Everyone who lives in apartments knows that every meter counts here, so residents of city high-rise buildings try to use every corner to their advantage. The balcony was no exception. Increasingly, the owners are equipping additional rooms here: greenhouses, bedrooms, lounges. Of course, when ennobling balconies, the first thing the owners think about is their insulation.
In order to make an additional room from the balcony, you need to insulate the balcony
Further, the difficult question of choosing a heater arises. The construction market offers many options for insulation. We will consider.
Is it possible to insulate the balcony with foam
In the construction of residential premises, foam is not recommended for insulation. The limitations are related to flammability. Thermal insulation itself does not support combustion, but in the event of a fire, it instantly melts. The release of puffs of acrid smoke leads to asphyxiation. There are still other downsides. However, despite this, foam has not lost its popularity.
Important! Styrofoam is sometimes called styrofoam, which is also true. It is this raw material that is used for the manufacture of insulation. When insulating the floor, the foam plates are placed under the flooring from the board
First of all, developers are attracted by the low cost. As for the fire hazard, the problem is solved by the fact that the foam on the balcony is covered with a non-combustible cladding. Plates are placed under the concrete screed, decorative plaster is stretched. In this form, the foam is practically inaccessible to fire if it appears.
If we look at it in general terms, then no one forbids the owner of the apartment to insulate any elements of the balcony with foam plates. To find the exact answer whether to give preference to this material, you need to find out its positive and negative characteristics.
Advantages of expanded polystyrene as a material for insulation
The choice of polystyrene as insulation is not accidental.
This material has a number of the following characteristics that make it a leader in its category:
- strength and durability,
- absolute environmental friendliness and safety for health,
- high rates of heat-insulating properties,
- thermal conductivity coefficient is only 0.031-0.042,
- polystyrene foam is easy to install: cut, lay,
- it practically does not lend itself to moisture, although the need to lay a waterproofing layer still remains,
- in such insulation, the possibility of the development of fungus, mold and bacteria hazardous to health is excluded,
- provides good sound insulation (the index ranges from 26 to 35 dB),
- with all this, polystyrene foam has a fairly low price in comparison with other heat-insulating materials.
Having made a choice in favor of this particular material, you can take advantage of all its advantages, and at the same time significantly save money.
Pros and cons of warming a balcony with expanded polystyrene
As a heater, polystyrene has been used for a long time. Low cost, good thermal insulation properties and ease of installation have made it popular. Giving preference to this material, the developer first of all pays attention to the positive characteristics:
- An improved analogue is extruded polystyrene foam, but it is the foam that retains its popularity due to its budgetary cost.
- Ease of installation is associated with low weight. Slabs of all sizes can be easily attached to ceilings and walls without assistance. There are no fit problems. The thermal insulation is easy to cut with a knife and just as easy to glue the pieces with adhesives.
- The extra load on the balcony slab is dangerous. Foam has only 2% solids, and everything else is air. After thermal insulation, the load will increase by several kilograms, which is completely safe for the balcony. Moreover, these kilograms will appear not from the plates, but from auxiliary finishing materials.
- A big plus is considered to be low thermal conductivity, resistance to moisture. In addition, along with the insulation, the owner of the apartment receives a soundproofed balcony.
- If a high-quality finish is equipped on top of the slabs, the thermal insulation will last for many years. It will not collapse from fungus, condensation.
Foam plates are used to insulate almost all elements of the building.
You also need to know about the cons of the material. The fire hazard is clear. Another negative factor is fragility. Plates crumble into small balls, crack when pressed. Polyfoam like to gnaw mice, although the likelihood of their appearance on the balcony is minimal. The downside is vapor tightness. The entire balcony, glued over with slabs, becomes a thermos. To avoid the formation of dampness, it is necessary to equip ventilation or carry out frequent ventilation.
Technological sequence for warming a balcony or loggia with expanded polystyrene
Polystyrene insulation of a balcony room can be done without much difficulty with your own hands. To do this, choose the installation method and the necessary tools and materials for insulation:
- fungal dowels 10/120 or 10/90;
- special glue;
- reinforcing fiberglass mesh;
- extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of 30 to 50 mm;
- polyethylene film;
- stationery knife;
- water level;
- cement mortar for leveling the floor;
- thermoacoustic tape;
- foil film for vapor barrier;
- putty;
- putty knife.
One of the options for insulation layers
Which foam is better for insulating a balcony
Externally, foam plates are similar to each other. An inexperienced person can only distinguish them by size and thickness. However, there are many other differences that affect performance.
Foam plastic differs in density, granule structure, thickness and size
Choose expanded polystyrene for insulation of the balcony from the inside in terms of density:
- from the inside, the walls are insulated with sheets with a density of 15-25 kg / m3;
- on the floor due to the increased load, polystyrene foam with a density of 35 kg / m3 is laid;
- the same slabs are suitable for the ceiling as for the wall.
Important! The walls of the balcony are effectively insulated not only from the inside, but also from the outside. For outdoor use, foam with a density of 25 kg / m3 is used.
It is impossible to choose thermal insulation only by density. There are many low-quality goods on the market now. Good polystyrene foam has a dense structure. The balls do not crumble when touched by hand. If you look at the fracture, then the granules are approximately the same size. Yellowness indicates a poor-quality product or a violation of storage conditions in the warehouse. Plates should be snow-white, have the manufacturer's marking, the same thickness over the entire plane.
The thickness of the foam for insulation of the balcony
An equally important parameter for insulation is thickness. Even an inexperienced person understands that the thicker the polystyrene foam is laid on the balcony, the warmer it will be. However, excess thickness from the inside is also unacceptable, because useful space is sneaking.
The effectiveness of insulation depends on the thickness of the expanded polystyrene
First of all, the choice in thickness depends on the climatic conditions of the region. More often than not, 5 cm is sufficient. On the inside, it is customary to use sheets 4 cm thick. If this is not enough, then the walls are additionally insulated from the outside. There are no restrictions on the parameter here. Sheets are fastened with a thickness of 5-10 cm. When there is no way to insulate from the outside, they sacrifice the internal useful space.
Preparing the loggia for insulation with expanded polystyrene
The loggia differs from the balcony in that it is closed with glazing. If the apartment has just such an option, then the insulation will be cheaper. The balcony has a floor, ceiling and fence. It is pointless to insulate it without glazing. Preparation will be associated with the fact that you first need to turn the balcony into a loggia.
However, there is another option to consider. If the loggia is in an old high-rise building, and the glazing is made of wooden frames that have rotted after many years of operation, then it is no different from a balcony. Everything will have to be dismantled and energy-saving double-glazed windows installed.
Sealing gaps is an important stage of preparation
Important! During the repair work, the whole situation is taken out from the loggia.
The next stage of preparation is the elimination of defects. If the walls or balcony slab is cracked, it needs to be repaired. Otherwise, under the foam, the base will further collapse, because the cracks form cold bridges, where condensate accumulates. It will be possible to get to the cracks only after removing all the old finish. They clean everything: flooring, wall cladding, ceiling. Bare concrete and masonry should remain if the blank walls are brick.
All cracks found are slightly widened with a trowel, completely removing dust. The concrete and brick base is treated with an antiseptic against fungus. Small cracks are putty, and deep ones are blown out with polyurethane foam. After polymerization, its excess is cut off with a knife. When all the cracks are repaired, the surface of the walls and balcony slabs is coated with a deep penetration primer. Allow to dry for a day.
The last stage of preparation is the most crucial. Before insulation, all elements of the balcony are covered with waterproofing. If you use a membrane, then when laying on the floor, its edges are bent with launching on the walls about 15 cm. Treatment with bituminous mastic is considered the best option. Waterproofing is easier and faster.
Advice! If the loggia provides electrical wiring, sockets, switches, other communications, this is all equipped during the preparatory work.
Insulation start: parapet and ceiling
The process of insulating the loggia should be started by looking for special slots near the double-glazed windows. At the joints, as a rule, a gap remains, which must be eliminated even before starting work with expanded polystyrene. These sources of cold are eliminated with the help of polyurethane foam, or, if the gaps are large enough, hard filler and foam.
When all the joints are sealed, you can start attaching the insulation to the parapet.
It is best to start from the top corner and move in a comfortable direction.... During installation, use pre-prepared dowels with a wide round head.
It is best to spread the sheets in a vertical direction. This is done so that the risk of cross-shaped joints from four sheets of polystyrene foam is minimal. This insulation is easily cut, so it will not be difficult, if necessary, to adjust it to the desired size. The main requirement for laying polystyrene foam is the maximum adhesion to the parapet surface. There should be no gaps or backlash between them.
If during work there are small cracks or holes, they must also be blown out with polyurethane foam. But the joints between the polystyrene foam plates are glued with construction tape. After that, with the help of polyurethane glue, a foil-clad polyethylene film is glued over the insulation, which performs a waterproofing function.
Then, right on top of the insulation, wooden beams must be attached to the base of the ceiling and parapet. They will become the crate, to which, in turn, the finishing material of your choice will be attached. It can be lining or drywall sheets.You can fix them using self-tapping screws, which will later be hidden with wallpaper, plaster or tiles. Do not forget about the design of the slopes.
How to insulate a balcony with foam
The walls, the upper and lower balcony slabs, that is, the ceiling and floor, are subjected to insulation. Everyone chooses the order of work at their own discretion. It is impossible to leave one uninsulated object. There will be no sense from the work done.
It will help better insulate the balcony with foam video:
How to insulate the floor and walls with foam on the balcony
Several techniques are known for stacking foam. They are all equally applicable to walls, ceilings and floors. There are only a few nuances associated with subsequent finishing.
The step-by-step insulation of the balcony with foam looks as follows. According to the technology of the wet facade, the slabs are glued to the wall. Use a special adhesive mixture or foam from cylinders. Each sheet is fixed with umbrella dowels. Put them 5 pieces: 1 in the center and at each corner.
Using the technology of a wet facade, the foam is glued, and plaster is pulled on top
The joints between the slabs are sealed with foam. After pasting the entire wall on the foam surface with an adhesive solution, an armoset is attached, and plaster is pulled on top.
According to this technology, the slabs are glued to the floor in a similar way, only instead of plaster, a different finish is used. Usually, a concrete screed is poured on top of the insulation. Since the foam is poorly resistant to mechanical stress, a metal reinforcing mesh is embedded inside the screed. The thickness of the concrete is poured at least 4 cm.
If there is no desire to tinker with the concrete screed, chipboards or plywood are laid on top of the insulation. After the rough flooring, they are taken for the installation of the topcoat.
The gaps between the crate and the insulation are sealed with foam
Using the technology of a dry facade, a crate is attached to the walls of the balcony from rails. Warming takes place by laying the slabs inside the cells. The gaps between the crate and the expanded polystyrene foam are blown out. For better heat reflection, foamed polyethylene foam is attached. The mirror side is directed inside the balcony. After warming all sections of the wall, the lining is attached to the crate. Can be sewn up with plywood or drywall and wallpaper.
On the floor, using the technology of a dry facade, foam is laid between the logs
Thermal insulation of the floor using the dry facade technology occurs in a similar way, only the laths play the role of the lathing here. The timber is attached with anchors or dowels to the balcony slab. Expanded polystyrene is laid between the lags, the cracks are blown out with foam. On top of the logs, a finishing floor is laid from boards, particle boards or plywood.
How to properly insulate the balcony ceiling with foam
With the ceiling surface, perform similar actions. You can create a crate or just stick the slabs without it. In the first case, lining is sewn on top of the crate, but most often drywall is preferred. The casing is putty, polished, painted with water-based paint.
Plasterboard cladding on the ceiling after putty is painted with water-based paint
If the insulation is carried out using the technology of a wet facade, then the plaster is pulled in exactly the same way as on the walls. Finishing usually also involves staining. If desired, wallpaper or plastic panels are glued.
Preparatory work
Do-it-yourself insulation of a balcony with foam plastic begins with preparatory work. At the same time, they slightly differ among themselves, depending on whether insulation is performed from the outside or from the inside, whether or not the balcony parapet is laid with bricks or blocks, walls or ceiling are insulated.
Wall insulation outside
It is possible to fix the foam to the walls of the balcony from the outside if the fence is made of reinforced concrete, brick or blocks. In this case, the following work is performed:
- climbing equipment is installed;
- the old finish (paint, panels, metal profiles) is removed from the fences;
- cracks, potholes and chips are sealed with repair mortar. How to properly perform these works, you can see in the material "How to prepare walls for wallpapering";
- self-tapping dowels at the bottom of the balcony, a metal profile is attached, the only task of which is to keep the foam sheets in a static position until the glue fully sets;
- the wall surface is cleaned of dust and dirt with a metal brush and a damp cloth;
- the wall is primed with a primer diluted by 30-40%. In this case, the first layer is applied until the concrete or brick is "drunk" with water;
- after the first layer of primer has completely dried, the second one is applied. If for the first time the walls could be processed with a roller, then when reapplying the primer should, as it were, rub into the wall material, and this can only be done with a brush or a brush.
Wall insulation from the inside
When insulating walls from the inside, the first thing you should pay attention to: the fence (parapet) of the balcony or loggia is solid or made of metal rods. If the rods are not laid, there are two options for preparing the base for fixing the insulation.
- 1.OsB sheathing is attached to the rods with a knitting wire. 2. The crate is mounted. The frame harness is attached to the floor and wall of the building at the bottom, and at the top to metal heels welded to the fence. Fastening of vertical and horizontal rails inside the strapping is carried out using metal corners and self-tapping screws.
Recall that before installing the frame or installing the cladding, the rods are first cleaned with a wire brush, then treated with a rust remover. The dried metal is coated with an anti-corrosion compound.
Further work is performed in the following sequence:
- all unnecessary is removed from the territory of the balcony: the air conditioner is transferred to another wall, fasteners for clotheslines are removed, etc.;
- the existing gaps between the wall of the house and the balcony railing are sealed. Small gaps with polyurethane foam, large pieces of foam rubber or foam;
- in the loggia, the trim is removed from the side walls. In most cases, this is decorative plaster or paint;
- the surface is cleaned of dust, dirt and grease stains;
- the wall is primed twice, using the same technology as outside.
Ceiling insulation
In several series of multi-storey buildings, the balcony slab of the upper neighbor has a complex geometry (made for the beauty of the ceiling). In this case, the balcony ceiling is sheathed with plywood or OSB sheets.
If the surface is flat, then whitewash or paint is removed, a double primer is applied, then electrical wiring is laid if overhead lighting is planned. Gating is strictly prohibited. Therefore, the wiring is placed in special corrugated pipes and fastened to the ceiling with clamps. In the process of insulation, channels are cut out in the foam plastic for pipes: the thickness of the insulation is enough.
Professional advice
Insulation using wet facade technology is considered less costly. Professionals often recommend this method. However, expanded polystyrene is a soft material. If it is not reliably protected, over time, dents will appear on the walls from accidental mechanical stress.
Reinforcement will protect expanded polystyrene from destruction
According to this technology of insulation of the balcony from the inside with the help of foam, reinforcement is a prerequisite. The common surface is protected with a reinforcement mesh. In addition, it prevents the formation of micro-cracks in the plaster. The outer corners are closed with a perforated corner. The metal element is planted in an adhesive solution, embedded in the plaster.
Benefits of Styrofoam
The first step is to figure out what the foam is. These are blocks made of foamed plastic. Typically, the foam is white.The popularity of this material in the masses is provided by both a low price and a huge number of other advantages.
Important! Buy foam with marking (GOST) and only certified!
Ease of installation
The lightness and plasticity of the foam ensure ease of handling. The material can be easily transported even to the top floor. The foam can be easily cut into pieces and adjusted to the required dimensions. Installing it is fairly easy, so it can be installed with a minimal amount of knowledge. You can fix the foam with both glue and dowels, and with the use of polyurethane foam.
Durability
This material easily tolerates temperature extremes. He will perfectly cope with his tasks, both in extreme heat and frost. Polyfoam absorbs moisture very poorly, and the features of the finishing structure protect it from direct destructive factors, and it, in turn, the room from fungus and mold. This guarantees an almost unlimited service life for the insulation.
