How to glaze and insulate a balcony? This question is asked by many apartment owners. The answer to this question largely depends on the result that the owner would like to receive. After all, warming, as well as glazing a balcony, can be done using different technologies and using different materials.
Many factors can affect heat loss that need to be taken into account:
- The part of the world that opens onto the balcony.
- The material from which the walls of the house are made.
- The intensity of heating in the house.
Before proceeding with the decoration of the balcony, it is necessary to glaze the balcony with high quality and only then proceed with the complex of works on insulation. Currently, for the glazing of balconies, double-glazed windows with a thickness of 3.2 cm or more are widely used. Before glazing the balcony, it is also necessary to purchase additional expansion type profiles that are mounted in the upper and side parts. These profiles are subsequently installed thermal insulation and the outer finishing layer.
Although the methods of glazing and insulation are different, the preliminary work is still carried out almost according to the same scheme. Before glazing and warming the balcony, the parapet is usually laid, as well as the erection of wall side structures. Typically, foam blocks or ceramic brick materials are used for these purposes.
Many people think that for warming it is enough to glaze the balcony with high quality , but this is not so. A balcony or loggia, the insulation of which was not carried out properly, will not be cold only in the summer. Glazing the balcony allows you to increase the temperature inside it by just a couple of degrees. To make it truly warm, it is necessary to properly insulate it. The technology of balcony insulation is impossible without the use of modern extruded and roll insulators. Such materials include isolon, penofol, penpolex and some other heat insulators. Despite its small thickness, such materials perfectly protect the interior from the penetration of cold.
I must say, the various technologies for warming the balcony are largely similar to each other. Before starting work on thermal insulation, it is necessary to carefully check all available mounting seams and process them with a special foam. Another option involves sealing joints with facade sealant.
How to glaze and insulate a balcony so that it is truly cozy and warm? A professional scheme for effective insulation implies the use of extruded foam in the process. It is penoplex that is usually the first layer in a thermal insulation system. This material is mounted directly to the wall structure with special plastic fasteners. Next is the processing of polyurethane foam adjoining sections and seams. A layer of penofol is laid on top of the foam. This material must be laid with a foil layer inside. Penofol sheets need to be laid end-to-end, and the seams should be sealed with special adhesive tape. The result is a quality insulation that minimizes heat leakage. How to glaze and insulate a balcony with other modern materials can be found in the specialized literature.
It is also important to properly insulate the floor, otherwise the balcony, despite the thermal insulation of the walls, will remain cold. Only after all the insulation and glazing works are completed can we start decorating the balcony with clapboard or plastic panels.