Apartments in standard houses often do not differ in convenient layouts and large areas, so the owners go for combining a balcony with a residential area. Combining a balcony with a room, the photo below shows one of the options for joining, which will allow not only to increase the area, but also to implement a unique design project in your home.

This article will discuss how to correctly combine the space and carry out the alteration. What can be placed on the combined balcony, and what is not and how to use the window sill after joining the balcony to the room.

Combined living room with balcony in Provence style

Balcony as an extension of the room

How to attach a balcony to a room:

1. Dismantling the window structure with simultaneous glazing and insulation of the balcony, resulting in a comfortable combined space.
2. Dismantling the wall - will allow you to make a significant increase in the room by combining with a balcony. Connection requires the transfer of heating devices. Therefore, it is better to entrust such an association to specialists who will calculate the loads and prepare the project.

Combining a balcony with a room, especially the demolition of a wall, is a complex redevelopment; in order to carry out the connection, it is necessary to coordinate the work in the relevant authorities. Getting permission to combine a balcony is not so easy: collecting the necessary documents can take a lot of time. Many do not consider it necessary to apply for it. But in this case, the combination of a balcony with a room is carried out at your own peril and risk, and the consequences may be different. Do not neglect permission to join.

Combining is not agreed - the radiator cannot be taken out

Preparatory work for joining a balcony

Before combining, you need to take care of the frame of the balcony. It is better to give preference to a welded structure with an offset, this will increase wind resistance and increase the internal combined space. External cladding it is desirable to perform siding, it has low thermal conductivity and is resistant to temperature extremes.

Regardless of the type of association chosen, the balcony must be glazed and insulated.

Metal-plastic windows with two- or three-chamber double-glazed windows will help to avoid large heat losses in the attached area.

All surfaces, except for the wall between the room and the attached balcony, should be insulated. Simultaneously with the insulation, it is necessary to carry out hydro and vapor barrier work. The extension of central heating pipes to a combined balcony is not allowed, therefore it is especially important to approach the choice of thermal insulation of the attached room. As a heater on the combined area, you can use Penofol, Penoplex.

Combining with a loggia begins with insulation

Materials are attached to surfaces with dowels or gluing. The gaps are filled with mounting foam. Installation of Penofol is carried out with the foil side inward, and the joints are glued with aluminum tape. For optimal comfort, it is worth installing a warm floor on the combined balcony, and increasing the number of batteries in the combined room.

Dismantling the opening to attach the balcony

When dismantling window openings or part of the wall for alignment, it is important to remember that in panel houses the balcony partition cannot be completely removed, since the outer wall, as a rule, is load-bearing and unification work can harm the integrity of the building. In a brick house, when combining rooms, you can remove the opening along with the window sill, but in some cases additional structural reinforcement will be required.

You can connect the balcony to the room, the photo below shows this, without removing the entire wall.

Consolidation due to the dismantled window unit

If only the window block is removed, a hacksaw and a hammer will be needed from the tools. Glasses are taken out, and cuts are made along the perimeter of the frame and knocked out.

When dismantling the wall, you need a puncher and a grinder. With their help, brick and concrete sections are removed. With this combination option, it is necessary to move the radiator. It is necessary to cut down the existing one, having previously blocked the water, and reinstall it. When combined, the room will increase its volume - additional batteries should be added.

After removing all construction debris, you can start finishing the slopes. They should be carefully plastered and leveled with putty or plasterboard. Exterior decoration of the attached premises is carried out in the same style as the room combined with the balcony. The balcony, combined with the room, the photo below, will successfully complement even the nursery.

Workplace on the combined balcony in the nursery

Threshold on attached balcony

Many people want to get one floor level when combining a balcony with a living room. But it is not always possible to remove the attached threshold. In brick houses, this element is part of the supporting structure that supports the balcony slab, and in panel houses, its removal will lead to freezing of the floor and reduce the rigidity of the entire structure. The height difference when combined can be beaten by arranging steps or a ramp. It is possible to raise the floor level to the desired threshold height, but these works are more costly and not always desirable when combined.

Advantages and disadvantages of association

The advantages of combining a balcony and a living room are:

• Increase in living space. This is true in small one- and two-room apartments.
• The expansion of the area will have a positive impact not only on the comfort of residents, but also on the market value of the apartment.
• The connection will provide additional natural light.
• Unique design. The living room will be complemented by a cozy library; in the nursery, you can make a dressing room or a playroom, and a bedroom combined with a balcony, the photo below shows this, will get an additional place for relaxation and other things - there are many options, it all depends on the needs and imagination of the owner.

The attached balcony is a great place for a dressing table

But such a reconstruction has its drawbacks:

• A long and complicated process of coordinating work on joining a balcony, requiring the preparation of a project and the collection of documents.
• It is not always possible to remove the entire wall - the threshold and window sill often remain.
• Preparation before joining the balcony and dismantling of structures require special skills.

Combining a balcony with a kitchen

Typical apartments do not differ in large area, and kitchens can accommodate only the necessary equipment and furniture. Redevelopment of a kitchen with a balcony, the photo below shows this, can change the interior both visually and functionally.

Balcony as a continuation of the kitchen - the result of a successful combination

To carry out the attachment of a balcony to the kitchen, it is enough to limit ourselves to dismantling the window unit. The remaining combined section of the wall can be used as:

• Table
• bar counter
• Cabinets
• Countertops for hob, etc.

Combining a kitchen with a balcony, the photo below shows this, will help you rationally use the new area.

Combining the work area and window sill

The attached space of the former loggia can be turned into a dining room or pantry, and if the area allows, then the working area can be transferred to the balcony. When combined with the work area, it is important to consider several factors:

1. The balcony is a hinged structure and it cannot be heavily overloaded, therefore, before taking out heavy furniture and appliances, it is worth calculating the loads to the attached space.
2. Independent wiring and sockets on the balcony are not allowed, electrical appliances are connected to the network located in the kitchen itself. This can be done with an extension cord by hiding the wires in a special box or pipe.

Kitchen connected to the balcony in the photo, with a remote working area

To make the new attached zone warm, you should take care of heating. Since when combining pipes, it is impossible to bring them out to the balcony, the best solution for the combined space would be to install a warm floor or electric radiators.

The amount of furniture and equipment that can be transferred to a combined balcony depends on the area of ​​​​the room and the bearing capacity of the balcony slab, which is determined on the basis of an engineering load calculation.

On a small attached balcony, you can take out a refrigerator or equip a cooking area (stove and hood). The addition of a large loggia will allow the area to be used as part of the working area, where appliances, wall cabinets, countertops, and a sink are placed. Almost any combined balcony can be used as a dining room, placing a table and chairs on it. A sofa and armchairs will complement the place of rest when united, and family members will be able to spend time without disturbing the hostess.

The type of association and the future interior depend on the individual needs and characteristics of the balcony itself.

Registration of the threshold in the kitchen, combined with a balcony (photo)

Many apartment owners use balconies and loggias as a warehouse for unnecessary things. But after all, these premises can also be used better, for example, to combine a balcony and a room or a balcony and a kitchen. This is a completely affordable way to improve living conditions and get additional meters of usable space.

However, it is worth considering the fact that the complete combination of a balcony with a room, as well as joining a loggia to a room, is not allowed in practice, although there is no direct prohibition in this regard in housing legislation. However, there are certain standards, as well as the requirements of design institutes, that do not allow this.

Technical aspects of combining a balcony with a room

Then how to explain the popularity of this type of redevelopment, because almost everyone designed for a typical apartment in a high-rise building includes a combination of a balcony and a kitchen, or a combination of a balcony with a room - photos of such redevelopments can often be found on thematic forums and in design magazines and repair.

Really all these works are carried out? In order to explain how it is still possible to attach a balcony to a living space, it is necessary to know the reasons why a complete integration of a balcony is not allowed.

The unspoken ban on such redevelopment is explained by the fact that the room or kitchen, according to its purpose, belongs to the "warm" premises, and the balcony - to the "cold" purpose. At the same time, the general heating of the house is calculated for a certain number of warm rooms and, accordingly, is not designed for heating excess volume.

Therefore, it is far from possible in every house in an apartment to connect a balcony to a kitchen and a living room. If the house has merged balconies in just a few apartments, then such a slight change in the heated area will practically not affect the operation of the entire heating system, and the residents of the house are unlikely to notice a slight decrease in temperature. But let's imagine the situation that ALL apartment owners have united balconies and rooms.

An example of an unauthorized combination of a balcony and a kitchen, bti in red lines:

In this case, the total heated area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe house will increase very significantly. Accordingly, in this case, the average temperature in the house will be much lower, since a system designed for one area will have to heat a much larger one. Which in turn can cause an overload or an accident.

Therefore, the current ones prescribe to separate the premises belonging to the "warm" type from the premises of the "cold" type.
But still, it is possible to carry out a redevelopment with a combination of a balcony and a room or a combination of a balcony with a kitchen, while yours will be considered completely legal and will be carried out in accordance with all accepted standards.

Zoning problems within redevelopment

It is possible to delimit the premises of a balcony and a room or a loggia with a kitchen using glass sliding or hinged doors in the entire height of the room. If necessary, these doors move apart and a single room is formed. At the same time, the heating battery is moved to the nearest wall, since it is strictly forbidden to take it out onto the balcony area - this is one of the most serious (and common) violations when redeveloping balconies and loggias.

Of course, this will not be a complete combination of a balcony and a room, but rather a kind of compromise that will allow you to do and at the same time comply with all the formalities. Such a redevelopment of a balcony or loggia will successfully be approved by all housing inspections in Moscow.

Of course, with such a decision, it is necessary to take care of the correct one before combining it with the interior. Indeed, otherwise the double-glazed windows will "sweat" due to the formation of condensate, which sooner or later will lead to the appearance of mold, and in winter - an ice crust. However, this problem is solved by purchasing high-quality windows, as well as by carrying out a full cycle of work on the insulation of floors, ceilings and balcony enclosing structures.

It is worth considering the issue separately. In most typical houses, this structure is not load-bearing, but in some series it can be included in the power circuit of the building or serve as a counterweight to the balcony slab.

Many owners want, which is forbidden to touch, since in many types of houses it helps to hold the balcony slab, or closes the inter-panel joint, preventing moisture from entering it and freezing the underlying apartment.

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How to make capital insulation of the loggia yourself

It just so happened in our country that the apartment is repaired first of all, and almost all available funds often go there. As a result, most owners decide to do the insulation of the loggia with their own hands. At one time, I also had to step on this rake, but as optimists say, everything that is done in this world is done for the better. Now I know how to insulate the loggia with my own hands, and in this article I will try to describe this whole process for you in as much detail as possible.

General, fundamental rules

Before you do any work in a multi-storey building yourself, it would be useful to find out a number of fundamental things, non-compliance with which can subsequently lead to quite serious troubles.

Loggia or balcony

Until I came across the arrangement of the loggia, I did not know that almost the majority of our respectable citizens have a rather vague idea of ​​how a loggia generally differs from a balcony.

So, the loggia is considered to be a reinforced concrete slab of interfloor overlapping extended beyond the front wall, which is supported on both sides by capital piers. The length of the structure depends on the layout of the housing, but most often it is 6 meters or 4 meters.

The loggia can capture one or two rooms at the same time, but in any case it cannot be less than the width of one room along the front wall.

In turn, the balcony is only part of the extended floor slab. Often its dimensions are smaller than the width of the adjacent room. And the most important difference is that it does not have side bearing walls. The balcony is held only due to the strength of the slab, respectively, its bearing capacity is much lower.

In stalinka and Khrushchev, according to SNiP standards, the maximum load of 1 m² of a balcony slab does not exceed 200 kg. And now let's calculate:

• The area of ​​a standard balcony fluctuates around 3m², which is 600kg maximum;
• A capital parapet made of hollow facing bricks or aerated concrete will weigh at least 150 kg;
• About 100kg more will be modern glazing;
• The screed, facing sheets, plaster and the weight of the insulation itself, in a circle, will be about 200 kg more.

In total, the correct insulation of the balcony will weigh around 450 kg. If you add to this the weight of balcony furniture with tools or flower pots, then you will inevitably wonder whether it is worth messing with such insulation at all. Plus, such balconies are already more than half a century old, which means their strength is even lower.

The bearing capacity of the slab on the loggia is approximately 2-3 times higher than that of the balcony. The loggia received these characteristics thanks to the side load-bearing walls. Therefore, in fact, the options and methods of insulation here can be anything.

Combining a loggia with a room

Now many owners, in pursuit of usable space, decide to combine a loggia or balcony with a room. As for the balcony, here I would not advise doing this at all. First, you will never get official permission for such work. And secondly, as I said, it is too risky due to the low bearing capacity of the balcony slab.

The easiest way is to organize the connection to the room in houses built according to the P44T project. In the people, such a project is called free planning. There will be no barriers from the regulatory authorities.

In standard typical skyscrapers, it is not difficult to convert a loggia into a living space. The whole problem is in these very controlling bodies. One of my acquaintances found out for a long time whether such an association is redevelopment and what is needed for this.

As a result, he was tired of fighting with officials, he simply insulated the loggia and removed the balcony block (doors with a window). He turned the curbstone with the one based on it into an impromptu bar counter. Now the room and the panoramic loggia combined with it resemble a studio apartment. As it turned out, this is quite an acceptable option and it is not considered redevelopment.

Before you do anything with the front wall, you need to get permission. And in this case, the most important "permits" are officials from the BTI. If there is no permission, then as long as you live in an apartment, everything will be in order, but if you want to sell it, problems with registration will begin.

Loggia insulation process

Now it's time to talk about how to properly insulate the loggia. For those who decide to do everything with their own hands, step-by-step instructions are the key to success. Therefore, I will continue to try, based on my own experience, to paint everything to the smallest detail.

Glazing of the loggia

Previously, in such places, as a rule, light home-made wooden frames with one glass were installed. At that time, there was simply nothing else. And it was very problematic to get a standard wooden frame with two glasses, plus it did not fit in size. Such a miracle of Soviet design stood on my loggia.

To equip any kind of insulation with such frames is a stupid and useless task. Therefore, thinking about where to start, I decided to dismantle the old frame and put in its place a modern plastic version with double-glazed windows.

I didn’t have any problems with dismantling the old frames, but I want to warn you: if there are such frames on your loggia, then first pull out the glass from them. And only after that you can remove the frames themselves. Otherwise, glass falling from the top floor can cause a lot of trouble.

After calling the measurer, do not hesitate to “get it” with questions and ask him to explain his actions to you. The fact is that at one time I relied on the professionalism of a person, and as a result, frames were delivered to me 200 mm shorter than the window opening.

There is one nuance here. As the guys who came to install the windows told me, the width of the support should be at least 50 mm and such a platform is installed strictly horizontally.

In my case, there was an ordinary, still Soviet, thin-rolled parapet. Plus, this parapet was skewed, the collapse at six meters was about 100 mm. As a result, I had to pay extra to people for the installation of the fiftieth corner.

Although if the parapet is concrete or brick, then consider yourself lucky. It is much easier to install frames on such capital structures. But in any case, you need to consult with those who will install.

Again, based on my own experience, I want to give one more piece of advice. If the loggia is long and the apartment is on a high floor, it is better to divide the entire structure into several sections. I had 2 sections of 3 meters each and these windows had to be raised on the seventh floor for about three hours. It's good that the time of delivery was agreed in advance, so you would have to pay more for this.

Parapet installation

As I said, the ideal option is when you initially have a capital parapet provided for by the project. I had to "fence" almost everything again. The first thought was to cut the grate to the supporting corner under the window frames and lay out the parapet of aerated concrete or facing bricks.

Facing brick is certainly beautiful, but to lay it, you need to be a bricklayer, you can’t do it randomly here. With aerated concrete, everything is much simpler, since it has clear shapes, and most importantly, it is mounted not on a cement-sand mortar, but on building glue.

But here another problem came up. It turns out that aerated concrete needs to be plastered with high quality from the outside, otherwise it will be saturated with moisture and begin to actively collapse. Plus, its warming qualities will disappear completely.

To plaster aerated concrete, hanging over the parapet with my own hands from the outside, and on the seventh floor, I honestly did not dare. It’s not that I didn’t know how to plaster at all, it’s just that you never know, working at height is a dangerous thing.

As a result, I settled on clinker panels without insulation, I really liked the look of beautiful brickwork. A clinker panel is a sheet trimmed with clinker tiles, in my case it was brickwork. Asbestos cement or waterproof OSB is taken as the basis. Of course, you can take a panel with insulation, where polyurethane foam is taken as the basis, but it costs almost half as much.

Since the support corner for the window frame was pushed a little beyond the lattice metal parapet, I horizontally fixed 4 rows of wooden bars from the outside and from the inside of the lattice. They then became the supporting frame for exterior decoration and interior insulation.

Outside there was a bar 30 mm thick, from the inside a bar 50 mm thick was installed. Plus, from the inside, between the horizontal bars, with a step of about a meter, I mounted vertical guides. The whole structure was pulled together and fixed with long self-tapping screws and metal clamps. Vertical and horizontal bars were fixed with corners between themselves.

Clinker panels are assembled as puzzles of the designer, the front part is solid. I screwed the panels themselves to the wooden crate with self-tapping screws with a press washer. Plus, to be sure, I fixed each panel at 3-4 points to the old metal lattice parapet.

For this, I used U-shaped iron clamps with a removable jumper. Self-tapping screws and clamps on the outside later smeared with grout. It is quite simple and it is not visible between the clinker tiles.

At the end, I blew out all the cracks from the inside with mounting foam. As a result, I got a solid facade in the form of an ideal brickwork. By the way, manufacturers of such outdoor panels give a guarantee on their product for 30 years.

If you don’t feel like messing with the parapet, you can do without the parapet at all. In this case, the fence is cut off completely, and, roughly speaking, a large plastic window frame is mounted instead. This is done by the same companies that deal with windows and this design is called “French Balcony”, but the price of such pleasure is solid.

A few words about the choice of insulation

The question of what is better to insulate the loggia is quite controversial. In general, there are several main contenders, but it all depends on the size of the budget and the desire to work independently.

• The classic and still the most beloved by the people material is polystyrene with a density of 25kg / m³. It is lightweight, not afraid of water, quite easy to install, and most of all, naturally, the low price of polystyrene attracts.
  In my opinion, the only drawback of foam is its combustibility, but to tell the truth, most of the heaters used in such structures suffer from this drawback;

• Mineral wool is also relatively cheap.. Previously, glass wool was used, but this is a poor choice, it is afraid of water and quickly cakes. Plus, for its installation, you need to wear gloves and a respirator. Otherwise, the glass will go into the skin, and you will itch for a long time.
  It is much easier to mount soft mineral wool mats, such hard protection is no longer needed with it;
• But if you buy, it is best to opt for dense basalt slabs, this material, if necessary, can even be plastered. Although remember, any cotton does not burn, but is afraid of moisture;

• The most fashionable material today is extruded polystyrene foam or Penoplex, as we call it. In essence, this is the same foam, only made using a different technology. But if the foam is considered a partially vapor-permeable material, then its extruded counterpart is an absolute waterproofing agent.
  Its thermal conductivity is one third lower, which means that where foam plastic 50 mm thick is mounted, extruded polystyrene foam 30 mm thick can be used.
  But personally, I like Penoplex for its high mechanical strength. This material is used to insulate the roadway, so it can easily be laid dry or wet for the floor;

• At the moment, the most expensive in the market of heaters is polyurethane foam.. This is a liquid insulation that can be sprayed onto a surface with any geometry. As a result, you get a solid insulating shell, without any gaps or cold bridges. This coating has excellent sound insulation.
  According to its characteristics, polyurethane foam is somewhat similar to extruded polystyrene foam. The problem is that in addition to its high cost, polyurethane foam can only be applied using special compressors, you cannot do it yourself;

Ignorant people are often offered to insulate the loggia with penoizol instead of polyurethane foam, it is sprayed in the same way as polyurethane foam. So I do not advise you to do this.
Behind an incomprehensible, tricky name, ordinary polystyrene is hiding, with the only difference being that it is sprayed in liquid form, and accordingly, they will ask for a lot of money for this. And why pay more if you can buy foam sheets and do practically the same thing, only at least 3 times cheaper.

• For reasons of economy, people sometimes insulate the floor on the loggia with expanded clay granules. Expanded clay is a porous, foamed and fired clay. In principle, the thing is good, but expanded clay is a loose material and is only suitable for the floor. In addition, he is afraid of moisture, and the worst thing is that the thickness of such an embankment starts from 150 - 200 mm. Accordingly, it can only be used in apartments with high ceilings;

• There is also such a “smart” insulation as penofol. This is a sheet of foamed polyethylene, coated on one or both sides with foil. In its structure, penofol partly resembles foam rubber. But the thickness of this material is only 10 - 15 mm. Therefore, in our case, it can only be used as an auxiliary, additional insulation.

In general, I believe that insulation should be comprehensive, only then it will be reliable and effective. That is, you can not rest on only one type of insulation, it needs to be supplemented with something.

Insulation of the facade parapet and load-bearing walls

For reasons of economy, I used 50 mm foam boards for the walls and ceiling. Of course, it would be better to mount extruded polystyrene foam, but it is about 2-3 times more expensive.

And the easiest way out is to call specialists, pay and let them fill everything with polyurethane foam, but I didn’t have so much money at that time, apartment repairs “ate” all the reserves.

As you remember, we have already assembled a 50 mm thick wooden beam frame. Now it remains to cut the foam sheets clearly according to the size of the finished niches and insert them there as tightly as possible, and fill the remaining small gaps with mounting foam.

But the coefficient of thermal conductivity of wood is several times higher than that of polystyrene, so the wooden frame will be a kind of cold bridge.

By and large, one could not pay attention to this, but we do it for ourselves, therefore, with the next layer, I fixed the foil foam with a continuous sheet over the entire inner surface of the parapet. Moreover, penofol must be fixed with foil inside the room, so the reflection of heat rays will be an order of magnitude higher.

As a finishing cladding, I chose a wooden lining. Accordingly, under it, I needed guides. To do this, I fixed another bar with a section of 30x40 mm on top of the penofol directly on the horizontal frame wooden beams.

The fact is that the minimum thickness of the bearing bars for a wooden crate is 25 mm, if you take it thinner, they can crack when you hammer in nails or screw in screws.

In addition to wooden lining, plastic or MDF panels can be mounted on such a crate. In general, everything you like, if desired, even drywall for plastering.

If instead of foam you choose basalt wool slabs, then the sequence will be slightly different. As I said, any cotton wool is afraid of moisture, so before installing it, you will need to fix the waterproofing layer.

After all, we have a clinker panel on the outside, and foil penofol on the inside. Both of these materials are vapor-tight. Accordingly, instead of expensive vapor barrier, you can safely put cheap technical polyethylene. The rest of the warming cake will be the same.

As for the walls, a wooden beam of 50x50 mm is also stuffed on them. After that, foam sheets are inserted, penofol is applied, the supporting crate is attached under the lining, and then the lining itself goes on. Naturally, polyethylene will have to be additionally laid under the cotton wool.

Ceiling insulation

The ceiling can be insulated in two ways. One thing I have already told you about. It is done in exactly the same way as we insulated the side walls.

Only wooden bars are attached to the ceiling with anchors, and the foam is not only inserted into niches, but also additionally glued to the ceiling. Then everything is as usual, we apply penofol, fix it with a counter crate under the lining and sew up the ceiling with a lining.

But I decided to go the simpler way: in this version, a wooden crate is not provided at all. The foam sheets here are simply glued to the reinforced concrete ceiling slab. These plates are absolutely even, so fixing problems, as a rule, do not arise.

Styrofoam can be glued to Liquid Nails, mounting foam or Ceresit CT83 construction adhesive. But in all these cases, it is desirable to cover the concrete slab with soil a couple of times.

• Glue "Liquid Nails" is sold in tubes adapted for a construction gun. This glue must first be smeared on a sheet of insulation, attach this sheet to the ceiling and immediately tear it off. Then the glue should dry a little for 5 to 7 minutes. After that, the sheet can be glued finally;
• Mounting foam is applied to the insulation in an arbitrary pattern and immediately applied to the ceiling. But this sheet will have to be pressed against the ceiling several times with an interval of 10 - 15 minutes. It is well known that the foam expands and until this process is completed, the sheet will move away from the ceiling;
• My favorite is the Ceresit CT83. This is a dry mix that is diluted with water, the instructions are on the package. Initially, it was created for gluing Penoplex, but since these materials have the same base, this mixture is also well suited for foam. It is applied with a notched trowel with a comb depth of up to 10 mm.

After I glued the styrofoam to the ceiling in a continuous layer, blew out the gaps with foam and the glue finally set, I decided to plaster my ceiling over the styrofoam. This is not difficult to do, the sequence of work is something like this:

1. Initially, on top of the foam, with the same comb spatula, I applied a layer of Ceresit CT83 glue. You can use the starting putty, but under it you will need to apply primer to the foam;
2. Until the glue hardened, I gently drowned a sickle (reinforcing fiberglass mesh) into it with a spatula;
3. After that, holes with a depth of 30 - 40 mm are made through the insulation with a perforator in a reinforced concrete slab. For each sheet, approximately 4 - 5 pieces;
4. Plastic dowels-umbrellas are inserted into these holes and fixed tightly in them. Such a dowel consists of a plastic body with an umbrella and a central rod. So, first, the dowel body itself is inserted all the way, and then the central rod is clogged;

1. At the last stage, a layer of finishing plaster is applied.

If you have a problem with plastering, and you are too lazy to attach a wooden crate under the lining, then you can make it even easier. In this case, the sheet of foil foam foam is simply glued to the foam.

If you decide to glue penofol to foam, carefully choose the glue. The instructions should indicate that it is suitable for these materials. Otherwise, penofol or polystyrene can corrode the solvent contained in the adhesive.

Floor insulation

Finally, we got to the arrangement of the floors. This stage is considered one of the main ones. The easiest way out is to install a wooden crate, lay insulation in the cavity and sew it all up with a floorboard. But such a “pie” will take at least 70 mm.

I wanted to make the floor as thin as possible, plus install an electrical "Heat Floor" system under it. Therefore, I decided to do without the crate, and took high-strength extruded polystyrene foam as the main insulation.

Previously, I had linoleum on my balcony, so removing it and cleaning the concrete slab to perfect condition was not a big deal. In my case, the plate turned out to be even, if the situation is different with your floors, then you will have to fill in a small screed. Penoplex is laid only on a perfectly flat surface.

If you do not have the proper experience in leveling the screed, then it is better to buy self-leveling compounds. They, of course, will cost more than a cement-sand mortar, but you don’t flood the hall, but just a loggia, you don’t need much material for it.

Before any insulation, the reinforced concrete floor of the loggia must be waterproofed. As a waterproofing, I used technical polyethylene. It is covered with a solid ball with entry to adjacent walls, just above the level of the finish coat. Then the excess is cut off.

Now it's time to install the penoplex. There is nothing complicated here. Penoplex sheets on the sides are equipped with docking grooves, as a result, the flooring is smooth and beautiful.

Underfloor heating can be equipped in different ways. If you have official permission for redevelopment and the loggia is equipped for living quarters, then it would be best to lay a water-heated floor and power it from the outlet of the radiator, which you will remove when you demolish the cabinet under the window block.

There are 2 types of electric underfloor heating, film and those that use a heating cable. Mats with a heating cable, as well as pipes of the water system, should be laid in a screed. I didn’t want to carry dirt and fill the screed, so I chose a film floor.

Film floors are laid quite simply. A foil material called isolon is laid on the previously laid extruded polystyrene foam. As far as I understand, this is one of the penofol derivatives.

Further, the heating elements themselves and the temperature sensor are laid on top of the isolon. The control panel is mounted on the wall nearby. From above, everything is covered with plastic wrap and you can proceed with the installation of the laminate.

The good news is that the complete set of such a system includes all the material, down to the smallest detail. I even had a CD with a video instruction. How to independently mount such a system is shown in the video in this article.

According to the rules, laminate planks should be mounted along the loggia. But no matter how hard I tried, the locks did not fit together well and constantly diverged. In the end, I left this hopeless task alone and mounted the laminate across the loggia. Fortunately, the slats just fit in size, I even had to trim a little.

Conclusion

I don't consider myself a real builder. And if I, possessing only the general skills of working with a traditional home tool, could make a major insulation of the loggia with my own hands, then it means that you can do it too, the main thing is not to be afraid. The photo and video in this article provides additional material on the topic. If you have any questions or have something to add, write in the comments, we'll talk.

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thanks!

The presence of a balcony or loggia in the apartment has always been and is an attractive moment for residents. And if there is more than one balcony in the apartment, then this is considered the most comfortable. Many new settlers, when purchasing an apartment with a balcony, immediately begin to dream of joining this small space to the main room of the apartment. After all, it gives a lot of pleasant opportunities.

Balcony or loggia: additional space for an apartment

The most important thing for most, of course, is to increase the living space in the apartment. Sometimes an extra two or three square meters can solve a lot of everyday problems.

In particular, placing an office on an attached balcony solves the problem of the inability to retire for work or study. The balcony, combined with the children's room, will be a great place for children's games, where you can place boxes with toys. Or the dressing room on the loggia attached to the bedroom solves the problem of placing wardrobes and chests of drawers for various things. Here you can also place an ironing board, which is always so difficult to attach in small apartments. From the balcony adjacent to the kitchen, you can make a bar area or a pantry for storing supplies. The simplest and most pleasant solution for a balcony or loggia would be to place a rest and relaxation room there.

Comfortable armchairs combined with a beautiful view in large windows make it possible to relax while drinking a cup of tea or other favorite drink at any time of the year.

This interior can perfectly accommodate various indoor plants, creating the appearance of a blooming garden outside the city.

However, not everyone understands what difficulties they will have to face in implementing their plans - combining a balcony with a room.

To begin with, you should understand that a balcony and a loggia are not exactly the same things and determine what exactly is in the existing apartment.

A balcony is always a protruding part of the building, located outside the front wall. The base of the balcony is always the ledge of the floor slab. Usually the balcony has only a light railing.

The loggia, in turn, is a niche inside the facade of the building. Usually loggias have a solid fence on all sides.

These differences in designs also determine the difficulties in attaching such a room to a room in an apartment. But without permits from the relevant authorities can not do in any case.

Competent redevelopment: why do you need coordination

Attaching a balcony or loggia to a room, in fact, is a restructuring of the room. Therefore, the production of such redevelopment requires permission from the BTI or other local registration authority. Before you start remodeling a balcony or loggia in an apartment, you should find out the specifics of local legislation in this regard and obtain the appropriate permits and a restructuring plan.

If many can do repairs and decoration with their own hands, without involving third-party organizations, then combining a balcony with a room should be done only if there is an approved plan for this.

The fact is that structurally balconies and loggias are closely connected with the entire structure of the building and their placement is made taking into account complex engineering calculations. Any change must be calculated taking into account many conditions. This includes the type of building, the period of its operation, previously completed redevelopment in other apartments, and even the temperature regime of the premises. Such a plan can only be drawn up by engineers in the organization involved in the operation of the house. It should take into account all stages of rework, power supply and heating systems. An incorrectly drawn up plan or failure to comply with at least part of the conditions stipulated by the technical plan can lead to destruction not only in the balcony structure, but also in the entire building as a whole.

Therefore, independent attachment of a balcony or loggia to a room threatens not only with administrative responsibility, in view of unauthorized redevelopment of the premises. But also criminal liability in case of destruction of the facade of the building and damage to other residents.

How to legalize redevelopment - a dialogue with a lawyer (video)

How to connect a balcony to a room: the main steps

The rest of the wall, more precisely the window sill, can be equipped as a bar counter, bookcase or flower stand or aquarium.

Warming the resulting space is a very important detail. After all, elements of the central heating system cannot be taken out onto the balcony. Therefore, the walls and floor should be carefully insulated, and if necessary, additional heating systems should be placed on them, they are also called underfloor heating. But it works great on walls too.

Further, the matter remains only for the decoration of the balcony. Now it is part of the living space, and its design is better to make it similar to the mood of the room to which it was attached. In this case, the fact of association will be hardly noticeable.

Combining a balcony with a room: stages

Combining rooms and loggias: repair features

The process of rebuilding a loggia when attaching it to a living room is not much different from attaching a balcony. It also takes place in accordance with the developed engineering plan for the alteration. The only difference is that the loggias themselves are usually larger in area and have a reinforced fence on at least two sides. For the reconstruction of such premises, heavier building materials can be used. Complex window systems with sliding elements are suitable for glazing.

It is also not allowed to take out central heating batteries on the loggia. However, unlike balconies, they freeze less during the cold season due to their location inside the facade.

The functional use of such premises may be similar to the use of an attached balcony, but heavy furniture can be placed on the loggia without fear of damaging the building structure. And, therefore, a loggia of a sufficiently large size can even become an additional room in the apartment.

Difficulties of alteration in a panel house

The construction of panel houses was a godsend in the construction of apartment buildings in its time. This technology allows you to cost the building as quickly and easily as possible. However, such ease in construction is fraught with difficulties in finishing, rebuilding and even operating these houses in the future.

If we talk about joining a balcony or loggia to rooms in panel houses, then one important circumstance is worth mentioning - the demolition or dismantling of the wall separating the balcony and the room is simply not possible. Do not think that the refusal to issue a permit for redevelopment in this case will be just a bureaucratic whim. In a panel house, the wall is one integral slab, which holds the base of the balcony with its own weight and supports the upper floor slab.

The destruction of even a part of this vertical slab can lead to serious consequences, up to the destruction of part of the facade.

Therefore, having decided to combine a balcony with a room in a panel house, you need to be prepared for the fact that it will be limited to the window sill remaining after parsing the window and the balcony door. But it can also become a beautiful part of the interior, if you correctly beat it.

Is it worth it: all the pros and cons

With all the great opportunities that come from combining a balcony and a room, many experts in the construction and redevelopment of premises recommend thinking carefully before taking action in this direction. It is necessary to soberly assess all the upcoming difficulties and costs and compare them with the result obtained. Will it be beneficial? Is it really necessary to connect the open space of the balcony with the apartment? After all, initially the balcony and loggias were conceived precisely as an open space.

Young families rarely have problems with a lack of living space. But, as the family grows, when there is not enough money to buy a new, larger apartment, the head of the family begins to think about how to expand the living space using the available space in the apartment. Usually, the first thing that comes to mind is to insulate the balcony under the room, thereby pushing the boundaries of the living space, and win additional square meters of living space.

Of course, when it comes to insulation and spatial unification, the rooms do not mean balconies - remote structures that do not have major brick or panel walls limiting them, but loggias - usually open on one side - along the facade of the building.

Legal aspects of the problem

The desire to expand the boundaries of living space at any cost runs into almost insurmountable legal barriers, which are contained in the norms of housing and house-building legislation, as well as in sanitary and fire rules that prevent such a reorganization.

This is due to a number of reasons why the BTI and other authorities with which you will have to coordinate the expansion of the room by attaching a balcony or loggia do not give permission for such work.

In houses of the old layout, the outer walls of the building are load-bearing structures. Therefore, their dismantling is prohibited.

Another thing is if you live in a modern, newly built house, in which the supporting structure is a self-leveling reinforced concrete frame, and the outer walls and inner partitions are made of lightweight building materials that can be dismantled without compromising the technical condition and strength of the building.

The best option is an apartment, in which the exit to the balcony or loggia is made in the form of a full-wall panoramic window.

In this case, obtaining permission to expand the room by adding a balcony is much easier.

In any case, if you do not plan, in the foreseeable future, to sell the apartment - do not start turning the balcony into part of the room without obtaining proper permission. Unauthorized connection entails substantial fines and the obligation to restore the structure to its original form.

Where to begin?

If you are still lucky enough to get permission to work on combining the loggia and the room into a single whole, you need to start with the loggia. If an outer wall is to be dismantled, make sure to remove it completely. In some cases, it can be left, having dismantled only the windows and the door frame, and the wall can be included as an element of the interior of the room, which will visually divide the room into zones of different functionality.

After dismantling the wall or only windows and doors, it is necessary to level the floor on the balcony or loggia. That is, bring it to the same level with the floor of the room. This is ensured by laying a layer of insulation that will protect the floor from freezing in winter. It is quite easy to do this job. A layer of waterproofing is laid on the leveled cement base of the balcony slab, on top of which foam boards of the required thickness are laid out. The joints are glued with foil tape, and the material itself is fixed to the plate with dowels - "fungi" that will not allow the floor to "play" underfoot. A layer of foil foam or isolon is glued on top of the foam plastic with a metallized surface upwards, and a “warm floor” heating element cable or a heat-heating polymer film with a carbon heating element is laid along it.

In the first case, the “warm floor” system will have to be filled with a lightweight concrete screed (do not forget to lay out a damper tape around the perimeter of the balcony before pouring the screed), and when using a polymer heating film, you can directly lay any floor covering on it: boards, parquet, linoleum, laminate, carpet.

After installing the floor insulation, it is necessary to install (if they are not available) plastic windows with triple glazing and a PVC profile thickness of at least 70 mm.

Ceiling insulation

After installing plastic windows, it is necessary to deal with the insulation of the ceiling. It is carried out similarly to floor insulation.

The most convenient to use are foam boards with a thickness of 30-50 mm. Due to the "quarters" at the edges of the slab, the joined slabs do not require additional thermal insulation of the gaps.

Installation of penoplex can be carried out either directly on the balcony ceiling slab with waterproof glue (for example, “liquid nails”, or on a crate made of a wooden block. The second method of insulation is preferable, since it creates additional air space between the insulation layer and the slab, and also promotes ventilation of the space and prevents condensation.

A layer of vapor barrier film is stretched over the crate, fixed to the slab with dowels or self-tapping screws, and after that, on the “fungus” dowels, they are fixed to the crate of the foam slab. On top of it, be sure to glue a layer of penofol with foil outward. On the ceiling of the balcony, you can also use a heat-heating film.

The final step is the installation of drywall or plastic panels.

Wall insulation

Insulation is required, both the outer wall of the balcony (loggia), and the side walls, made of brick or reinforced concrete slabs.

The procedure is the same as for the insulation of the ceiling and floor, with the only difference being that it is advisable to use thicker foam plastic up to 100 mm on the walls. Penoplex on the walls can also be covered with plasterboard, but it can also be plastered, having previously pasted over the foam boards with a fiberglass reinforcing film.

After carrying out the whole complex of works, they proceed to the final finishing - starting from the ceiling, go to the walls and complete the set of works on the insulation of the loggia combined with the room, laying the flooring.

Conclusion

If you managed to completely dismantle the outer wall separating the room and the loggia, then when combining these two rooms, it is advisable to keep the same design of the main room on the “incremented” space of the balcony. In the case of leaving the outer wall (part of it), the design of the balcony turned into part of the room may differ from the design of the room, this will emphasize its functionality as a place for relaxation or a dining area. In no case should you use the balcony combined with the room as a sleeping room. Not a single insulation will give a 100% guarantee that in severe frosts the attached room will not freeze through, despite free air circulation and heating elements built into the floor and ceiling.

Attaching a loggia as an additional room or expanding an existing room by fully including a loggia in its area is, of course, not the best option for solving housing problems. Engage in such large-scale, time-consuming work to obtain permission and no less time and effort for insulation work should be done only in extreme cases.

It should always be remembered that the glazing area of ​​​​the loggia is much larger than the area of ​​\u200b\u200b"standard" apartment windows. And through the glazing, about 70% of the heat in the apartment is lost in the winter.

Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that your costs for electricity spent on heating the attached premises during the cold season will increase significantly.

In no case is it recommended to connect a balcony as a living space to residents of the northern regions.