Surely not everyone knows what the difference is between a balcony and a loggia. A balcony is a structure that extends beyond the wall and is usually located on the front of a building. It has three outward-facing sides and a guardrail. The loggia has one open side, and the other three are closed and are the details of the room.
The square of an apartment with a balcony is multiplied by a factor of 0.3 and added to the total square of the apartment. In the case of a loggia, this coefficient is already 0.5. It is necessary to take into account this important point, especially now, when the price per square meter of an apartment is growing every year.
The balcony is more difficult to improve in many respects, this applies to glazing, thermal insulation and decoration. Therefore, finishing the loggia with your own hands will require less effort from the apartment owners.
Finishing
Why should we transform the loggia? During the day we look or enter this room more than once and observe a dull and neglected view there - not a very pleasant experience. Another thing is a renovated, finished loggia that fits into the overall design of the apartment or adjoining room. There can be a greenhouse corner, a place of solitude for a coffee lover, for a schoolchild with a book, for a mother with a fashion magazine in her hands. The head of the family will also drop in to enjoy the family idyll.
See below for more details.
To decorate the loggia inside, you need to prepare both financially and theoretically, and master at least a minimum of knowledge before starting work. When interior wall decoration, several parameters must be taken into account:
- what we want in the end result
- will it be insulated or will it stay cold
- financial costs (sometimes it comes first)
If you have correctly identified the future design and selected high-quality and preferably inexpensive material, then after finishing the loggia will become a welcome and permanent place for family members and guests.
Materials (edit)
Lining is the most popular material for interior work. This is a board made of wood of various species with a thorn-groove profile, 1.5 cm thick, 9 cm wide. Other sizes and types of lining can be made to order (eurolining, block-house under a log). The lining has good working qualities and appearance. Environmentally friendly material with low thermal conductivity is well suited for many types of work and finishes.
But it should be noted also disadvantages:
- it is obligatory to apply protective compounds
- you can work only with glazed balconies, moisture and temperature changes harm the material
- may burn out in the sun
- not cheap
There is also a lining made of plastic - siding. It successfully replaces wood in both interior and exterior decoration. Siding can be of different colors and shades, the decoration with its use does not depend on the glazing of the loggia, it does not fade in the sun. Its cost is lower than a wooden lining.
PVC panels
Finishing work with these panels is as easy as with siding. Wide (25-30 cm) units cover the working area faster. They are durable, resistant to external influences, therefore they are suitable for both warm and cold loggias. Colors and shades are different, the cost is low, suitable for any option.
MDF panels
These are boards made of compressed wood fibers, covered with a PVC film in the color of wood. They are durable, good heat and sound insulators, aesthetically pleasing, easy to install and inexpensive. But they have low mechanical strength, instability to moisture. The loggia should be glazed and insulated.
Drywall
The use of drywall significantly speeds up all work due to the large size of the sheets. If the loggia is glazed and insulated, then this material will help to quickly and efficiently finish the premises. Finishing sheets may require painting, wallpapering, decorative plaster. Usually they use moisture-resistant drywall. The thickness of the gypsum board sheets is 9.5 mm or 12 mm.
Decorative plaster
Decorating with its use realizes interesting ideas, gives unusually bright effects.
Three different decorative plasters can be used to achieve the desired effect:
- Structural
- Textured
- Venetian
All of them are sold ready-made, but if you wish, you can prepare the compositions yourself. Let's dwell on the "Venetian" transparent plaster. This is a mixture with marble flour, a seemingly transparent viscous mass in containers of 7-25 kg. It is applied on perfectly flat surfaces in several layers, can be tinted in any color. The application technology is not complicated, but quite voluminous, it allows you to get the effect of a marble coating of a wide variety of surfaces and shades. Such plaster is waterproof, environmentally friendly, odorless, wear-resistant, can dry quickly.
If the material and general design is selected, then work can begin. We will assume that the glazing has already been done, but it is desirable that the glass and double-glazed windows be removed from the window frames in order to avoid any trouble. Finishing work on the floor is carried out after the completion of work on the ceiling and walls.
So, we have window frames, a frame for hanging intermediate or finishing materials. We start directly finishing.
Step-by-step instruction
The clapboarding work is not difficult, but it requires attention and patience.
We determine the required amount of material in square meters. We multiply the height of each section by the width, add up and increase the resulting area by 15%. We choose conifers with a moisture content not higher than 12%. We also need slats, corners, baseboards, waterproofing film, sealant and fasteners. Tools: hacksaw, drill, hammers, screwdrivers, including electric ones, and levels, simple or laser.
If necessary, cover the wall with a waterproofing film and make a crate of wood or metal profiles. Maintaining a distance of about 50 cm between the slats, we fix them to the wall. Fill the gaps with insulation.
We start the planking from the corner, align the first board to the level and fasten it with a groove to the corner. We insert the cleaimer and fasten it to the crate. The next board should connect tightly with the ridge of the first one with a groove and secured with a clasp nailed to the crate. The position of each board is controlled by the level. It is very convenient to have a laser level that allows you to quickly control the position of the board.
At the end of the fastening of all the boards, fill the gaps with sealant, close the corner joints with corners. Then we treat it with a protective solution such as "Autotex", which not only protects against rotting and bugs, but gives the surface of the sheathing an aesthetic look.
PVC paneling
This work does not require any special training. The walls do not need to be leveled, the assembly itself is quite quick. Disassembly will not be difficult if necessary.
We measure the length, width. We determine the required amount of material and increase it by 15% when ordering. We buy:
- PVC wall panels
- mounting rails
- connecting elements and fasteners
- drill, screwdrivers (better electric wrench), saw, self-tapping screws
We attach the slats to the wall at intervals of 50 cm. Cut off the excess with a saw. We try on, check the verticality and fix the corner profile with clips on the rail. The panel is fixed to the corner profile, laser controlled and secured with clips. All of the following panels are attached in the same way.
Places at the openings are closed with plastic corners. It is important to know that we have considered the cases of fastening without insulating the loggia. If there is insulation, the slats are attached over the thermal protection. Usually the fence of the loggia is part of the wall with a window opening and there is no need for external decoration. In the case of fences in the form of a metal fence, work is carried out to close the fence from the outside with impenetrable shields and PVC panels. These works require special safety measures.
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