The further we move away from the Soviet past, the more we begin to look like Europe. This applies to clothing, furniture, and repairs. The balconies were not ignored either. Today, they cease to be storage rooms, turning after renovation into an extension of a room or a small terrace. This is achieved thanks to the modern glazing of balconies and loggias, especially its French variety, which has recently become fashionable.
7 pictures
What it is?
In the classical sense, a French balcony is a floor-to-ceiling window (window-door), outside decorated with a wrought-iron grill. A platform on such structures, if it exists, is no more than 40-50 cm, just to put a foot. The French balcony looks very attractive, but there is a minimum of functionality: place flowers in pots or, standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee, admire the surroundings.
But the Russian soul rarely accepts small forms, and our interpretation of the French window enters into Russian reality.
Initially, French windows (window-doors) were installed in private houses and cottages for free access to the garden or terrace. Now such windows often appear in apartments, where they are placed instead of a balcony block, since they fit perfectly into the style of a wide variety of rooms, expand the space and let in much more light.
But recently, more and more French-style balconies can be seen on the facades of modern multi-storey buildings and even Khrushchev buildings. The Russian balcony with French glazing is a window block made of aluminum or metal-plastic structures up to the floor, installed in place of the dismantled fences. This transforms an ordinary balcony or loggia beyond recognition.
8 pictures
Thanks to French glazing, the light in the room becomes more, the space visually increases and a wonderful view of the surroundings opens up.
By decorating the balcony in this way, you can give free rein to imagination and come up with your own version of glazing.
These can be windows-doors (swing or sliding), structures made of double-glazed windows of different sizes or their alternation. And if desired, the lower part, the one where the balcony railing was, can be made in different variations:
- Leave clear glass;
- Make frosted glazing;
- Tinted glass;
- Put on stained glass;
- Install plastic sandwich panels.
To facilitate the maintenance of a large area of glazed surface, transoms can be installed in the lower part, and in the upper part, swing windows can be alternated with blind frames.
Since French glazing provides not only a panoramic view from your balcony, but also reveals its interior decoration to passers-by, it is possible to install any option of blinds you like.
When the blinds are lowered, the glass does not get dirty, it gets less dust and hides the owners from prying eyes.
French balcony glazing is becoming more and more popular not only due to its excellent aesthetic qualities, since it looks great on any facade, but also due to its very significant advantages.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of a balcony with a French type of glazing include:
- Increase in the amount of natural light, since light enters the room through the panoramic windows all day.
- Expansion of the closed area of the room due to the dismantled parapet and the lack of interior decoration.
- There is no need for external finishing, because the French glazing itself will become a decoration of the house.
- Increased viewing angle due to panoramic glazing. The dream of how pleasant it is in the morning or in the evening to go out onto the balcony with a cup of your favorite drink and admire the view is coming true.
- Heat and sound insulation using quality materials. This is an important quality in a big city environment. You can arrange an additional room and use it all year round.
- Durability and safety. Glass and aluminum profiles do not burn. To increase safety, an additional forged fence is installed outside. It also serves as a decoration for the French balcony.
- A wide range of glazing combinations to cater to the tastes and desires of the home owner and designer. And choose the most comfortable window frames to use.
- Installation work is short-lived and no welding of structures is needed.
The balcony of the French type of glazing is not devoid of some unpleasant sides:
- Installation of solid glazing in a house with small children is not recommended. Although it is possible to install special locks (the so-called child protection) on the frames and an additional forged fence outside.
- Glass will not hide everything that happens on the balcony from prying eyes. Cleaning will have to be done more often. Frosted glass and blinds can do the trick though.
- A very big disadvantage of glass is that it gets dirty quickly, and you can't hide fingerprints, dust, and various stains on it. Therefore, the French balcony requires constant maintenance.
- Quite a high cost of installation, especially in the presence of additional components in addition to the basic set (laminated PVC profiles, tint coating, colored or stained glass, etc.).
- Since the dimensions of the glazing are large, overheating in hot weather and strong cooling in winter cannot be avoided. You should take care of the possibility of ventilation and the system of underfloor heating.
- The large mass of the structure, which does not allow the installation of this type of glazing on weak balcony slabs, especially in old houses.
Features and subtleties
The main difference between balconies with French glazing is the absence of the usual parapet-fence (metal, brick or concrete) and its replacement with double-glazed windows. They are installed directly on the inside of the balcony platform, retreating inward by a few centimeters, or along its very edge, if expansion and reinforcement of the balcony slab is provided. This is done around the entire perimeter of the balcony and in its entire height.
The most common types of French glazing are:
Full frame (frameless). This type of glazing is especially suitable where you want to create maximum visibility, while maintaining the visual effect of the absence of glass. Anyone can handle washing such glasses, since they are folded like book sheets. This makes it possible to fold all the panes, completely opening the room, for example, for ventilation. This type of glazing seems to be very light and elegant. It looks very elegant from the facade
Group (sectional). Choosing a sectional type of glazing, you can choose the location of the window frames and their size to your taste. Various options are possible: in the middle - doors, along the edges - two-section windows, alternation of swing frames with blind ones, from above - opening windows, from below - blind ones. Frames can be swinging open, sliding or reclining. There is a place to roam the imagination of the customer
Which one to choose: warm or cold?
A balcony with French glazing can be either warm or cold, depending on its purpose.
For cold glazing, an aluminum profile is used, which is able to protect the balcony from bad weather and dirt. It will look chic, but it will be cold in winter. Such glazing is cheaper, since you do not have to spend money on insulation and heating devices.
A cold balcony is suitable for homeowners in the southern regions of the country, for old houses with weak load-bearing balcony slabs, or for houses where it does not adjoin the living space.
For a warm balcony, PVC profiles are used. The installation of such structures is more difficult; it is required to calculate the ability of the supporting plate to hold a heavy structure.
If you plan to turn the balcony into an additional room: an office, a gym, a recreation area, you need to insulate the floors and the front wall of the house.
Often, warm French glazing involves the removal of the structure at a certain distance, so as not to lose precious centimeters of the balcony area.
Plastic windows retain heat much better and protect against unnecessary noise.
If the bearing support allows, it is recommended to install multi-chamber double-glazed windows with a thickness of at least 7 cm, which will save on heating. An option with single-chamber double-glazed windows is possible, then you need to make sure that there is a special film covering the glass to retain heat.
Double-glazed fittings require a particularly careful selection; their service life largely depends on its quality. Rollers for sliding windows or doors must be made of material that can withstand heavy loads and negative environmental influences. It is preferable to choose a seal for frames from transparent polymeric materials, since its service life is longer.
Some owners of French balconies specifically install heating devices (radiators, convectors). This will provide additional protection against cold and condensation on the glass.
The installation of French glazing should only be trusted by professionals. It is clear that only a qualified specialist is able to correctly calculate the wind load on the structure. He will also determine whether it is necessary to strengthen the bearing plate, take measurements, advise fittings, a method of opening windows. Craftsmen from trusted firms also offer high-quality finishes, they can make built-in lockers on the balcony and give practical advice to the owners regarding the possibility of realizing all their wishes.
Special attention to glasses
And in this matter, customers of French glazing have a choice. Taking into account the recommendations of experts and feedback from happy owners of balconies with panoramic glazing, you can list some important factors regarding the glass itself:
- It is necessary to choose glass of special strength (anti-vandal, shockproof), at least 6 mm thick.
- In order not to devote the whole district to some aspects of your life and not to feel like an aquarium fish on your own balcony, you should prefer frosted, stained glass or mirrored glass, at least in the lower part of the structure.
- Tinted glass can kill two birds with one stone: protect the room from overheating and bright sunlight, and the owners from prying eyes.
In addition, curtains and blinds can perfectly fit into the interior of the French balcony, performing not only a protective function, but also an aesthetic one.
Experience shows that a balcony with French glazing can be installed in almost any home. It will not spoil either the exterior of the building or its interior decoration. And it will become an adornment of any home, its highlight, however, requiring constant care.
10 pictures