Warm balcony with own hands

Last years there is quite a curious trend. Its essence lies in the fact that the owners of the apartments make from the most ordinary balcony another room that is very comfortable. Accordingly, in such a room you can safely spend your vacation, including no one interferes with creating on the basis of this space your study. If the area is sufficient, you can easily install on the balcony desktop, computer and all necessary accessories.

Also it must not be forgotten that the balcony itself can easily be combined with a room,get an expanded space, which, perhaps, was so lacking in the apartment.

Of course, the most important issue associated with a kind of "modernization" of the balcony, is precisely in comfort. On the way to achieve the main goal is often the low temperature in the cooler seasons. Accordingly, if it is not serious to approach the warming process, then it will be extremely problematic to stay on the balcony in the winter.

In this article, we will try to disassemble the basic details related to the insulation of the balcony. Frankly speaking, it is very difficult to create high-quality insulation, which will make you feel comfortable even at minus temperatures outside the window, but there are some secrets in this matter.

The main details of a warm balcony

Before making a balcony really cozy, it should be understood that the process of insulation is not only the installation of thermal insulation materials. Often the question concerns a lot of the most important factors, which definitely need to be paid attention. If you consider all the details related to the insulation, the balcony can be comfortable to stay even in extreme cold outside the window.

In addition, often installed additional heating equipment. With their help it will be quite possible to control the temperature regime. If the balcony is combined with the main room of the apartment, it will require a powerful heating system that will allow you to forget about frosts and other problems.

Also it does not hurt to ensure a high-quality sealing of windows, so that no water seeps through them, and even more cold winter air does not pass through. Next, we'll talk about this in detail.

The choice of double-glazed windows

Quite often the owners do not give due consideration to the choice of double-glazed windows. The problem is often that people try to save money on this matter, so they choose the cheapest windows. In the case of a warm balcony, you should approach this issue more seriously. Accordingly, experts recommend not to save on double-glazed windows, and do everything possible to ensure that their quality is as high as possible.

• It should be understood that the double-glazed windows significantly differ in characteristics. Products that refer to balconies often keep heat in the best way inside the building, and easily transfer all external temperature changes. If you install the most common windows on the balcony, it can not be ruled out that such products will very quickly become unusable, and simply will not isolate the room from the severe cold.
• It's not a secret that windows on the balcony very often open, so the cheapest products designed for the usual window opening may not be suitable.
• Most often on sale you can find a full frame for balconies, which easily resist all temperature changes, as well as reliable mechanisms.

The installation of double-glazed windows is an important issue, on which really much depends. Experts recommend the installation of windows on the fence, built of bricks or foam blocks. The height of this fence should be at least 95 cm. If the apartment is occupied by children, it will not be superfluous to increase the height to 110 cm.

It makes sense to entrust the installation of windows on the balcony to specialists, since the process can be very difficult. If this is the case, then you should take advantage of the full package of services, along with which the warranty service is unequivocal. Accordingly, if during the period of operation at least the slightest flaws in the windows are detected, an immediate repair or complete replacement of the products will be carried out. If you install yourself, you can make serious mistakes, because of which you can face bad insulation. In the end, if there are a lot of problems, you will have to carry out all repair activities yourself, or pay a lot of money to specialists.

Immediately after installing the windows, you need to seal. In this case, we are talking about all vertical and horizontal seams. Separately, I would like to note that in new buildings builders use the cheapest and unreliable sealants. Accordingly, if we are dealing with newly installed windows on the balcony, you should purchase a quality sealant and fill it with all the seams. If we talk about products from proven manufacturers, then often such a sealant is highly resistant to changes in temperature and humidity.

Thus, none of the above should not be saved. If you do not know which products are better to buy, you can always refer to reviews, which are very many in the worldwide network. Directly, the sealing process can be done by hand, since it is almost impossible to make mistakes here.

Thermal insulation of a balcony with

thermal insulation materials When it comes to thermal insulation, it is often meant to use a variety of insulating materials. In this case, they are only part of the warming process.

Most often, the following thermal insulation materials are used in construction:

• mineral wool;
• polystyrene foam;
• Penoplex;
• expanded polystyrene;
• polyurethane foam.

You should immediately understand that each of these materials has strengths and weaknesses, but the only and truly ideal option simply does not exist. For example, if we are talking about foam plastic, then this is a fairly effective insulation material, and cheap, but it is easy to ignite. In turn, if we are talking about polyurethane foam, then this material is applied on the surface by spraying, and this can make many hosts a lot of inconveniences and problems.

Also it is necessary to note an insulating material, which is produced in the form of sheets based on fiberglass. This product has many strengths, among which are excellent soundproofing qualities, and also the preservation of heat. But at the same time the material can have too much weight, because of which there is a large load on the balcony structure.

I would also like to mention polyurethane. This material has a sufficiently low coefficient of thermal conductivity, so that the thermal insulation on the balcony will be simply excellent. In addition, this material has a high adhesion, so the material does not need to be installed with the help of fasteners. Also it should be said that the material is durable, so for decades it will not succumb to decay and destruction.

Insulation installation

If we are talking about the installation of a heater, then most often we are talking about the same manipulations with different materials.

• The very first layer of insulation should be glued to the fence. It will also be necessary to create a crate based on wooden bars( which, in turn, are attached to metal corners), so we have the appearance of a base for installing a heater.
• Accordingly, a space is created between the bars, which must be filled with insulating material. With regard to fixing insulation, this issue depends directly on the product itself and on its weight.
• Ultimately, the surface finish. It is best for this case to use plastic panels or lining. In the case of the latest material, experts recommend covering the surface with varnish, or using paint, so that, due to temperature drops, the lining does not deform.

It should be understood that the insulation should be located throughout the area of ​​the balcony. If there are at least small omissions, in winter this will be well felt.

Accordingly, it will not be superfluous and the insulation of the floor. It is worth noting that this is only necessary if the so-called warm floor is not installed. Heat insulation must be laid between the logs, which are created from wood bars. In addition, experts advise you to lay as much insulation as possible, which will significantly increase the waterproofing properties of the balcony. But it should be understood that it is not recommended to raise the floor too high. Also, in addition to insulation, you will need to install sheets of plywood and linoleum( laminate).At the same time, the height of the balcony( loggia) should be about 2.5 m.

Installing the warm floor

In modern dwellings, warm floors are used very often. The thing is that this system allows even in a strong frost to be in sufficient comfort.

Quite another question is the installation of a warm floor on the balcony. In most cases, there is no need for this. But if the balcony is a space in which tenants will spend a lot of time, the warm floor can be a useful component of the home. On the balcony you can safely use electric and water-heated floors.

You need to know that installing a warm floor is not an easy process, which is best trusted by specialists. In the event that there will be at least a small mistake in the installation of heating, it will be extremely difficult to fix it without the help of specialists. With your hands, you can try to install an electrical floor, which consists of wires, as well as some other components. The most important thing is to evenly arrange the heating elements throughout the entire area of ​​the balcony.

Recently, infrared heaters have become popular. They are much more economical than other options for floor heating, and they do not practically dry the air. But at the same time it should be borne in mind that as a basic heating such a floor is practically not used because of low efficiency.

Separately I would like to note that the warm floor is not the cheapest pleasure. Most often their cost is too high, so people who just decided to create a full-fledged room from the balcony for the sake of space expansion are not ready to spend such amounts. If you abandon the warm floor, then in the winter on the balcony it may be too cold.

Additional heating

In order to increase comfort on the balcony, you should also pay attention to some additional heating means. If the balcony has a small area, then you should take a closer look at compact heaters. In addition, there are thermal fans, as well as converters, oil coolers.

If the balcony joins the main room of the dwelling, it is possible that additional heating will not be required. It is desirable in winter to determine this issue, and if necessary, quickly install all the necessary heating means.

If the balcony is too small, there may not be a need for heating, as colossal funds can be wasted. Accordingly, to begin with, you need to analyze the situation, so as not to remain a loser.

Price issue

If you are not sure of the end result of all the above measures, you can immediately contact the specialists who are carrying out the full scope of work. It is a question of set of the companies which give a flexible spectrum of services on warming of a balcony. This includes the installation of double-glazed windows, and the arrangement of insulation materials.

Such services are often very expensive for owners - from 30 thousand rubles( without glazing).But in this case, you can be sure that all the work will be of high quality, and also have a guarantee.