How and what to insulate the balcony with your own hands?
Owners of urban apartments are often askedthe question of how to insulate the balcony inside with your own hands. This procedure is really simple. However, the required technologies are still necessary to comply with it. First of all, of course, you need to decide on what to insulate the balcony inside with your own hands. From the variety of the chosen material, the way of covering the parapet, walls and ceiling will depend to a greater extent.
Styrofoam or mineral wool?
These two materials for the insulation of balconies and loggiasmost often. Styrofoam costs a bit more than mineral wool. However, he is also the best answer to the question of what to insulate the balcony inside. The fact is that when the loggia is lined on the side of living quarters, the so-called dew point is inside a warming "pie". And therefore it is much better to use a material resistant to moisture for insulation. Inexpensive mineral wool, unfortunately, does not differ in such properties. She gets the moisture very quickly. Use it, of course, you can. However in this case it is necessary to give maximum attention to waterproofing. So the best answer to the question of what to insulate the balcony inside with your own hands is still styrofoam.
Material specifications
When choosing sheets for insulation of the balcony, you should pay attention to the following factors:
dimensions,
density,
thickness.
Styrofoam sheets producedmodern manufacturers, have standard sizes: 2х1, 0,5х1 or 1х1. Those who wondered what to do with a balcony from the inside, you should think about buying smaller sheets. Too large plates mounted in a limited space of the loggia would be very inconvenient. For a balcony, the best option is 0.5x1 or, in extreme cases, 1x1.
As for the thickness, you can buy a balconyabsolutely any expanded polystyrene. The only thing to be guided in this case - this is such an indicator as the area of the loggia. After the assembly of a warming pie on the balcony should remain enough for a comfortable pastime of free space. More often owners of loggias of standard houses of the Soviet construction choose polystyrene foam with a thickness of 40-50 mm.
The density of this type of insulation can be found,looking at the markings. The best answer to the question about how to trim the balcony from the inside, will be the use of expanded polystyrene brand 15-25. The higher the figures, the less thermal conductivity the material has, and the greater the fragility it differs. If the expanded polystyrene is supposed to be further covered with decorative plaster or wallpaper, it is worth buying a thicker plate. If, however, a lining or panels are used as finishing, you can take loose, well-retaining heat sheets.
Where to begin?
So, than to insulate the balcony inside with your own hands,you now know. Next, let's figure out how to do it right. Before you begin to install a warming "pie", you must carefully prepare the loggia itself. First of all, they dismantle the wooden floors. Then proceed to repair the parapet. If it has through slots, they must be sealed with a sealant. Scaffold sealed with cement mortar or moisture resistant filler. Similarly, prepare the walls, floor and ceiling.
Waterproofing of the loggia
Asked about how to properly insulatebalcony with their own hands inside, the owners of the apartment first of all should take care that in this small room is always dry. Waterproofing in the performance of this operation is considered mandatory (especially when used as a heater for mineral wool). In its absence:
the service life of the balcony will be shortened;
quickly rust all metal structures;
because of the increased humidity, various fungi will develop, as a result of which an unpleasant smell will appear on the loggia.
Sometimes on uninsulated balconies in this way even the supporting structures begin to collapse, which, of course, is very dangerous.
The easiest way is to waterproof the balcony withusing bitumen-polymer mastic. It is heated to a liquid state, it is poured into the floor and 2-3 layers are spread over the parapet. Sometimes for the waterproofing of the balcony, roll materials are also used.
What glue do I need?
Those who wondered about how to insulatebalcony inside polystyrene or expanded polystyrene, you should, among other things, take care of using a suitable adhesive for fixing the sheets. Mount this material is allowed directly to the mastic (for polymer-bitumen - immediately, for bitumen - after full drying). In this case, you should use a special glue. It's called Bitumast.
What else do I have to buy?
So, you now know what to insulatebalcony inside with your own hands. Photo of expanded polystyrene sheets - the most suitable material for this purpose - can be seen on the page. However, in addition to them and glue, for the insulation of the balcony it will be necessary to prepare also:
reinforcing mesh,
dowel-mushrooms,
mounting foam (without toluene),
decorative plaster or wallpaper.
Technology of gluing
So, next let's see how to insulateloggia from the inside. Start the installation of the sheets from the corner. This rule is valid as for gluing the parapet, and walls or ceiling. Actually the installation itself is done like this:
Sheet polystyrene imparts roughness. To do this, they pass a special needle roller. Treated in this way, they will be much better kept.
At the bottom of the parapet, the support rail is attached.
The adhesive solution is evenly applied to the surface of the wall, ceiling or parapet.
Press the expanded polystyrene firmly against the surface.
Mount the material to warm the balconyfrom the inside follows in such a way that the joints between the sheets have a T-shaped appearance (as in the laying of bricks). After the plate has been glued, it should be additionally fastened with dowels-fungi (5 per sheet). Holes for them can be drilled directly through the sheets. At the final stage, the joints are processed. In this case, use a construction foam.
Gluing reinforcing mesh
Expanded polystyrene is an excellent answer to the question,the better to insulate the balcony inside. However, decorative plaster on this material does not hold too well. To correct the situation, use a special reinforcing mesh. Mount it as follows:
Pre-polystyrene surface of the ceiling, parapets and walls is completely greased with glue (for foam).
Then the mesh itself is pressed into the resulting soft layer.
On top of it, another layer of glue is applied. Its thickness should be such that the joints of the grid do not protrude above the plane of the surface.
Fine finishing
So, we have found out how to insulate the balconyown hands. A step-by-step photo of this process is presented above. As you can see, this procedure is relatively simple. At the final stage, the dried out adhesive surface is passed by a special grater to give it a roughness. Then proceed to applying decorative plaster. You can also cover the balcony with wallpaper.
The second way
The above method of isolating the loggiasuitable for heavy duty expanded polystyrene. And if the owners decided to buy mineral wool as an insulator? How to insulate the balcony with your own hands? Step-by-step (the process photo is shown below), the workflow guide in this case will look like this:
On the parapet, walls, floor and ceiling is attached a framefrom wooden beams. The step between its elements should be equal to the width of the plates of the chosen insulation. To the concrete parapet the bar can be fixed with screws. For balconies with metal fencing, an independent cobbled structure is assembled.
Next, between the elements of the frame is insertedactually the heater itself. To the concrete parapet, the material is fixed with "fungi" (the expanded polystyrene can be glued additionally). If the fence is metallic, it is better to use cotton wool and insert it into the rucksack. If, for example, polystyrene is chosen for insulation, it is possible, for example, to fix the plywood on the back of the frame and glue the material to it.
A vapor barrier film is stretched over the insulation. Mount it better thin slats (two on each side of the bar).
balcony trim with lining, plastic panels, plasterboard or plywood. Strengthen the material to the beams of the frame.
How to insulate the floor
The bottom of the balcony is insulated in the last place.The floor is previously waterproofed, and then lags are installed on it. The answer to the question of what to insulate the floor on the balcony inside is simple. Most often between the beams stack polystyrene foam or mineral wool. You can also use expanded clay. On top of the heater, a vapor barrier is fixed, and then a sexual or edging board is filled. Then the floor is covered with linoleum or trimmed with any other suitable material.
Heating the balcony
Whichever answer to the question of what to insulatebalcony inside, did not choose for themselves the owners of the house, with observance of the installation technology, in the future here it will be possible to have a good time, including in winter. However, on very cold days, even an isolated loggia may require additional heating. It is strictly forbidden to remove the central heating batteries on the balcony. Therefore, the best solution is to install here a conventional electric heater. To place it follows the wall separating the balcony and the apartment. It is not recommended to install heating devices near the parapet. The fact is that in this case, because of the warm air rising on the balcony, the windows will start to mist overly.
You can also arrange on the loggia
Warm floor
This work is performed as follows:
Heat insulating material is laid on the floor.
A metal mounting tape is installed.
The heating cable is laid.
The thermoregulator is hung on the wall.
The concrete screed thickness of 30-40 mm is poured.
The floor covering is laid.
Well, we hope that we have enough timeanswered the question of what to insulate the balcony inside with their own hands and how to do it correctly. The most important thing in assembling a "pie" is not to break the laid technology. In this case, the balcony will be cozy and warm.
