggia (parapet, area above windows and walls)

Consider one of the simplest options - insulation of the loggia with penoplex in plates or rolls. This material is really easy to install and does not require you to have special skills. Algorithm necessary actions- below.

First of all, treat the surface of the walls with a special antifungal compound and a layer of waterproofing. While the applied layers are drying, prepare the material.

According to your calculations, made at the preparatory stage, cut the insulation. To do this, you need an ordinary clerical or boot knife.

It is advisable to make grooves at the ends of the plates. It is very simple to make them: cut the plane and the butt, and then remove the unnecessary piece.

If you live in a cold climate, prepare the material based on the fact that it will be attached in 2 layers, and the seams of the first should overlap with the panels of the second by at least 5 cm.

Important ! The minimum width of the insulation strip (if you purchased Penoplex in a roll) should be at least 30 cm, the length - along the height of the wall.

Start installing Penoplex. The first layer of insulation is attached to the mushroom dowels, "targeted" by a special hand tool... The second layer is placed on the polyurethane foam or is also "targeted" to the first.

Insulation of the loggia with foam is performed according to the same principle.

Insulation of the ceiling of the loggia

1. Insulation of the ceiling of the loggia begins with the installation of suspensions.
2. Then guides from a galvanized profile are installed.
3. Before fixing the insulation plates on the ceiling, the holes necessary for the suspensions are cut in it.

   It's okay if the slots turned out to be larger than necessary: ​​a little later, their size can be changed using polyurethane foam or pieces of insulation.

4. Insulation plates are mounted using polyurethane foam or dowels. Depending on the specific gravity material choose dowels with a plastic (for light panels) or metal (for heavier) core.

Insulation of the loggia floor

It is the floor of the room that is considered the "coldest" surface and needs maximum insulation. Even if the insulation was installed on the walls of the loggia in one layer, the floor is made "double".

The technology for insulating the floor of the loggia is as follows.

Vapor barrier

After the end of the thermal insulation of all surfaces of the loggia, the already insulated surface must be covered with a continuous layer of vapor barrier. This will protect materials from moisture ingress and, as a result, the formation of mold and decay.

As a material for vapor barrier, you can use the previously discussed penofol. You can fix it with glue (by the way, you can also find a self-adhesive version on sale) or with a special stapler with a foil surface to the living space.

Today's post will benefit people who are going to insulate the balcony from the inside.

My relatives decided to enlarge the living room area at the expense of the adjoining balcony. As the apartment has two balconies, so such a decision has long been asking.

There was no project, I myself had to understand all aspects of the work. And now I am publishing a comprehensive guide to insulating a balcony. The information provided in the article will work for you good service when you decide to do the same.

How to quickly and correctly insulate a balcony?

How to insulate a balcony?

The overwhelming majority of owners of apartments with balconies sooner or later think about how to use this area more functionally, by insulating it.

Typically, such premises are used for one of the purposes:

• in the first case, perennial rubbish accumulates on them, all unnecessary is thrown off. A pantry extending to the outside is formed. It was this role that was assigned to balconies and loggias in most Soviet apartments;
• the second case is when apartment owners try to expand the often too cramped living space at the expense of the balcony, turning it into a room, office, winter garden.

But for the second solution you need reliable insulation. According to the calculations of experts, in apartments located in old houses, significant heat losses occur through the balconies, if they are not insulated.

Therefore, one does not even need to ask the question: "Should the balcony be insulated?" Of course, this is necessary, even if a full-fledged heated room is not supposed to be arranged from it.

So how to insulate a balcony with your own hands and what nuances should be taken into account in this case (floor insulation, room insulation from the inside, etc.)?

First steps

First of all, you need to glaze a balcony or loggia, otherwise the meaning of insulation is simply lost. With glazing, even a balcony that is open on all sides becomes more like a loggia.

Recently, people have increasingly begun to use wooden frames, but they are also very popular. metal-plastic structures... Wooden glazing can be no worse than the use of PVC structures, if the material is treated with the necessary materials - antiseptic compounds, paint in several layers, etc.

Departing from the topic: we hope that no one needs to talk about the differences between a loggia and a balcony.

But just in case, we will briefly note: the balcony is a platform protruding beyond the facade, fenced around the entire perimeter; The loggia does not protrude beyond the plane of the facade, it is built into the wall and is fenced with walls on the sides.

The insulation technology is practically the same in both cases.

Of course, the owner of the balcony would like to quickly finish all the work and move on to other pressing tasks. This is how the work gets done hastily. Slots are closed carelessly. And then heating devices are installed (heating radiator or underfloor heating system). After that, the owner believes that he can relax, he is reliably protected from the cold.

But in winter, all the shortcomings and haste will necessarily translate into very unpleasant discoveries. Even on an insulated balcony, it is difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature. The reason for this is that a hastily performed insulation does not provide a sufficient reduction in heat loss.

When deciding to heat the balcony, it must be borne in mind that using the central system for this is not allowed according to building codes. Therefore, it is necessary to insulate all surfaces with high quality - walls, floor, side and front sides.

For an example of insulating a loggia with joining a room, see the video:

Have to decide whole line tasks:

• seal cracks and seams with polyurethane foam and special sealants. If this is not done or done carelessly, there is simply no point in insulating the balcony further;
• install waterproofing, which will avoid the formation of mold, the development of pathogens that prefer to appear and grow in wet places... Waterproofing will be the first layer of the whole "pie" that we use to reliably protect the balcony. Among other things, the waterproofing layer will allow you to move the freezing point to the outside;
• installation of thermal insulation... In this case, it is necessary to install a heat-insulating layer, as in the previous case, on all concrete elements. This will eliminate the risk of cold bridges and maintain the optimal temperature in the room;
• followed by another waterproofing layer, with the help of which an additional heat-insulating layer is also provided;
• installation of the sheathing frame;
• finishing of a balcony or loggia outside.

How to insulate a loggia?

We have already found out that any insulation of a loggia or balcony begins with the correct glazing. Work is also required on floors, walls, etc.

Now you need to choose materials for insulation.

Presented on the market great amount materials to achieve this goal, and an inexperienced person should be confused in such a variety. But some materials are preferable to analogs, so we will consider their properties in more detail.

The final result depends on how correctly the choice of raw materials for hydro and thermal insulation of the balcony was made.

We will start from two factors. The first is the effectiveness of a particular material at a certain thickness. The second is the economic feasibility of acquiring just such a material.

Note that, despite the similar parameters of loggias and balconies, in the first case it is easier to perform reliable insulation than to create conditions close to living conditions on the balcony. This is not surprising, because in the case of a balcony, a large area will have to be glazed, and heat losses through the windows are the most significant.

First, we will consider materials for sealing gaps and seams on all structures and surfaces (frame, parapet, floors, etc.).

Materials for sealing gaps

In principle, you can choose almost any composition intended for sealing.

Usually rely on polyurethane sealants, foams and mastics, basing the choice on the flowability of the materials until the moment of curing.

You can choose other similar materials. To prevent the sealant from leaking out during use, large gaps are sealed with foam or other materials at hand.

Balcony / loggia waterproofing

In the process of waterproofing a balcony, it is necessary not only to process the internal surfaces. It is also required to mount an ebb, due to which the access of water under the frame is excluded, process the frame itself (if it is a wooden structure). All kinds of hydrophobic compounds are used for the frame - varnishes, oil paints, enamels, antiseptics etc.

In other details, the balcony and loggia are insulated from the inside using a single technology.

For waterproofing concrete slabs and a parapet, both penofol and the more traditional roofing felt can be used. You can also resort to the use of penetrating and coating compositions.

Laying materials (roofing felt) must be overlapped, ensuring high-quality sealing of the seams, for which we can recommend the use of a burner. The burner will ensure reliable adhesion of the roofing material to the floor surface.

Other material also begins to gain popularity. This is foil-insol, which is only 4 mm thick. It is a good sealant and provides additional insulation.

The choice of materials is carried out taking into account the specifics of the work and the budget. Most often, roofing material is used for self-insulation. It has been tested for generations and is very affordable.

So how to insulate a balcony or loggia?

Now we turn to the choice of the insulation itself. In this case, you need to build on the most important characteristic of such a material - this is the thermal conductivity coefficient (delta). For thermal insulation compounds, this indicator usually ranges from 0.02 W / mS, the average value is 0.03-0.04 W / mS. The higher the value, the lower the insulating properties.

That is, you can go in two directions:

• selection of insulation with a minimum value of the thermal conductivity coefficient;
• increase the thickness of the thermal insulation layer.

In the first case, you will have to spend more on material. With an increase in the thermal insulation layer, the useful area of ​​the room will decrease.

T How to insulate a balcony, what materials are optimal for this?

Today, extruded polystyrene foam used for thermal insulation has become very common.

This material has excellent performance characteristics. Among the popular materials of this type are Penoplex, Technolplex.

You can resort to another method. Buy mineral wool, remembering that when using it, the layer of insulation will be thicker in order to ensure the same result as when using expanded polystyrene. And to do everything quickly and inexpensively, you can use ordinary foam sheets - this material is also often used for self-insulation of a loggia or balcony.

As an example, let's talk about extruded polystyrene foam. URSA XPS. This is a practical, high-quality insulation, very beneficial for insulating a loggia. URSA XPS combines high thermal insulation performance and reduced heat loss.

URSA XPS can be used on floor and wall surfaces.

Another characteristic of the URSA XPS is its small thickness, only 5 cm... So, if you are still wondering which material to choose for internal balcony insulation, pay attention to URSA XPS. It may be exactly the solution you've been looking for for so long. It is convenient to transport it, the material does not crumble, and you can cut it with an ordinary knife.

For the convenience of considering and comparing different solutions, we will compile a list with a description of thermal insulation materials that can be used for our purposes.

About the nuances of the balcony and loggia insulation in the video:

So, how can you insulate a balcony or loggia?

The modern building materials market provides us with a lot of options:

• materials based on mineral wool(basalt fiber). The fibrous structure makes this solution highly effective. Advantages of mineral wool: stability of shape and volume during operation, bio- and fire resistance, non-susceptibility to destruction under the influence of an aggressive environment, good sound and heat insulation characteristics;
• materials based on PPP(expanded polystyrene). The extruded material has the highest characteristics. Expanded polystyrene is very light, while it has a minimum coefficient of thermal conductivity. Other advantages of PPP: ease of installation, cost-effectiveness. Of the disadvantages - in the process of heating in environment harmful substances can be released;
• materials based on fiberglass. This very common option is rightfully considered traditional. Fiberglass is quite a budget solution, but its drawback is in the high value of the thermal conductivity coefficient (as it was found higher, the higher this indicator, the worse) compared to other heaters. Materials are produced in mats and slabs, which can be conveniently used in the internal insulation of the balcony;
• reflective heat insulators. This innovative solution for insulation of various structures. Reflective insulation works like a thermos. An impermeable foil sheath is laid on top of foamy polyethylene. Such heaters are distinguished by a minimum coefficient of thermal conductivity and a sufficiently thin layer of such material for reliable insulation. As a result, the space occupied by the thermal insulation is significantly reduced.

How to fix materials

When using waterproofing flooring materials, they are glued to special compounds or (like roofing material) they are fastened with heating of the parts to be connected with a burner from the fastening side.

The choice of the method of fixing the thermal insulation depends on the material used.

Foam or polystyrene boards can be glued or mounted on plastic dowels. If glue is used, it is very important to choose the correct composition, excluding toluene, which is contraindicated for use with similar heaters.

The glue is applied to the mounting pad in a thin layer over the entire area. It is convenient to use a notched trowel for application. Additionally, you can apply the glue drip on the thermal insulation boards in several places.

When using dowels, they are installed along the perimeter of the slab at the rate of 8-10 points per square meter. For perfectionists, we recommend using both fasteners at the same time: the initially glued boards are additionally fixed on plastic dowels.

Toluene-free polyurethane foam is used to seal the joints between the insulation boards. The seams between the elements of the waterproofing layer are closed with a special self-adhesive sealant.

In most cases, mineral wool is attached only to dowels. Vapor barrier (inner layer of waterproofing) is installed together with heaters on dowels or glued directly to thermal insulation materials.

Finishing

After installing the heat and waterproofing layers, proceed to the exterior decoration. To do this, it is necessary to install frames from the profile used for the installation of drywall sheets. Also, the frame can be mounted from wooden blocks.

The same actions are performed when decorating walls, ceilings, parapet. But in this case, thinner materials are also suitable for the frame. 25-30mm boards or plasterboard profiles can be used.

After installing the frame, it needs to be sheathed drywall sheets or clapboard.

When using lining, the balcony looks like a veranda in appearance and comfort country house, GKL allow you to implement any creative ideas on such a surface. Self-cladding of a loggia or balcony with plasterboard allows you to then glue wallpaper on it, paint, draw, etc.

Another, quite convenient and affordable option for interior decoration of the balcony is plastic panels. Manufacturers offer the widest range of such products, with different colors and textures of the material. You can implement any design depending on your taste and the style of the interior of the next room.

Algorithm of actions

The insulation of a balcony or loggia is carried out in stages as follows:

• glazing in progress, without which any insulation loses all meaning;
• floor insulation. At this stage, holes and slots are blown out with foam, after which waterproofing is applied to the surface of the lower part of the wall and slab;
• leveling the floor. For this, self-leveling building mixtures can be used;
• laying of URSA XPS boards. To seal the joints formed between the insulation plates and the walls, vapor barrier tape is used. If the joints are not repaired, during the operation of the room, moisture will collect on the walls, and this is a direct path to the development of mold and mildew;
• laying polymer concrete with a layer thickness of about 4 cm, on which you want to install a reinforcing wire mesh;
• insulation of walls and ceilings. These procedures are easier to perform than floor insulation. Simply lay the URSA XPS boards and cover them with moisture resistant drywall sheets. It is allowed to use suspended ceilings, in which the wiring can be reliably hidden from the eyes. This ensures the illumination of the balcony;
• vapor barrier- a moment that must not be forgotten. For its implementation, you can install a special vapor barrier in front of the insulation. Another option is that the vapor barrier is not used, but the insulation is installed with such a thickness that moisture does not form.

Having decided to insulate the balcony with your own hands and perform all the specified types of work, you will not only make the room warm and minimize heat loss from the apartment, but also protect your home from the penetration of noise from the outside.

Pay attention to the soundproofing characteristics of the glass unit you choose.

For an example of complex insulation of a balcony, see the video:

Foam insulation

So, you have already solved all the questions about glazing your balcony or loggia. Now it remains to insulate all surfaces (ceiling, floor, walls) with foam. It is advisable to use EPS.

Why is this particular option so popular?

It is EPPS that is the optimal solution to the problem of warming a balcony with your own hands at an affordable price. Let's get started!

Note that the further proposed instruction is recommended for the internal insulation of the balcony. External thermal insulation it is undesirable to do it yourself. For obvious reasons, such work should be entrusted to industrial climbers with the necessary experience and equipment.

First of all, you need to prepare the work surfaces. Joints, cracks, holes are blown out with polyurethane foam. It is important to choose a material that does not contain toluene. Irregularities are smoothed out with cement mortar. After that, a 50-60 mm polystyrene sheet is attached to the surface with dowels.

To seal the joints formed between the plates, polyurethane foam is used.

This is how the walls and ceiling of the loggia or balcony are insulated with their own hands using polystyrene foam. Next, you need to install the finish or leave the surface for wallpapering, painting, etc.

It is very important to use paint on the balcony without organic solvent - such substances can destroy the EPS.

Work on the floor is carried out in the same way, with the exception of one moment. You need to apply a screed on the foam and then, if you wish, equip the underfloor heating system and finish the surface to your liking.

A few words about the warm field on the balcony (loggia)

Now let's talk about the underfloor heating system on the balcony. Whatever quality materials you use to insulate such premises, the most comfortable conditions even in the coldest season can be created only with the use of a heating system.

Compared to any other solutions, electric underfloor heating is the most profitable solution for this. The following is a briefly described technology for making such a floor with your own hands.

So, on the slab of the balcony or loggia, we only have a screed, and now we need to insulate this surface well. For thermal insulation, we recommend choosing a convenient and reliable extruded polystyrene foam, the properties of which have already been described above.

The thickness of the EPSP board must be at least 10 cm... The boards are glued to the floor surface with glue, the joints between the individual elements are sealed with polyurethane foam. Now is the time to start laying the electrical cable for the underfloor heating system. The cable is bent by hand according to the shape that will cover the maximum area.

After laying the cable, a 4-5 cm tie is installed. The solution for it is prepared from cement grade m-400 and sand in a ratio of 1: 3. Tiles are laid on the screed - that's all, our “pie” is finished and a warm floor has been installed on the balcony!

Finally

You can take a fresh look at your usual balcony or loggia! All of the above will take a lot less effort than you might think. But the results will definitely please you: the apartment will be supplemented with a full-fledged, even habitable room, in which you can comfortably sit down with a cup of coffee even in the coldest cold.

Insulation of loggias step by step

Have you decided to insulate the loggia and don't know where to start? How to choose best materials how to do everything correctly necessary work? Our experts provide answers to these and other questions.

How to make a balcony warm?

First of all, you need to attend to reliable glazing of a balcony or loggia with metal-plastic profiles with two-chamber double-glazed windows. The thickness of the double-glazed windows is from 32 mm.

When ordering glazing from a specialized company, consider the need to install additional expansion profiles installed on the main structure from the top and sides. These elements are necessary for further work on the insulation and decoration of the balcony.

After glazing, the loggia will already acquire a more presentable look, it will become more comfortable. But she is still far from a warm room. In cold weather, the temperature in such a room is usually a couple of degrees higher than the outside, which is not enough at all.

If you want to turn the loggia into a real living room with a comfortable microclimate, you will need to carry out a number of works on its insulation. Among these works - insulation of walls, floors, ceilings and parapet.

Preliminary work

In addition to glazing, you need to perform a number of preparatory work before directly insulating the balcony.

Such works include laying the parapet, if necessary (if the existing parapet is vertical level does not coincide with the upper ceilings if it is a metal "leaky" structure). Side walls are erected from lightweight bricks or foam blocks. If you need to perform these works, they are carried out even before the installation of double-glazed windows.

What are the preferred materials?

For high-quality thermal insulation of the balcony, it is recommended to use modern heaters- rolled or extruded.

These materials include PPE, Penoplex, Penofol, Izolon and so on. All of them have excellent heat-saving characteristics with a small thickness.

This combination of characteristics makes such solutions indispensable for insulating small areas, where every centimeter of space is very important.

So which is better - polystyrene or Penoplex?

Both materials can be used as insulation for the loggia. The difference between them lies in the installation technology and properties. Polyfoam has a high vapor permeability, which is not the best quality for our tasks.

The thickness of the layer is also different, Penoplex in this parameter is also a more profitable material, since it allows you to save more space.

Compared to polystyrene foam, penoplex retains useful heat-saving characteristics twice as long.

We must not forget about fire safety. Polyfoam is a combustible material, and during combustion it also emits substances hazardous to health. Penoplex is a self-extinguishing material.

Only one point in which Penoplex loses in this comparison is the higher price compared to foam.

How to decorate the walls insulated with Penoplex?

Finishing on penoplex can be done by VGKL, GKL, Knauf aquapanels. And all these materials on top can be finished at your own discretion - pep up with wallpaper, paint, putty, etc.

How to ensure not only reliable insulation, but also sound insulation of the balcony?

For high-quality sound insulation, you can use a special material of the ISOVER brand.

For high-quality sound insulation, you can use a special material of the ISOVER brand. This material has both warmth and sound insulating properties... If thermal insulation is more important than noise protection, it is recommended to choose the material "ISOVER Extra". If it is more important to ensure the acoustic comfort in the room, it is better to choose "ISOVER Soundproofing".

The technology of insulation and decoration of the balcony in the video:

Is it possible to carry out double-sided insulation of the loggia?

The parapets of the loggia can be insulated not only from the inside, but also from the outside. But this solution is not always advisable, since it is difficult to carry out such work outside at a high altitude. It is recommended to resort to insulation on both sides, if necessary, at the same time to achieve a certain thickness of thermal insulation and to preserve the maximum usable space inside.

The effectiveness of thermal insulation does not depend on whether the insulation is installed only inside or on both sides, it is interrupted in thickness or not.

With double-sided insulation, you need additional vapor barrier inside.

Double-sided insulation is needed so that the space of the loggia is preserved as much as possible. So, a 5 cm thick concrete partition and external insulation with 10 cm foam. What is better to insulate?

For good thermal insulation, you can use stone wool in slabs (Light Butts). Their thickness is 5 cm, installation takes place in a frame mounted on the parapet. Then everything is closed with a vapor barrier and sheathed.

How to insulate the floor on the loggia?

A common way is to arrange the floor along the logs.

First you need to install a waterproofing layer.

Excellent results are obtained by insulation with a special material "ISOVER Classic". After completing this work, you can carry out the finishing.

Will you need a heating system on an insulated loggia?

Unfortunately, even with very good thermal insulation of the loggia, heat simply will not come from anywhere in the absence of an appropriate source. Insulation allows you to keep warm, but insulation cannot generate it.

According to building codes, central heating on balconies and loggias is strictly prohibited, so alternative heat sources will have to be considered.

Is it necessary to install thermal insulation if the underfloor heating system is installed?

If you are installing underfloor heating, thermal insulation must be used without fail. This will ensure that heat loss is kept to a minimum. The exception is when heating mats are used.

Is it permissible to install a warm floor system on the walls of the loggia?

It is permissible to use heating mats on the walls. To do this, they are attached to the surface so that bends of the heating cable do not form in the corners (that is, you cannot bend the cable at right angles).

The tile mix is ​​applied in an even layer without voids, otherwise overheating may occur.

Is it possible to insulate a part of the loggia?

Insulation of only part of the loggia can be used if the norms of thermal insulation are observed. For this case, it is recommended to use expanded polystyrene up to 50 mm thick. It is imperative to insulate not only the floor, but also the walls and ceiling. It is clear that double-glazed windows are also required.

Where does condensation form on the insulated loggia?

If you notice this negative phenomenon, most likely there is a unheated room... Another option is insufficient thermal insulation of the outer walls.

Experts identify the concept of dew point - this is the temperature of air cooling, at which water vapor is boundary saturated. That is, at this temperature, the relative humidity of the gas reaches 100%.

Condensation is caused by air cooling or the inflow of water vapor.

Let's explain with a practical example. If you bring something into the room from the cold, the air above it can cool down to a temperature below the dew point under conditions of a certain humidity and air temperature.

In this case, condensation forms on the surface.

For typical premises the dew point can be roughly calculated as follows.

If the temperature of the underfloor heating on the screed is 30 degrees, and the relative humidity is 60%, the dew point will be 21.4 degrees. That is, when the underfloor heating is turned off, condensation will appear when the cement is cooled to this value.

To solve the problem, you can use one of two options:

• to lower the air humidity, for which air dehumidifiers are used, electric convectors and similar equipment;
• keep the screed temperature above the dew point.

If the floor of the loggia is not insulated, will the tiles crack on it?

If you have chosen frost-resistant tiles intended for outdoor use, then this kind of trouble will not happen. It is also necessary to use a special frost-resistant glue.

But another problem may arise. If there is an uninsulated loggia below, and you have good glazing installed, then when heat escapes into the door open to the room, condensation may appear on the floor. In cold weather, it can even freeze.

Algorithm for warming and finishing the loggia in the video:

Insulation of the balcony and loggia from the inside of the room

In our country, you can observe a real boom in the insulation of balconies and loggias. This is due to the desire of people to increase the living space of cramped apartments at the expense of these premises. After all, balconies and loggias can be quite functional, instead of playing the role of cluttered outdoor storage rooms.

The role of the loggia can be anything, it all depends on your needs and imagination, you can equip a study or a gym, a winter garden or just a place to relax on it. Often, a balcony is combined with a room, making it much larger.

Repairs must be carried out thoughtfully, otherwise the result will be very sad!

Since the loggia and balcony are cold rooms according to the project, their ceilings and walls do not have thermal insulation. The thermal conductivity of such walls is too high; they transmit cold with very little resistance.

Warm vapors should not penetrate under the insulation, otherwise it will lead to the formation of condensation inside. As a result, the walls can freeze through, ice forms on them, mold appears on neighbors, and not the most comfortable environment is created in your apartment.

The way out of this situation will be practically hermetically sealed thermal insulation. A vapor barrier must be installed.

So how to properly insulate the balcony?

The transformation of cold rooms into warm ones begins with the treatment of the parapet. It should be made of foam blocks or concrete. Do not insulate metal parapets.

The glazing of the balcony must be warm, it is best to use metal-plastic profiles with double-glazed windows... More details about them can be found in the corresponding section on glazing.

After glazing, it is necessary to exclude drafts, due to which the wind can walk under the thermal insulation. Foam insulation is used to seal the cracks.

After this work, the surface is checked for leaks or mold. If such shortcomings are identified, they must be eliminated.

The insulation process is carried out in a circle at. All surfaces are insulated, except for the wall adjacent to the room (ceiling, side walls, floor).

On the walls, it is best to use extruded expanded polystyrene XPS... Foamed polyethylene can be used for vapor barrier and as additional insulation.

Extruded polystyrene foam XPS is a material in which polystyrene granules are high temperatures and pressure are mixed with a blowing agent, which is then extruded from the extruder.

The blowing agent in this process is usually a mixture of light freons, to which CO2 is added. After the production of the slab in the cells of the material, the residual freon is quickly replaced by air.

This material structure provides it with excellent thermal performance. long lasting and high compressive strength.

For the production of foamed polyethylene, high-pressure polyethylene is used, hydrocarbons are taken as a foaming agent.

The surface of the material is smooth, the structure is fine-pored, and there are no open-pored cells. This ensures low moisture absorption. The hardness of the material is similar to that of foamed polystyrene and foamed rubber.

Advantages of XPS extruded polystyrene foam: high resilience, flexibility, elasticity, excellent resistance to chemical and biological degradation. The material is distinguished by high shock-absorbing performance, it is durable and environmentally friendly, shock-resistant, hydrophobic, and has low water absorption.

Moving from theory to practice

Now we will put into practice the selected materials - extruded XPS expanded polystyrene and foamed polyethylene. They are offered by different manufacturers. When choosing a specific brand, it is best to familiarize yourself with the manufacturer's website, compare the characteristics of products from different brands.

Both materials can be of different thicknesses. With an increase in the thickness of the insulation layer, the thermal conductivity decreases, the warmer it becomes in the room. That is, a thicker layer resists heat loss to the outside better.

On the websites of manufacturing companies, there are usually tables indicating all the important characteristics of their products, so you can make the necessary calculations for a particular room.

However, such calculations are the prerogative of experienced engineers, and not people who first encountered such work.

Therefore, you can resort to more simple solution, starting from the rules:

• on non-aligned balconies and loggias, it is necessary to install polystyrene with a thickness of 30 mm;
• on the balconies combined with the room, polystyrene with a thickness of 50 mm or more is used.

The vapor barrier layer in the first case should be from 3 mm, in the second - from 5 mm.

These simple rules almost always work. Of course, for this it is necessary that the apartment is well heated, the windows in it are installed in compliance with all GOST standards, and the balcony has its own heat source. The specified parameters are suitable for the climatic conditions of central Russia.

Polystyrene is produced in sheets of 1200x600 mm. At the edges of each slab, a step is provided to form a “warm seam” with the previous sheet, fastening takes place step by step.

Where it is impossible to install sheets with each other in this way, they are mounted end-to-end, and polyurethane foam is used to fill the seams. It is more convenient and economical to use a special pistol for this.

The room is insulated in a circle according to the principle described above. First you need to drill the polystyrene and the wall to the required thickness, and then install a dowel in the hole. Two such fasteners are enough for each sheet.

After fixing the polystyrene plates between the wall and them, the formed seams must be foamed. In the same way, seams are processed, which turned out when joining sheets not step by step. Further, all the seams are glued with tape.

After passing this stage, you will notice that the room has become much warmer.

Now you need to protect the polystyrene from the penetration of wet vapors from the room. This step is mandatory! Foamed polyethylene provides not only vapor barrier. This material also reflects heat and sounds.

To install the vapor barrier, you need to roll out the roll and cut into pieces of the calculated size. On the back of the material is glued Double-sided tape, then the vapor barrier is attached to polystyrene. When working, it is advisable to avoid overlapping joints.

Seams are sealed with foil tape. And so we got a room, which inside already works on the principle of a thermos and is reliably protected from external cold.

We have completed the warming phase! It's time to start decorating the room.

Pay attention to an important addition.

Insulation should not be laid between battens or laths.

The insulation must be complete, the heterogeneous structure of the insulation layer is not allowed. Otherwise, the resulting cold bridges will subsequently negatively affect the result.

And one more important digression. Do not forget that all balconies and loggias are different rooms, houses are built from different wall materials, different heating systems are used in apartments. Accordingly, these individual characteristics must be taken into account. The use of the same materials and technologies on two completely different balconies does not guarantee an equal result.

Balconies and loggias are cold rooms from the beginning, respectively, it would be correct to simply finish them without changing the design functionality.

But if you decide to warm yourself in one way or another, then resort to the technology described by us. It has been tested over the years, on its own experience, for the optimal creation of comfort and coziness.

Is it possible to insulate the balcony with your own hands. Definitely you can! But you need to stock up on strength and patience.

For an example of insulating a loggia with P-44T penoplex, see the video:

Correct insulation of the balcony

Most of our apartments are too cramped for living and many people resort to connecting rooms with kitchens, balconies, loggias, trying to expand the living space in this way. Therefore, questions about proper insulation balconies are always relevant.

If we start from the laws of physics, then the insulation of balconies must be performed from the cold side of the enclosing structure of any surface. In this case, the old fence turns out to be in a zone of positive temperatures, and moisture vapor from a warm room easily passes through the insulation, does not accumulate and does not linger, but penetrates outside.

The multi-layer construction together with the insulation works reliably, and the heat-insulating characteristics are not reduced. If all the work was done correctly, the best materials were chosen, it will be very comfortable in such an apartment, which has received additional usable space due to the balcony.

But in many homes, outdoor insulation is often not possible. Therefore, we have to resort to internal insulation of balconies and loggias.

At first glance, this is the simplest task. It is enough to buy insulation, glue it to the wall, sheathe it with sheet materials, install a heat source - and that's it, long years comfort and warmth are provided.

Everything is not as simple as it seems.

If you have already insulated your balcony or loggia in this way, you must have noticed that in cold weather condensation appears on the wall - water that comes from nowhere.

Condensation on the floor - where is it from?

Internal insulation of the heated balcony transfers the enclosing structure to the area of ​​negative temperatures, which are always below the dew point. In this case, moisture vapor from a warm room (when moving from a high to a low partial pressure area) passes through the installed heat-insulating layer as looser and stops at a dense cold fence. The vapor condenses on a cold surface. Further, after the transition of steam to a droplet-liquid state, depending on weather conditions and microclimatic indicators in the apartment, the process turns into wetting of the fence and insulation.

Insulation loses a significant part of its heat-saving characteristics; with increasing wetting, the material becomes unable to retain water and it flows out of the wall.

Even if water does not flow out of the wall, this is still not a reason to rejoice, because the thermal insulation still gets wet, its properties are lost. Are being created favorable conditions for the development of mold fungus. Thus, the meaning of insulation is lost - it seems to be there, but at the same time it is not.

And what to do, how to avoid such troubles?

There is a way out of this situation. We will consider two solutions that allow you to insulate a balcony or loggia from the inside and at the same time avoid the described phenomenon

According to the first option, you will need to install a special vapor barrier in front of the heater. This will avoid the penetration of water vapor into the insulation. This is a reliable way even when using insulation with maximum vapor permeability (for example, if mineral wool is used for thermal insulation). For this option, a dry construction technology is recommended, which occurs according to the wall cladding method.

At the same time, instead of drywall and metal profiles, it is enough to use PVC or MDF bars and wall panels.

The vapor barrier is plastic sheeting, foil or membranes specially designed for these tasks. Internal insulation involves the installation of a "pie" structure with the same order of layers (the same for walls, floor and ceiling).

The advantage of the first method is practically absent wet processes during operation, with the exception of the stage of filling seams and joints between gypsum boards. The disadvantage of this method is the lack of the ability to “breathe” in such a system.

According to the second option, the vapor barrier is not installed separately., but insulation is performed using certain materials with minimal vapor permeability. These materials include conventional and extruded polystyrene foam.

According to the second method, it is impossible to use mineral wool, which has too high vapor permeability.

In this case, you need to choose such a thickness of insulation, at which moisture will not accumulate - that is, at which the necessary resistance to vapor permeation is provided.

Let's give an example. When using ordinary expanded polystyrene with a density of 25 kg / m3, according to the standards given in SNiP, the thickness of the insulation should be from 80 mm. This thickness will provide good heat saving.

If extruded polystyrene foam is used, then the calculation is carried out taking into account the much lower vapor permeability of such a material (3-10 times, depending on the manufacturer, lower than that of usually expanded polystyrene). Accordingly, a 30 mm layer of such insulation is sufficient to achieve the same result.

But this thickness is insufficient when it comes to thermal protection of the room. For optimum performance, it is recommended to install 50-60 mm extruded polystyrene foam. In general, to determine the required thickness of the insulation, it is required to carry out a heat engineering calculation of the enclosing structure, which takes into account local norms and climatic features.

Both types of expanded polystyrene are attached to a brick or concrete base using special formulations. For example, you can use Knauf-Sevener or Ceresit CT85.

When the initial hardening of the glue has occurred, the plates are also fixed with mushroom dowels.

On the surface of the expanded polystyrene plates, it is necessary to equip a protective reinforced layer created from the same adhesive.

The glue is applied to a sheet of polystyrene foam, which must first be processed with coarse sandpaper. Layer thickness 2-3 mm. An alkali-resistant fiberglass mesh with a mesh size of 5x5 mm is embedded in this layer. Immediately on top of the mesh, you need to apply a second layer of adhesive.

The fiberglass mesh should be inside between the layers of glue, should not be applied directly to the insulation and applied to it with glue. In this case, it will not be able to perform the reinforcement function assigned to it.

When the reinforced layer hardens, you can proceed to puttying the surface, and then paint it, glue wallpaper, plaster with decorative compositions with different texture etc.

An example of insulation of a balcony with expanded polystyrene in the video:

September 4, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works (laying of foundations, erection of walls, construction of a roof, etc.). Internal construction work (laying of internal communications, rough and final finishing). Hobby: mobile communication, high tech, computer technology, programming.

Recently, an acquaintance of mine with interesting name Gerasim (he has nothing to do with Mu-Mu, although he has been studying Russian literature all his life) asked me how to properly insulate the balcony from the inside. The fact is that he took out a mortgage on a two-room apartment with a huge balcony. And he had a great idea to convert it into an office where he is going to write his doctoral dissertation in philology.

I supported this sound idea with two hands and one leg. Moreover, if you do everything yourself , the price of such alteration will be small. And the advantages of an additional small room hardly need explaining to anyone.

Well, I'll get down to the presentation.

Possible problems when insulating a balcony

Before insulating the balcony inside, I recommend that you think carefully about all the pros and cons of such a solution. Despite the fact that more and more people are resorting to installing heaters before decorating this room, this operation has several disadvantages.

Here are the ones that I consider to be the main ones:

1. Reducing the usable area of ​​the room. If just finishing already reduces the size of the balcony or loggia, then an additional layer of heat-insulating material further exacerbates the problem. Therefore, if this architectural element you have is tiny, think about whether the resulting additional area is worth the money and effort.
2. The appearance of condensed moisture inside structures. When using heaters, the dew point shifts inward, which leads to mold and deterioration of finishing materials.

This disadvantage, however, is easy to cope with. I will tell you how to insulate a balcony with your own hands from the inside so as to achieve an ideal microclimate inside.

Sequencing

The technology of insulating a loggia or balcony itself consists of several important stages:

1. Sealing cracks and eliminating defects. Before laying the insulation for the balcony inside, you need to get rid of all cracks, irregularities, potholes and bulges. I recommend blowing out small cracks with polyurethane foam (just choose a high-quality one), cement mortar will cope with more serious troubles.

1. Arrangement of waterproofing. For this, I always recommend that my clients use penetrating materials. For example, Avatron or Penetron. They are easy to spray, but you can also use a simple roller or brush.

The peculiarity here is that the liquid penetrates deeply into the mineral surfaces, as a result of which they are not only protected from water, but also do not freeze during operation at low air temperatures.

Penetrating waterproofing, among other things, eliminates minor defects that are not visible to the naked eye. But they still affect the effectiveness of insulation, so they need to be eliminated.

1. Thermal insulator laying. It's easy to do it inside with your own hands. You do not need to install scaffolding or call an aerial platform. The main thing is to follow the technology exactly, which I will discuss below.

When choosing materials for work, immediately think about whether you will insulate the floor and ceiling. For these surfaces, more durable heat insulators are needed that do not change their properties from external mechanical stress.

1. Arrangement of a vapor barrier. It is needed just in order to avoid condensation of moisture that forms on the balcony, inside the thermal insulation materials. For this, vapor-permeable polymer membranes are used, for example, Izospan or Rockwool.

By the way, you can avoid this stage by using heat insulators with a foil layer, placing it inside the balcony. But I, nevertheless, would recommend not to save. Moreover, the estimate of the vapor barrier membrane will not increase much.

1. Decorative finishing of the balcony. It all depends on your imagination, the amount of money and the purpose of the room. I cannot give specific advice.

Restrictions on the insulation of balconies

But I can tell you what absolutely cannot be done when finishing a balcony or loggia. Moreover, violation of these rules may entail administrative or criminal liability.

So, it is forbidden:

1. To demolish the load-bearing partitions between two balconies (loggias) or this room and the residential part of the apartment.
2. Install engineering communications on the balcony (in particular, heating, water supply and sewerage) connected to the common system of the apartment.
3. To equip a kitchen or bathroom on the balcony (although, as you understand, no one forbids an office or a bedroom).
4. Install glazing on balconies that are equipped with fire escapes to evacuate people during a fire.
5. Install suspended flower beds or clothes drying devices outside the balcony enclosing structures.
6. Reduce the height of the parapet of the balcony or loggia (by dismantling the upper part or raising the floor). The minimum parapet height should be 1.1 meters.
7. Violate the appearance of the facade of the building (this is for information, so by insulating the balcony from the inside with your own hands, you are unlikely to damage the exterior of the house).
8. Glazing the balconies above the 9th floor on their own, violating the fire safety requirements.

As you can see, not all of the listed requirements are observed by our compatriots, but my conscience would be troubled if I did not tell you about them.

Now a little about the materials that can be used.

Thermal insulators for internal insulation of balconies

A huge amount of materials are used for thermal insulation of such premises. I have compiled a table in which I have listed the most popular varieties, indicating the characteristics of each.

Name	Description
Expanded polystyrene	Dense material with a low coefficient of thermal conductivity, having a fine-grained porous structure. Do not confuse Styrofoam for insulation and packing foam. The latter has large pores and breaks down quickly. Not suitable for floor insulation, as it does not withstand the load applied. Can be used for cladding, wall and ceiling installations.
Extruded polystyrene foam	A material that perfectly retains heat indoors and, thanks to a special production technology, has increased mechanical strength. Microorganisms do not grow on the surface of expanded polystyrene, it is not flammable and environmentally friendly.
Penofol	Another name for the material is expanded polyethylene. For balconies, it is better to use insulation with a foil layer, which reflects thermal energy and prevents moisture from the insulation layer. Foil, among other things, acts as a vapor barrier membrane.
Polyurethane foam	A special composition that is applied to surfaces using special equipment. After hardening, it forms a homogeneous heat-insulating layer that prevents unproductive heat energy consumption and cooling of the balcony. The material is great for warming, but with your own hands you cannot cope with its application.
Mineral wool	Basalt fiber based material, which is excellent for insulating walls and ceilings of the balcony. To increase its effectiveness, it must be protected from moisture. It is impossible to insulate the floor with mineral wool, since it does not withstand significant mechanical stress.
Multilayer panels	We are talking about sandwich panels that are used both for insulation and for decorating a balcony. They have beautiful upper layer, which does not require additional finishing. Thermal insulation is glued to the bottom, which reduces the thermal conductivity of the enclosing structures.

Methods for internal insulation of the balcony

At this point, I consider the theoretical part finished and I will proceed to the presentation. specific schemes internal insulation of balconies and loggias with the help of several, in my opinion, the most effective materials.

Method 1 - Expanded polystyrene

The most common option is expanded polystyrene. It has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity and can be easily assembled with your own hands inside the balcony.

I am telling you how to insulate a balcony with expanded polystyrene from the inside:

1. After carrying out preliminary operations (sealing of cracks and waterproofing), I always treat the surface with a penetrating primer. It allows you to improve the adhesion properties of mineral surfaces, remove dust from concrete monoliths and reduce the consumption of adhesive.

Processing can be done with a regular brush or spray. Treat not only the walls very carefully, but also the ceiling and floor. Otherwise, later there will be difficulties when gluing polystyrene foam.

1. You can continue working after priming only after the composition has completely dried, which takes about 6 hours. If the walls of the balcony where I work are made of porous materials (for example, foam concrete), I always ground everything twice.
2. After priming, you can proceed with the installation of expanded polystyrene, which is supplied in slabs. Installation is carried out using glue and special fasteners with wide hats.

I prepare the adhesive composition from the purchased dry powder. It is necessary to mix it with water in the proportions indicated in the operating instructions, and then achieve uniformity using a mixer connected to a drill.

I apply the finished glue to the heat-insulating material, after which the expanded polystyrene sheet is glued to the wall. I do the same with other materials, placing them in a checkerboard pattern with overlapping joints.

To compensate for the thermal expansion of the material, during installation, I recommend that you move away from the corners of the order of 3 cm, and also leave small gaps between the plates themselves.

1. In order for the plates to adhere firmly, you need to fix them with dowels with plastic caps. To do this, with a drill, I make a hole in the expanded polystyrene and the wall, after which I install the corresponding bracket there.

1. Considering that expanded polystyrene does not absorb water, a vapor-permeable membrane can be omitted. Although I see no reason to buy and fix a special film on the surfaces.
2. The last stage is plastering. To avoid the destruction of the decorative coating, you must first fix a reinforcing fiberglass mesh on the expanded polystyrene plates, and then plaster over it. This is exactly what I do.

1. Before plastering, you can install perforated galvanized corners on the corners, which will facilitate work and protect the corners from damage during operation.

Method 2 - Penoplex

This material is also widely used for interior insulation of balconies. You can mount it on the walls using a special bitumen mastic, construction foam or plastic dowels with wide heads.

I will tell you how I insulate with penoplex using polyurethane foam:

1. To begin with, as in all other cases, defects are repaired and the balcony surfaces are waterproofed. By the way, a primer will not hurt either.
2. After completing the preparatory operations, it is necessary to squeeze out the polyurethane foam from the perimeter around the perimeter of the pre-fitted foam board. No more foam is needed, the insulation will be securely fixed to the surface anyway.

1. After waiting a few seconds, you need to attach the material to the wall.
2. Further work is carried out using a similar technology. Naturally, I recommend displacing the seams in a staggered manner in order to avoid the formation of cold bridges, which reduce the effectiveness of the insulation work being carried out.
3. To keep the insulation stronger, it can be additionally reinforced with dowels with wide caps. Although this is not necessary.

If you, as my neighbor, want to equip a living space on the balcony, I recommend installing two layers of Penoplex insulation with overlapping seams. In this case, the balcony will be warm and cozy, and you will not have to spend a lot of electricity on heating.

1. The last stage is decorative finishing. Here I completely shift the responsibility for the choice of materials to you. Think for yourself, decide for yourself.

Method 3 - Mineral wool

Well, I can't help but tell you about the use of mineral wool insulation. I cannot say that they are very effective, but they are very popular. I focus on them only because the laying technology itself is more complex here.

The fact is that mineral wool is very soft and does not have rigid geometric dimensions as such. It is produced in the form of rolls into which the material is rolled with a thickness of 2 to 20 cm.

I recommend buying stone (basalt) wool with a heat-reflecting foil layer for arranging a balcony. The latter will effectively protect the insulator from humidification and will play the role of a reflective screen that traps the thermal energy of heating devices inside the room.

Given the described specifications, it is possible to mount the insulating material only under a pre-equipped crate made of wooden bars or galvanized profiles. But this is good, since you can then install decorative cladding on the crate. For example, lining or plastic panels.

For example, I'll tell you about insulation using wooden blocks. It is better to take not square, but rectangular lumber with a section of 3 by 5 or 3 by 7 cm. This will save the useful area of ​​the balcony.

The lathing can be installed in two ways:

• horizontally - if later you will trim the balcony with plastic panels;
• vertically - if you have chosen lining as a material for decorative finishing.

In all other cases (plywood, drywall, OSB boards, etc.), the direction of the sheathing elements does not matter.

I recommend fixing the lathing on all surfaces using anchor bolts. At the same time, make sure that the bars are installed at the same level, so that later you do not have problems with the decorative finish.

If you bought mineral wool to insulate the balcony, be sure to buy vapor-permeable membranes for it. The fact is that the fibrous material very much loses its heat-preserving functions after getting wet from water vapor coming from inside the room.

Having described all the important, in my opinion, nuances, I can now talk about the technology of the work. Everything is simple on paper:

• install the crate, keeping an eye on the verticals;
• insert heat-insulating material between the crate;
• protect it from above with a polymer vapor-permeable membrane;
• after that, mount the selected decorative coating.

Most often, the lining acts as the latter, which is why a crate is needed.

Floor and ceiling insulation

Having dealt with the walls, you can move on to the ceiling. For its insulation, I recommend using foam. Moreover, you need to buy an ordinary material for insulation and that kind, which is supplemented with a heat-reflecting foil layer, which increases the strength of the material and helps to keep heat inside.

Before starting work on the insulation of the balcony ceiling, ask the neighbors above if they have insulated their floor. If the answer to this question is yes, buy a beer to the owner as a token of gratitude and safely skip the next few paragraphs, moving to the floor (for this, by the way, you will later owe beer to the neighbor below).

You need to insulate the same way as the walls, using polyurethane glue and dowels. Only first you need to stick the first layer, and on top - the second, with a heat-reflecting surface.

The seams between the parts must be sealed with polyurethane foam, and at the end - glued with a special metallized adhesive tape. In this case, even a strong cold will not prevent you from creating an immortal masterpiece in your office on the balcony.

If, of course, you take care of the floor insulation, which I, for example, carry out as follows:

• I clean the floor surface from the remnants of building materials, influx of cement, dirt, debris, glue, and so on;
• I cover the floor with penofol;
• on top I mount a crate of wooden blocks pre-cut with an electric jigsaw;
• I install heat-insulating material inside the crate, sealing the cracks with construction foam;
• I mount a sub-floor made of plywood or OSB boards;
• on top I lay the floor covering (usually linoleum or laminate).

However, my neighbor - a future professor - wanted to make a heated floor in his balcony-study. So I had to tell him the order of work in this case:

• on the reinforced concrete ceiling of the balcony, you need to make a screed with the help of a self-leveling mixture in order to level all the protrusions and irregularities;
• on top of the hardened screed, a layer of heat-reflecting material with a heat insulator must be laid;
• mount the heating from above electrical cable, securing it with a special tape (you remember that water heating on the balcony cannot be done, which means a water-heated floor too);
• pour another layer of cement screed on top;
• Install the selected decorative flooring.

Decorative finishing of the balcony

I will conclude my story with a short story about how to finish the balcony after it has been insulated. Many different materials can be used for this:

• plastic panels;
• ordinary and decorative plaster;
• wallpaper;
• tile;
• wooden lining.

Considering that I told you how to insulate a balcony with mineral wool, I will continue this topic. I will describe how you can install lining or plastic panels on the walls. The technology is very similar, since both of these materials are separate lamellas, connected to each other using a special system of tenons and grooves.

And there is really nothing to do here:

• the first part is mounted on the installed crate, starting from the corner;
• after that, all subsequent parts are installed.

I try to give preference to wood, as this natural material, but plastic is easier to work with, does not require additional finishing and is cheap.

Conclusion

That's it, I will no longer distract your attention, because I think you can't wait to start insulation own balcony... Or writing a dissertation in philology. By the way, I would be grateful if you write about the results of your efforts in the comments to this article.

And for those who are interested in other issues related to repair and decoration, I recommend looking video in this article.

September 4, 2016

If you want to express gratitude, add clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thank you!

The shortage of residential meters is an urgent problem for many residents of high-rise buildings. Unlike a private house, which can be expanded by adding new rooms or even a second floor, it is almost impossible to increase the size of an apartment without resorting to an exchange. The only way out in this case is to insulate the loggia or balcony.

Do-it-yourself insulation of the loggia today is the only possible option for increasing the living space in an apartment building. Let's take a closer look at the whole process of turning a loggia into a full-fledged room. Before you insulate the loggia with your own hands, you should draw up a phased work plan.

Design features of the loggia

The balcony is a remote design, and the loggia is built-in

Many people consider the architectural terms "loggia" and "balcony" synonymous words. However, this is far from the case: these two architectural elements have different designs, although they have the same purpose. Therefore, the insulation of the loggia is somewhat different from the insulation of the balcony.

The balcony is an outrigger structure located on balcony slab protruding beyond the boundaries of the facade of the house. The loggia is constructively a niche, as if "recessed" in the depths of the facade and occupying most of the outer wall apartments. Accordingly, three sides of the balcony are external, while at the loggia only the front part faces the street. Therefore, warming loggias with your own hands will require less time, effort and money.

Stages of work on thermal insulation

Warming the loggia

So, we insulate the loggia with our own hands. The whole range of works is carried out in several steps - only in this case it is possible to provide high-quality insulation of the loggia. The entire workflow consists of the following steps:

• glazing of the front part;
• sealing seams and joints;
• waterproofing device;
• installation of insulation;
• heating, electricity and other communications;
• decorative finishing.

In order for the thermal insulation of the loggia to be as effective as possible, an integrated approach to work is required. With a dismissive attitude to any of the stages of thermal insulation, you can put all your work down the drain.

Glazing

If the loggia will not be used in winter, choose cold glazing

High-quality glazing is one of the main conditions for turning a loggia into a warm room. Heat losses from the interior space depend almost 50% on the thermal insulation performance of the window group.

Facade glazing can be either warm or cold. Cold is usually single-layer - that is, it consists of a wooden frame with one layer of glass or a single-chamber double-glazed window. The main task of such systems is to protect against street dust and rain. Because of high level heat loss such structures cannot act as thermal insulation. This will require the installation of special warm glazing.

Warm glazing provides for the installation of more frost-resistant systems. These are two-frame wooden windows or multi-chamber double-glazed windows plastic windows... Warm windows, in addition to excellent thermal insulation properties, have a number of additional advantages:

• high performance of noise insulation;
• good waterproofing;
• excellent protection against street dust.

Reinforcement of the parapet

Strengthening the parapet will be useful in order for the loggia to withstand the loads that have increased from the installation of double-glazed windows

But, like any other designs, warm windows have their own drawback - large mass... Therefore, before installing them, you need to make sure that the enclosing parapet can support their weight. For any doubts about carrying capacity fencing is recommended to make additional reinforcement.

The easiest way to do this will be with metal corners, pipes or fittings. To do this, use a punch to clean small areas the surface of the bearing slab in such a way that part of its reinforcement is exposed. We make holes in the slab every 1 - 1.5 m, depending on the thickness of the used metal profile... Metal reinforcement struts are welded to the plate reinforcement, which are connected at the top with a steel corner or channel.

The bearing concrete slab is designed for a certain load, therefore, when reinforcing the parapet, unnecessarily massive metal profiles should not be used.

Setting window groups

When choosing window groups for a loggia, you must focus on the minimum winter temperatures in your region. So, for example, thermal insulation properties double-glazed windows will be quite enough for the Krasnodar Territory or Crimea, but for Siberia it will be necessary to choose glazing with 4 - 6 cameras.

Since the installation of windows, especially plastic systems, is a rather complicated job that requires special qualifications, it must be entrusted to professionals.

You should not save on this important work and try to install glazing with your own hands: poorly performed work can lead to a number of problems in the winter months.

Preparing the loggia for the installation of insulation

Instructions for filling walls

As before any finishing works, before installing the insulation, the necessary preparation of the internal surfaces should be done. This includes:

1. Cleaning walls and ceilings from the remnants of old finishing materials.
2. Arrangement of waterproofing.

Cleaning walls and ceilings

The next stage after glazing the facade is cleaning the internal surfaces from the old whitewash and painting. With the help of a scraper or a metal spatula, we remove all flaky and fragile finishing elements.

Particular attention should be paid in this work if you decide to fix the insulation sheets with an adhesive. If the walls or ceiling are covered with smooth oil enamel, it is also advisable to remove it with a scraper. If the paint adheres too tightly, you can use it to remove it. grinder or make notches on the surface with a construction pickaxe or an old hatchet.

With this, it is possible to significantly improve the adhesion of the adhesive to the surface when gluing insulation sheets.

Sealing cracks and crevices

Be sure to patch up the cracks to keep cold from getting inside.

The next step is to thoroughly seal all joints and cracks. This will prevent the ingress of cold winter air into the room, which is fraught with the formation of condensation between the insulation layer and the wall. And this, in turn, leads to the appearance of mold and mildew.

For sealing small cracks, you can use ready-made putties or dry putty mixtures, the choice of which is large enough in any construction supermarket. Large gaps can be sealed with polyurethane foam or cement mortar (plaster or concrete).

Waterproofing will protect the insulation from moisture and mold

Waterproofing is another an important milestone preparation of internal surfaces for the installation of insulation. Its purpose is to protect the loggia from moisture penetration from the outside through the smallest pores of concrete or brick. And this, again, is the accumulation of moisture under the insulation, mold and mildew.

For waterproofing, you can apply roll materials based on bitumen. This is a well-known roofing material and its modern derivatives. Roofing material sheets using special bituminous mastics the inner surfaces of the outer walls, the upper and lower concrete slabs, that is, the floor and ceiling of the future room are pasted over. The joints of the roofing material sheets should overlap and be well coated with glue or mastic.

For the same purposes, you can use special liquid mastics on a bitumen or polymer base, which, after being applied to the wall surface, freeze, forming a moisture-proof film. Such mastics are applied with a brush or roller.

The work on their application should be carried out at positive temperatures so that the composition lays down evenly, covering the wall with a thin layer.

Insulation of ceilings

After all the preparatory work has been completed, we proceed to work on the direct insulation of the premises. For more information on insulating ceilings, see this video:

Penofol

Some apartment owners do not take ceiling slab insulation with sufficient seriousness. But, in this case, the huge heat loss through the concrete ceiling slab can negate all your work on turning the loggia into a full-fledged interior room.

• penoplex (extruded polystyrene foam);
• penofol (foamed polyethylene foam);
• mineral wool.

Frame device

The thickness of the lathing bars should correspond to the thickness of the insulation

Before you start attaching the foam to the ceiling, you should install the frame. It will later serve as the basis for covering the ceiling with decorative panels or plasterboard. For this, you can use wooden blocks of the required thickness.

The thickness of the bars should match the thickness of the insulation that you are going to attach to the ceiling slab. You can also use a metal profile for drywall as frame elements.

Attach wooden blocks to the ceiling with dowels

Bars or metal profile elements are attached to concrete slab by means of dowel-nails or metal hangers. First, longitudinal elements are attached along the loggia. They should be mounted in at least three rows - two threads along the walls and one in the center.

For the standard width of typical loggias of one meter, this will be quite enough. After that, we proceed to the installation of transverse elements, attaching them every 0.5 m. As a result, we get a frame in the form of cells measuring 0.5 x 0.5 meters. If it is supposed to sheathe the ceiling with materials that are more durable than drywall, then the pitch of the transverse bars can be increased to 1 m.In the resulting cells we insert insulation, cut according to the right size.

The same frame is created for other insulated surfaces - walls and floors.

Styrofoam and penoplex

Polyfoam as insulation is suitable for drywall or chipboard

Polyfoam is produced in sheets and may have different density... Lighter and less dense foam should be used if you intend to use finishing use drywall sheets, plastic panels, chipboard, etc.

If you are going to putty the ceiling and paint it, then it would be best to use a denser type of foam - with a density of about 25 kg per cubic meter... Such sheets are quite durable and more resistant to external influences.

Foam plastic can be attached to a concrete slab in two main ways:

1. With the help of polymer or cement adhesives.
2. Fasteners - hangers and dowels.

Glue is applied around the perimeter and in the center

In the case of using adhesives, the surface of the board must be thoroughly cleaned of various dirt, dust, peeling paint, plaster and whitewash. The foam sheet is cut to size. The construction adhesive is applied in a thin layer around the entire perimeter of the foam sheet, as well as pointwise in several places along its center. Then the sheet is inserted into the cell of the frame.

Foam dowels

Another option for attaching foam sheets is with plastic dowel nails with a wide head. To do this, insert the prepared polystyrene into the frame and, using a perforator, make holes in the plate for the dowel in several places, through it.

We insert the dowels into the holes and fix them by hammering plastic nails-pins into them. For 1 sq. m of a sheet of polystyrene 4 - 6 dowel-nails will be quite enough. In the same way, foam is installed in the frame, which has a higher density than foam.

All joints between sheets of insulation should be carefully putty to avoid possible heat loss.

Penofol

Air bubbles inside the insulation significantly reduce thermal conductivity

This insulation is a novelty in our market. Its main feature is excellent thermal insulation properties with a thickness of only 5 - 10 mm. Penofol consists of foamed polyethylene foam, on which metal foil is glued on one or both sides.

The polyethylene base is a foamed polymer containing closed air bubbles, which significantly reduces its thermal conductivity. The function of the foil is to reflect heat radiation. As a result, penofol 0.5 cm thick can replace a 10 cm layer of mineral wool.

Do not press penofol tightly against the wall, there should be a gap between it and the surface

The peculiarity of fixing penofol is that there must be some distance between it and the outer skin. It is not allowed to be pressed against the base - in this case, its thickness decreases sharply, and the coefficient of thermal conductivity increases.

To avoid this, penofol should be mounted on special U-shaped suspensions or crate. In this case, the material is covered with the first, longitudinal layer of the slats and pressed against the second, transverse, layer.

The foil side must always face the inside of the room.

Minvata

Mineral wool can be made from glass or stone fibers and come in rolls or slabs. Its density can also be very different, and the way it is attached to the base depends on it. For insulating a balcony with mineral wool and penoplex with your own hands, see this video:

The main disadvantage of mineral wool is hydrophobicity.

Less dense rolled mineral wool is attached mainly with the help of strips that press it against the surface of the slab or wall. Denser mineral slabs can be mounted using plastic dowel nails.

Use the same adhesives for fastening mineral wool is categorically not recommended - due to its ability to easily exfoliate, the adhesive connection will not be reliable.

Among the main disadvantages of this material is its hydrophobicity. He tends to absorb and accumulate dampness in himself. When wet, the mineral wool loses its thermal insulation qualities, and also disintegrates into individual fibers and deforms. For an expert opinion on whether mineral wool is dusty, see this video:

Another not very pleasant feature of mineral wool is the release of a large amount of mineral dust during operation. Dust getting on the skin and mucous membranes can cause severe allergic reactions in the form of itching and burning.

Therefore, when working with mineral wool, you must use protective equipment: tight overalls, respirator, goggles and gloves.

Insulation of floors and walls

The insulation of the floor and outer walls of the loggia is done in approximately the same way as for the ceilings. Initially, a frame lathing is constructed, into the cells of which an insulating material is inserted. True, these works have their own characteristics.

Exterior walls

When constructing a heating circuit on a loggia, it is necessary to insulate not only the outer parapet fence, but also the side walls. Especially if these walls are external, and not shared with internal rooms.

External insulation will prevent freezing

If you insulate the front part of the loggia according to all building rules, then you need to fix the insulation to the parapet from the outside. In this case, freezing of a concrete or brick wall is excluded, and the so-called "dew point", the place where condensation forms when warm and cold air collides, moves outward.

If we insulate from the inside of the room, then condensation will form between the wall and the layer of insulation - to protect against this, the waterproofing we arranged earlier serves.

Insulation of the facade of the loggia will require permission from the architectural committee

But the insulation of the front part is not always possible. First, it requires special equipment and a team of trained professionals. Secondly, for such works, permission should be obtained from the city's architectural committee and from the management organization, since the facade of the building is a common property of the house.

And if it goes to the central street, then unauthorized violation of the unified architectural appearance of the building by installing insulation on the walls can be considered as an administrative offense.

Floors

Floor lags are made from thicker bars

It is advisable to insulate floors with denser types of insulation. Dense foam or extruded polystyrene foam is perfect for these purposes.

Before laying the insulation on the floor, you should also mount the frame, the cells of which will be filled with insulation. But, unlike the frame on the ceiling and on the walls, on the floor it should be made of thicker and stronger bars, and the step between them should be reduced to 0.5 m.This will allow the floor covering to withstand the weight of several people and furniture that will be placed in room.

On top of the insulation, you can also mount a warm infrared floor, which will perfectly heat the loggia

A floor covering in the form of thick plywood or boards is mounted on the frame. From above, they can be covered with laminate, parquet and other decorative elements.

Another option for insulating floors is creating a concrete screed over the insulation. Penoplex, which has a density of up to 35 kg per cubic meter, is ideal for this, which is twice the density of foam. In this case, you can do without mounting the frame.

Penoplex is laid in two or three layers directly on the base plate in such a way that the joints of the sheets of the two layers do not coincide with each other. Fiberglass is glued on top of the sheets plaster mesh or reinforcement is made in the form of thin metal rods. After that, a layer of concrete mortar or ready-made self-leveling floors is poured and leveled.

Ceramic or granite tiles, laminate, etc. can be used as a finishing flooring.

Lining up communications

An option for choosing heating a loggia can be a water-heated floor

In order for the loggia to become truly warm, heating will be required here. It should be said right away that you should not try to install heating radiators here and connect them to the central heating system. According to the operational standards of apartment buildings, the owner of the apartment does not have the right to arbitrarily make changes to the circuits of the heating system.

Therefore, the most realistic option would be the installation of electrical heating systems. The best in this case proved to be "warm floors". This system consists of insulated wires that start to heat up when connected to the power supply. As a result, the floor of the room heats up, and the air heats up from it.

Rolled underfloor heating is convenient for quick installation

The main advantage of the underfloor heating system is that the most comfortable temperature here is created in the lower half of the room, where people usually stay. Warm floors can be produced in two versions:

1. In the form of insulated wires, which are intended for shelter in the thickness of the concrete screed.
2. In pre-fabricated rolls that can be laid directly under the floor covering.

Among other effective options for heating a loggia are infrared refractors. In this case, the room is heated due to infrared radiation, which transfers thermal energy to the inner surfaces of the room, from which the air is heated.

Such heaters are placed for greater efficiency on the ceiling or on the walls and can be made in the form of panels or a special film.

Decorative finishing

Plasterboard will allow you to create multi-level surfaces

After all the work on insulating the loggia has been completed, you can proceed to the final stage of work - to decorative finishing. As a material for finishing a new warm room you can choose exactly the same one that is used to decorate the rest of the rooms of the apartment.

The most functional option is drywall. You can use it to create any decorative surfaces and structures: from multilevel suspended ceilings to arched entrance groups and decorative niches.

Plastic wall panels and PVC suspended ceilings will also look good. Among the latest innovations are the solid cork wood trim. Do not lose their relevance and classic finishing options in the form of various types of wallpaper or wooden battens - lining.

In general, there are a lot of options for decorative finishes. Therefore, the choice of style, design and material can be left to the taste of the owner of the apartment. The main thing is that the design new room completely satisfied with the owner, then this albeit small room will be able to become a favorite corner for rest or work.