Lounge area, home gym, greenhouse ora playroom on the balcony? It's possible. Today we'll tell you how to make a wonderful transformation of cold meters into an additional room not only beautifully, but also technically competently
Balconies and loggias are a source of inspiration foreach city dweller and a strategic reserve of useful footage. And let the BTI calculate it with a decreasing coefficient. Any realtor knows: a suitable balcony size and a good view from the window have saved more than one deal. Strict legislation (a subject for a separate publication) and the harsh Russian climate prevent the loggia from becoming a living room, a full-fledged living space. The latter problem is easy to overcome - there are many offers on the market for insulating balconies and loggias. How to understand them?
Defining the goal
There can be many options for using balconies.many: from a dressing room, if it is adjacent to the bedroom, to a gym. All of them can be divided into two groups: combining spaces and creating an additional room from a balcony. In the first case, it should be borne in mind that completely demolishing the partition between the room and the balcony, leveling the floor, is not only illegal, but also dangerous, because the walls of our houses experience serious structural loads.
Any expansion of the balcony opening and increasearches should be done very carefully and consult with specialists. A simpler option is to abandon the balcony window and door, insulating the outer part. You will get something like a glazed niche. And the protruding part of the wall can be used as a bar counter, shelf or table.
Tatyana Serova, "Windows into the House":— The most complex technical solutions are required when installing a kitchen and sauna on a balcony or loggia. Both options will never be approved by the supervisory authorities. The problem lies in the transfer of the main communications — water, gas and electricity, and most importantly — in exceeding the permissible load on the balcony slab. If you still decide to put some kitchen elements on the insulated area, remember the lever rule from the school physics course: place the heaviest objects close to the wall. vdomokna.ru
Insulation rules
To use the balcony as a room, you will have toglaze it, waterproof and seal all surfaces and thoroughly insulate it. The surveyor who will come to you to assess the front and cost of the work must first determine whether the existing fence can withstand the load and how it needs to be reinforced. The engineer's opinion should be decisive. Some balconies, especially in old houses, cannot be glazed using the warm method in principle.
Tatyana Serova, "Windows into the House":
— For serious insulation of the balcony structureyou need to choose profile systems from 70 centimeters and a double-glazed window. Be very careful when buying heated floors: they must be high-quality and reliable, such as Rehau, otherwise you will have to dismantle the finished floor or break out the tiles to find and fix the breakdown, because the heated floor on your balcony will act as a battery, and you cannot do without it in winter. But the most common mistake is an attempt to save on wall insulation. The largest amount of heat is lost through them - due to the largest area. If your neighbors upstairs prefer to live with a cold balcony, you will have to insulate the ceiling too. A truly warm structure is possible only if the balcony or loggia is insulated along the entire perimeter. vdomokna.ru
Today, you can insulate walls and ceilingsuse dozens of different materials - it all depends on your needs, financial capabilities and the features of your loggia or balcony. The only advice that is possible here: pay close attention to the opinion of engineers and choose what will minimally increase the load on the floor and "eat up" the useful area (the thicker the insulation layer, the greater the loss in centimeters).
Double protection
Owners of one-room apartments and parents,cramped by a small living space, like to use their balconies as a bedroom or a nursery. Both options are quite feasible, but will require increased protection from both cold and noise. Such rooms should have the same heat and sound insulation as any ordinary room, or even better. How can this be achieved?
Tatyana Serova, "Windows into the House":
— In such cases, we recommend “smart” windows.For example, the six-chamber Rehau Intelio profile is the “quietest” to date and one of the warmest in the world. The profile allows you to install a glass unit thicker than usual and reduce heat loss by almost half. And if you add low-emission Solar glass with silver coating to the profile, your windows will turn into real climate control: they will prevent heat from escaping in winter and reflect a fair amount of sunlight in summer. If the balcony faces the sunny side, it will create an optimal atmosphere inside and reduce air conditioning costs. The balcony will be even more comfortable than the rest of the rooms. vdomokna.ru
Finishing
Serious insulation of the balcony will give your imagination andthe decorator's flair has no less a field for activity than any other room. Rough walls are usually covered with clapboard or plastic panels or covered with plasterboard under plaster, wallpaper, imitation brickwork - there are no restrictions. The floor also allows a lot of variations: from tiles and laminate to floorboards. However, experts still do not recommend covering "warm floors" with wood: real boards quickly deteriorate from high temperatures. It is better to give preference to a less capricious material.
Possibilities
Even 10-15 years ago, balconies were added andLoggias were used mainly to expand an adjoining room or as an all-season workshop. But tastes change, and with them, so does "balcony fashion." Yana Lapko, interior designer:
— Now everything depends on the size of the premises.If the area of the apartment is large and there are several loggias, then they are left cold or lightly insulated. If the area of the apartment is small (studios and one-room apartments), then clients usually express a wish to add it, insulate it and use it as a functional space. Most often, customers ask to arrange a recreation area there - especially if there is a beautiful view from the balcony or loggia - or a study.
Right behind the "gazebo for cozy reflections" andhome office in the popularity ratings is a sports ground. It's good if the city fan of a healthy lifestyle has a park nearby. But what if not? You have to create it yourself. Exercise machines on balconies are definitely not placed to use as a hanger - the insulation procedure is too complicated.
Next on the list are the playroom, bedroom, winter garden andthere are many other options that can come to mind. If you are lucky with the size of the balcony, it can be trusted with several roles at once, as in the case of the apartment, which is currently being decorated by designer Yana Lapko. Yana Lapko, interior designer:
— We created a multifunctional openspace: hallway-bedroom-living room-loggia. The last one on the list is far from the last. There were more than 5.5 meters there. It would be just stupid to lose them as a utility room. As a result, we placed a desk and an additional surface there, covering the ledge of the balcony block with a tabletop. This is very convenient - there is a place to spread out documents, put a second monitor or other additional equipment. Everything you need is at hand. On the living room side, on the ledge, there is a black battery, which emphasizes the individuality of the interior. And on the other side, there is a spacious dressing room. So, thanks to the insulation, we won a significant part of the useful footage and solved several problems at once.
