Glazing of the balcony allows you to expand the useful area of the apartment. This solution makes it possible to equip an additional small room, which in the future can be equipped with an office, a nursery or even a bedroom. Balconies can be glazed in a variety of ways. Most often, of course, plastic structures are used for this purpose. But sometimes apartment owners still prefer aluminum glazed loggias. Product reviews with such profiles have earned good.
Types of Aluminum Glazing
If desired, you can mount various types of structures on the balcony or loggia:
The most popular type of aluminum glazing is cold. But sometimes when using structures of this type, balconies can also be additionally insulated.
Frameless aluminum glazing on the loggia allows you to make its interior space as bright as possible. Outside, such balconies look very stylish and modern. Profiles in such designs have a small width. Therefore, from the side of the street they are almost invisible.
However, in most cases, apartment owners still prefer to mount frame structures on the loggias. Such glazing also looks quite attractive and at the same time is easier to install. Therefore, such products are much cheaper.
Cold glazing is usually equipped when they just want to protect the interior of the balcony from rain and wind. The owners of apartments insulate the loggias with the help of aluminum structures in those cases if it is planned to equip the living room here.
Advantages
The unconditional advantages of aluminum structures of any type include, first of all, the ability to save maximum free space on the balcony. The shutters of such products in the vast majority of cases are sliding.
Another advantage of aluminum glazing is light weight. You can install such profiles even on the loggias of fairly old houses with weak parapets. For example, aluminum glazing of a balcony in Khrushchev can be quite durable. Of course, the unconditional advantage of such structures can be considered their low cost. The price of aluminum double-glazed windows in the market is lower than for plastic and wooden. Also, the advantages of such products include:
long term of operation;
environmental safety.
The aluminum glazing on the loggia can last up to 80 years. Moreover, a product of this type, of course, does not emit absolutely no harmful substances into the air.
Manufacturers supply the market today with double-glazed windows with aluminum profiles of various colors. So that consumers have the opportunity to purchase a design that is in perfect harmony with the facade and interior of the balcony.
disadvantages
The main disadvantage of double-glazed windows can be considered a high degree of thermal conductivity. In this regard, aluminum is certainly inferior to plastic, and even more so to wood. Also, the disadvantages of such glazing, some apartment owners attribute a certain difficulty in care. This is especially true for frameless structures, in which glass covers almost the entire area.
The shutters at such windows, as already mentioned, are usually sliding. That is, they do not open inside the balcony. And therefore, caring for such products can be somewhat more difficult than for plastic and wooden.
Pros and cons of frameless designs
The main advantage of these innovative solutions is primarily the attractive appearance of the balcony. Those apartment owners who want to make an extra room unusual should use frameless aluminum glazing. Photos of loggias with such profiles can be seen below. As you can see, the peculiar designs look really very stylish and modern.
Frameless glazing also allows you to save maximum space inside the loggia. Relate to the advantages of such structures and the fact that their assembly uses hardened material. It is almost impossible to accidentally break glass. To do this, beat him with almost a hammer.
And even if the glass nevertheless breaks for some reason, it will be impossible to cut it. With a strong impact, the hardened material simply crumbles into small squares. There are no sharp protruding fragments in the openings.
The disadvantages of frameless glazing are as follows:
Among other things, frameless glazing, unfortunately, does not provide complete tightness on the balcony. That is, such designs worse than usual delay noise from the street. In addition, it will not work to equip a warm balcony when using this type of glazing.
Loggia aluminum frame glazing: pros and cons
Double-glazed windows with such profiles on the balconies, as already mentioned, are installed most often. The advantages of structures of this type, in addition to ease of installation, include:
In terms of tightness, aluminum installations are also slightly inferior to plastic and wooden. However, they protect the interior of the balcony from noise and cold, they are still better than frameless.
Cold balcony
Since aluminum structures are cheaper on the market than plastic and wooden, apartment owners can use them to save on glazing and at the same time make the balcony beautiful and solid. On such a loggia it will be possible to dry the laundry and not be afraid that it will fly away, it will be wet with rain or dusty. If necessary, the tenant will always be able to open the flaps that are easily accessible for opening and enjoy fresh air and direct contact with the outside world.
The main disadvantage of cold aluminum glazing of loggias is that in this case the latter cannot be used in winter. At this time of the year you can only store any things on the balcony.
Warm glazing: advantages and disadvantages
In order to make a balcony a fully residential area, the owners most often equip with plastic or wooden installations. However, sometimes loggias with aluminum profiles can also be insulated. In this case, in order to avoid heat leakage, special-purpose double-glazed windows are usually purchased.
Aluminum profiles in such constructions are not yet warmed up. Such elements of their three layers consist:
Insulated profiles in the factory can be reinforced with fiberglass, polyamide, foam materials. The advantage of aluminum glazing for a loggia of this variety is primarily a low level of thermal conductivity.
In terms of cost, the construction of this type of conventional cold, of course, inferior. The warm aluminum glazing of the loggia will cost its owners more than the standard.
The main stages of glazing
In most cases, the installation of the purchased aluminum double-glazed windows, warm or cold, the apartment owners entrust to specialists. Sometimes such work can be done with your own hands. In any case, when installing such products, all the required technologies must be strictly observed. The assembled structure in the end should not only effectively fulfill its functions of protecting the interior of the balcony from adverse environmental factors, but also be absolutely safe for the owners of the apartment and people passing by the house. All fasteners in such structures should be as reliable as possible.
Installation of aluminum glazing on the loggia is usually carried out according to the following technology:
check for strength and, if necessary, strengthen the parapet;
set profiles;
Mount the visor (on the upper floors).
At the final stage, double-glazed windows are installed. It is also important to adjust all the fittings included in the kit and mount it correctly. Thus produce cold aluminum glazing of loggias.
Warming
In the event that the balcony is supposed to be insulated, including from the cold, additionally:
Warming of the loggia with aluminum glazing also requires careful insulation of the floor - base plates.
Features of the installation of aluminum double-glazed windows
The top end of concrete parapets are usually leveled using boards before mounting profiles. At the same time, such material is fixed most often by means of long self-tapping screws. The rules for installing aluminum double-glazed windows are usually followed by the following:
anchor plates, through which the profiles will be connected to the ceiling of the loggia, are mounted in increments of a maximum of 40 cm;
before fastening the profiles to the board aligning the end of the parapet, the window sill and ebb are mounted;
the joints between the visor and the frame, the profile and the ebb, after installing the windows must be treated with sealant and be absolutely impermeable.
After inserting the sliding shutters into the base, the master must definitely check how easily they open and close. Of course, when installing double-glazed windows on the balcony, the building level must be used. It is necessary that all elements in such a design be strictly vertical and horizontal. Otherwise, soon the apartment owners will have problems associated with poor sealing of the balcony, as well as opening and closing the wings.
Independent warming
Quite often, the owners of the premises entrust the installation of double-glazed windows to specialists. It is actually quite difficult to independently carry out such a procedure correctly. But at the same time, at the next stage, real estate owners warm their loggias with aluminum glazing with their own hands. Insulation of the parapet, ceiling and floor of the balcony is a relatively simple matter. Such work usually does not take too much time and effort.
How to care
Of course, windows with aluminum profiles on the loggia will have to be washed periodically in the future. It is also very important to lubricate the leaflet mechanism of such structures in time, for example, with machine oil. If the apartment owners neglect such care of the rollers, they will rust very quickly and the windows will stop opening.
The profiles themselves of such structures need to be cleaned with a damp cloth from time to time. Mosquito nets are also recommended to be purchased complete with the double-glazed windows themselves.
Each landlord is interested in the durability of the product he buys. Designs with aluminum profiles are such, they are reliable and original.