Do you want to arrange a storage room, office or winter garden on your balcony? Use our instructions for proper insulation, equipment and decoration of the attached space – and it will be warm and cozy.
Step #1: legal issue
The addition of additional space entails a change in the load on the floor and the appearance of the facade. Inside the attached room, the humidity changes – materials and structures behave differently under its influence. Therefore, it is important to fully think through and calculate the insulation project for a balcony or loggia – it is better to seek help from professionals. It will be necessary to add documents for the apartment, a technical passport of the BTI and several applications to the project – in order to coordinate the reconstruction with the housing inspectorate.
Step No. 2: choosing glazing
It is necessary to select double-glazed windows for an insulated loggia in advance –
Based on the developed project, find windows specifically for your future new room. Plastic ones with double-glazed windows, special profiles and reliable seals are the most common and justified choice.
Frameless glazing is not suitable for a warm balcony – it removes precious heat from the house and does not protect against drafts. You can use windows with frames made of laminated veneer lumber – however, such structures are quite expensive and have a decent weight. Aluminum frames can be “warm” or “cold” – be careful and don’t miss the mark in your pursuit of savings.
Step #3: building walls
First you need to seal the gaps between the parapet and the floor slab. You already know what your windows will be like – you may need to build a parapet to the height of the glazing, or create a portal along the edges of the window structure. Increasingly, not heavy bricks are used for these purposes, but light foam blocks. If space allows, duplicate all balcony walls with them. And carefully seal the cracks with cement plaster and sealant. After this work, you can install balcony doors and windows.
Important: maintain the configuration and size of the ebb tides so that your new room on the loggia is not flooded by rain – and so that the neighbors below are not flooded by a stream of water from your balcony.
Step No. 4: installation of insulation
To preserve heat in the space of the attached loggia, extruded polystyrene foam, mineral wool or polystyrene are most often used. In order to use mineral wool slabs, you need to make a lathing from bars. Polystyrene foam and polystyrene foam can simply be glued to the walls.
Isolon (aka penofol) – foil-clad polyethylene foam – is usually laid on top of the insulation layer. It has both noise and heat insulating properties and absolute moisture resistance – under its protection the insulation layer will not get wet, which means the climate on the loggia will always be healthy.
Step #5: working with the floor
One of the most critical stages. Calculate the insulation cake so that the surface of the floor on the loggia after all the work is lower than the floor level in the room – or coincides with it. Place the same isolon (penofol) or vapor barrier film on top of the floor slab, and on top – lathing for the subfloor (attention: logs are laid only perpendicular to the passage). The sheathing can be left as is, or it can be filled with slabs of mineral wool or polystyrene foam. In this case, add a layer of vapor barrier before laying the subfloor.
To create a heated floor, choose an infrared film floor or heating mat systems. It is enough to lay out the thermal film or mats on top of the thermal insulation, connect the cables, cover everything on top with a protective polyethylene film – and you can start finishing.
Step No. 6: equipment and electrical
Under no circumstances should water heating batteries be placed on the loggia – therefore, the easiest way to insulate the connected volume is with an oil radiator – unless, of course, you refuse to install a heated floor. In the case of a radiator, be prepared for the fact that energy costs will increase significantly. You will need an outlet for the heater – plan at least one more if you decide to make an office, library, or lounge area on the balcony.
Think about lighting before finishing work – is one lamp enough for you, or maybe you want to mount spotlights? For a winter garden you will need much more sockets and lighting outlets – you will actively use all kinds of lamps and various devices.
Step #7: finishing
Designers use a variety of solutions to design attached balconies: some roughly plaster the walls, while others cover them with respectable wooden panels. Everything ultimately depends on the purpose of the place: brick, concrete and wood set the mood for a contemplative mood. But for work, wallpaper in calm tones is good (although you may want to combine both options).
Choose vinyl siding for your home greenhouse – it will withstand high humidity. Linoleum, porcelain tiles and even laminate are suitable for the floor. If children play on the attached balcony, it would be wise to use carpet,
Step No. 8: functional content and decor
In accordance with your initial plans, place the furniture: a work table or workbench for a workshop is good to use in the end part of the former loggia. For the lounge area, use narrow hanging tabletops along the glazing line (they resemble bar counters). Complement shallow shelving for a playroom or library with soft armchairs (bright frameless poufs work great on the balcony). Advice: as a rule, on any attached loggia, no matter what it is intended for, you need storage space: design in advance at one of the ends a shelving up to the ceiling or a wardrobe.
Try not to overload the balcony with decorations – after all, its area is tiny. However, ceramics, photographs on the walls and green plants always enliven the interior. But you can experiment with fabrics – especially if your loggia is not an office, but a place for relaxation. Designers choose bright colors and patterns – why not follow their example by properly wrapping the former non-residential premises in soft canvases of the most cheerful shades?
