Any owner of a private house in the city or country cottage sooner or later is faced with the desire to build a veranda or update the old one. But how to do that? How to plan, calculate, choose high-quality materials for construction and decoration? And in general, is it possible to do this yourself or do you need to call for help from specialists? The answers to these and many other questions are later in our article today.
What is a porch
The word "veranda" has Bengal roots, and such a building is called a completed or built-in building, which can be either glazed or open. In our climate, they mainly attach it in the private sector, but in the southern latitudes they attach it to apartment premises even in high-rise buildings.
Such a room usually does not need heating. Ventilation is through open window sashes. Sometimes includes equipped sun protection devices.
Veranda planning
When the house has not yet been built, but only in plans, it is advisable to immediately choose a project of a finished building with a veranda. This design will be a single whole, because the foundation, roof and even some walls will be common. Such a design will look harmonious and beautiful. But often the construction of a house does not include a veranda, or it is, but of a small size. In this case, you can always finish building or increasing the premises of the veranda without harming the structure of the house itself.
Any construction begins with the project. When planning the completion of the veranda, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the architecture of the already built house and the plan of the land adjacent to it. The presence of a veranda will significantly insulate a part of an already standing house, for this reason it will be appropriate to place it from the north. It is also important to consider that when using the veranda as a relaxation room or for playing sports, or maybe a summer kitchen, the windows of such an extension should go out to your courtyard, and not to your neighbors.
When the extension is planned to be built at the entrance, it will be a spacious summer lounge, its use as a rest room is very inappropriate.
So, to develop a veranda project you will need:
- Determine which part of the house it will be combined with.
- Type of veranda (whether it will be open or closed).
- The location of the entrance.
- Choosing the right material for construction.
- Calculation of the amount of selected materials and cash.
Material selection
If the plans are for an extension of a large size, then to avoid the greenhouse effect in the hot season, you need to plan a ventilation system (for example, windows that open). An interesting idea is also to install windows in which you can remove the frames - so, in the summer season, a closed veranda can always turn into an open terrace. It is very convenient - say the owners.
To preserve heat in the cold period of time , the veranda is double glazed. The material for the walls is chosen with good density, collecting close to it to avoid troubles such as gaps and crevices.
Experts advise to create the same architectural ensemble of the house and porch to use the same materials on the building envelopes that were used to erect the walls of the house. But this is only advice, and not an obligatory rule, that is, it is not necessary to build a veranda of brick to the house of brick. The main thing is that the extension supports the general style of the house, and the materials used are combined and correctly combined.
Natural wood blends flawlessly with almost any material that makes up the house. It is also possible to create the entire construction of the annex from glass and plastic elements, and to sheathe the walls of the house with siding. This is an excellent finishing material that gives a flawless look to any room.
As an entrance, glass doors with a sliding system will fit perfectly and practically.
Also common is the method of creating a metal frame, which is lined with the following materials for decorating the veranda from the outside:
- Brick.
- A natural stone.
- Timber.
- Board.
- Polycarbonate sheets.
Construction Features
The side walls of the annexe join the house, but remain independent. It is strictly impossible to tie a new building to the house. All lines of the joint are temporarily closed only with mounting foam, and the grounding is performed more thoroughly after the completion of the shrinkage of the entire veranda.
The foundation for the walls should be columnar or tape. The roof should not be too steep. If it is planned to build a closed veranda, then under the roofing sheets it is necessary to lay the material for thermal insulation.
The floors are slightly sloped. The slope should be no more than two centimeters per meter of expansion towards the site.
If the extension is planned to be used only in the warm season, thin walls can be made. If you need a winter veranda, then the walls, respectively, should be thick. Although in both cases it will be necessary to waterproof both the walls and the foundation. This stage cannot be excluded.
Styling the veranda from the inside
The choice of the style of the interior decoration of the veranda directly depends on the style sustained in the design of the whole house. It is also worth considering the purpose of the room - whether it is a place for eating, or for rest and relaxation. The verandas in a rural style look very original (the use of country, Provence or primordially Russian style) with a unique combination of comfort and simplicity. If you want to create something unusual, it is recommended eco-style, Japanese or Roman version (fountains, flowerpots and floors made of terracotta tiles).
Examples of different styles and corresponding photos of the finishes of the veranda are available in our article.
The choice of materials for interior decoration
In the interior of the veranda, the use of natural materials or materials having a similar appearance is appropriate. As an economical option for walls in the decoration of the veranda in the country, use:
- Panels made of plastic.
- MDF panels.
- Cement plaster.
Wall decoration of the veranda can be done with brick or stone, referring to the loft style. Or a variant with a tree is possible. It always looks very organic.
Finishing the veranda in a private house on the floor should be wear-resistant and unpretentious. Porcelain stoneware is perfect for this purpose.
For the veranda, panoramic windows are the traditional way of brightening and decorating. Since the room is located on the border of the house and the plot with the garden, a natural palette of colors is chosen to finish the veranda in the private house. Shades of natural green, gray, brown and terracotta look wonderful. It is customary to combine them with brighter and more striking accents. A photo of the decoration of the veranda in a private house in natural shades in this article is attached.
Clapboard trim
The wood in the decoration of the walls in the interior of both the house itself and the attached structures is a classic. Finishing the veranda inside the wooden clapboard looks good, and also it does not have high demands on the preparation of the walls and is easy to mount.
Mount the lining on a crate made of wooden bars (size 0.4 x 0.4 centimeters) using special clamps-fasteners. Such kleimers make a reliable grip of the panel in place of the groove and fix it with firm fixation. Finishing parts are placed in a vertical, horizontal or even angular position. In the photo of the decoration of the veranda of the house with a tree, this option looks great. Such a room looks very attractive.
Plastic
The most common and economical option for finishing a veranda in a private house is plastic. It is perfect for a covered veranda. After all, this is a material that is sensitive to temperature extremes, so its external use can be very short.
In comparison with wood materials, plastic is practically not afraid of moisture. In addition, today there is a huge variety of plastic panels that differ not only in color, but also in texture.
Mounting the plastic trim of the veranda is even simpler and much faster than a wooden lining, due to the significantly wider width of the panel itself.
Plastic parts are attached to the crate, pre-attached to the wall. This is done by a construction stapler, and the staples are driven into the place of a special wide shelf located on the edge of the product. Further plastic finishing after installation is not required. The only thing you may need is to simply wipe the plastic with a damp cloth from dirt and dust.
How can it look like? A photo of the finish inside the veranda with plastic material is presented. This option is suitable for many.
MDF
Such decoration inside the veranda is also quite common. The cladding process is fast due to the good width of each panel. It is mounted on a wooden crate with the same clamps as are used in the installation of wood lining.
There are a huge number of colors that create the illusion of natural wood, stone or even leather. Therefore, a spectacular appearance is a huge plus for MDF panels. The photo of the decoration of the veranda with MDF panels shows how original the walls can look.
However, such material also has disadvantages. The most significant among others is a very low moisture resistance threshold. For this reason, it is not recommended in the decoration of those verandas that are open. If you want to take a chance and install these panels in an open veranda, then the walls additionally need to be varnished (for reliability, you can also varnish the reverse side of the panel too). Only in this way will the room serve for a long time and not lose its attractive appearance.
Cement materials
If in the construction of the annex building materials containing cement were used (it can be blocks or bricks), then it is recommended to carry out the interior decoration of the veranda with such details and mixtures that are close in composition.
It is no secret that cement finishing material is not cheap, but if you wish, you can easily make the same artificial stone yourself at home. And if you add aniline dye, then the interior of the entire finished room will look really unique.
The use of plaster with a gypsum base and gypsum artificial stone is quite suitable for finishing the veranda inside in a private house, only on condition that the room is closed.
Polycarbonate
It has already been noted above that polycarbonate (artificial transparent material) is increasingly being used for walling. It allows you to create a closed room, but at the same time contact with the environment will be visualized.
There are only two main types of such plastic. It can be cellular and monolithic. The first option has a minimum weight, high light transmission, long service life. It can be used as a roof of a veranda.
The monolithic look is similar in its properties to real quartz glass, but has better strength. Such polycarbonate is successfully used in the frames of vertical structures of windows, doors, transparent walls.
Production is not limited to only bleached sheets. At the moment, to achieve a soft shadow effect in the decoration of the veranda of the house, polycarbonate is used in the following palette of shades:
- Greenery.
- Blue.
- Redness.
- Yellowness.
The whole design looks bright and unique both inside and out, if you combine several shades of color at once.
To finish the walls with polycarbonate, you need a minimum of tools: any construction knife and screwdriver.
Steps for installing polycarbonate on the walls:
- All parts of wooden structures are carefully coated with impregnation several times. This is necessary to protect the tree from rot, various microorganisms and other lesions. This is especially true if the veranda is fully or partially open, which means that it is periodically exposed to harsh climatic conditions.
- Before starting installation work, polycarbonate sheets are cut using a construction knife to achieve the desired parameters. If it is planned to partially create a fence, then the sheets are laid parallel to the floor covering. If, according to the plan, the decoration is continuous, they are laid perpendicular to the floor, mounting each new sheet separately.
- Polycarbonate is fastened with special screws. Such screws have an enlarged head and use washers for laying with them. To avoid accidental damage to the material, it is recommended to use rubber gaskets as a supplement.
- After several seasons of using cellular polycarbonate, water begins to accumulate inside its pores. How is this dangerous? This contributes to the development of various moisture-loving microorganisms. It is because of this phenomenon that the ends acquire gray-green stains over time, which significantly spoils the appearance. To avoid this kind of trouble, the sheet ends must be closed with special insulating inserts. If this is not possible, then at least apply stationery tape in several layers.
Mounting a cellular variety of polycarbonate on the roof of the veranda is carried out similarly. In the presence of a ridge (this is the docking of two slopes) on the roof use the profile of this ridge. It can be easily purchased on the market or in a specialized sheet store. Also, at some construction sites, you can order sheets already cut to the required size, so you can avoid cutting polycarbonate with a knife yourself.
Furniture
To adhere to the chosen style in the design of the veranda, furniture must be chosen so that it matches the decoration and purpose of the room. Also, the quality of furniture should directly depend on what kind of veranda is built: open or closed, with or without heating.
Fortunately, there is no problem with the choice of furniture today, shops are rich in their variety from classic to modern, so it remains to make your choice, and thatβs all - your veranda is ready to use.
So, we found out what types of finishes of the veranda now exist.