Often the owners of apartments come up with the question of insulating the balcony and expanding the quadrature of the usable area. In order for the decoration of the loggia, balcony to bring only positive emotions, you need to try a little, take into account all the advice of professionals and think about how to make the floor on the balcony correctly. And do not think that only modern houses are ready for decoration; with a little skill, even a Khrushchev balcony will turn into an ideal place to work or relax.
Material selection
Before you start building a balcony or loggia, you must select the material. This is a very important work, not only aesthetics will depend on it, but also the practicality of the additional area. Glazed balcony well accepts a tree or a derived wood product: laminate, grooved board and even parquet. But in this case, the flooring includes high quality waterproofing materials to preserve all the useful properties of wood.
The open space of the balcony / loggia is useful to cover with tiles, linoleum. The products are resistant to the external environment and the installation will not require renewal after the first rains. Owners of Khrushchev houses can be advised to have underfloor heating, such a finish will not only significantly expand the usable area, but also make the space a full-fledged living space. It is even better to carry out the removal of the floor so that the Khrushchev balcony “flows” into the rooms and becomes their continuation.
Foundation preparation
To view the curvature of the floor on the balcony will help the usual building level, but to make the surface even - screed.
- Purchase metal beacons, divide them into short segments with a width equal to the width of a balcony or loggia and place them across the entire space at a distance of 600 mm;
- Align the beacons with a level, the video will tell you how to do this;
- Lighthouses are fixed with cement mortar and work is postponed until the mixture is completely dry.
Important! If you need to finish an open balcony, then be sure to slope the floor to the outside.
After that, the usual formwork is needed from the bars, which are attached to the outside of the railing, the gaps between the bars must be covered. To make a mixture, it is better to buy a ready-made composition that requires only water. Dilute, pour into the formwork, level and allow to harden for about 2-3 days. After that, the bars should be removed and all irregularities along the edges should be repaired.
On this, the finishing of the loggia or balcony can be completed, but often the owners do not want to leave the concrete floor uncovered, and choose the final warm coating.
Important! Even for a concrete floor, a light screed will not hurt. It will strengthen the base and allow you to maintain evenness and integrity for a long time.
Final coating of balconies or loggias
Floors can be finished with laminate, plywood, tiles, or even carpet if the space is properly sealed.
Wooden floors on the balcony
Wood coating is considered one of the most suitable, but requires the following preparatory moments:
- Lay waterproofing material on the screed. It is important that there is not a single hole in the waterproofing that could lead to damage to the wood;
- A log system is placed on the material, located perpendicular to the threshold;
- Sometimes soundproofing and backfilling is required. But it is worth leaving a space between the wall panels and the lag, so that when the materials expand from the effects of temperatures, there will be “free play”;
- This design affects the thermal qualities of the floor, so a heat-insulating layer is required: foam, mineral wool or other available material will work perfectly. The thickness of the flooring is at least 300 mm, but laying a thicker layer can increase the level of the floors;
- A draft floor is placed on top, which is ideal for hardwoods.
Practical, but not quite beautiful floor tiles can be painted, varnished or covered with any other coating. This finish can be completed. If you still have questions, watch the video from the master, which will help you sort out all the problematic points.
Laminate on the balcony: nuances and requirements
How beautiful the laminate looks on the balcony will show the video, where the space was masterfully finished, which has become a continuation of the apartment. It is believed that the material provides the necessary moisture, heat-shielding functions, and also meets all the requirements of users of an aesthetic nature. But before you start arranging a balcony or loggia with a laminate, waterproofing is necessary, since the finish is extremely immune to water and can deteriorate.
Leveling, waterproofing and laying a cork or polystyrene substrate are the initial stages of work. Moreover, the substrate roll must be laid at a right angle to the dice of the finishing material, the joints must be fastened with adhesive tape.
Important! Laminate can be laid both along, across, and diagonally. But you should always start from the opposite wall from the door. The displacement of each subsequent row by at least 400 mm will make the finish more reliable. The gap between the wall and the plates must be at least 1 cm.
As a rule, laminate flooring takes little time, as the dies are equipped with a locking connection. If everything is laid correctly, then a warm floor will hide well under the coating and the loggia space will become a full-fledged living space.
plywood floors
The installation of a plywood floor also requires leveling the surface, then an obligatory layer of vapor, moisture, and waterproofing material. Then laying the log with a distance of at least 0.5 m, with the laying of insulation between the elements. And on top there are plywood sheets, which are better to lay with a certain gap so that the floor on the loggia does not start to creak.
It is permissible to lay sheets in several layers to strengthen the base. Then comes the finishing of the floors. On this, the arrangement of the area can be completed. Plywood has proven itself well under linoleum, carpet and other final coatings.
Ceramic tiles for finishing
The material is ideal for open and closed balconies, loggias. Evenly cover the leveled and primed base with tiles, seating the finish on the adhesive composition. It is important to remember that the tile is a cold material, so it is better to take care of additional insulation to make the room habitable.
After the adhesive composition on which the tile is glued has dried, the seams are rubbed and leveled. The procedure is shown in more detail in the video.
Self-leveling floors
Finishing is popular and also requires preparation of the base. The screed and the subsequent primer should dry well, only after that you can start the installation of the self-leveling floor. The diluted mixture (according to the instructions on the package) is poured onto the base. The layer should be 2 mm, not less. In order for the finishing to go without nuances, it is necessary to choose a self-leveling floor specifically for balconies.
Finally
A few words should be said about the removal of the floor. Such a procedure is required for apartments where the balconies are extremely small, therefore they cannot be a full-fledged resting place and it is easier to “attach” them to the apartment. To begin with, it is worth assessing the condition of the carrier plate, then increasing it by means of channels fixed to the wall, which are welded depending on the type of structure. At the same time, the railing structures are removed from the balcony space, and after fixing a pair of channels in the wall, they are tied around the perimeter.
