Apartment repair for a long time was limited to the arrangement of the internal space, while the technical premises remained in their original (usually far from the best) condition. Today, the main reason for the increased attention to the loggia or balcony was the desire to increase living space. And one of the first issues during the repair is the installation of the floor.
Features of finishing the balcony
What is better to make the floor on the loggia or on the balcony? The main condition is to take into account the features of this room. Balconies have less support, and loggias are more stable, but in any case it is better to opt for lighter materials that slightly increase the total weight of the structure. Which floors to make on the loggia depends on the operating conditions.
Of great importance is the temperature regime. The most extreme operating conditions are typical for open models. In this case, it is recommended to use materials that are suitable for exterior decoration. They can withstand high humidity, ultraviolet radiation and temperature changes that are suitable for outdoor conditions.
Glazed structures are more protected from external influences. Temperature differences will remain, but humidity may increase. The degree of influence of environmental factors on such loggias is less, and the operating conditions are milder. Then what to make a floor on a loggia of? For heated rooms there are practically no restrictions when choosing flooring. The conditions are the same as in the living rooms.
Surface preparation for finishing
Any option for flooring provides for the preliminary preparation of concrete slabs. Do not lay laminate, parquet, ceramic or paving slabs simply on the base. But first, you need to free space from all that is superfluous so that nothing would interfere with the work.
Old flooring should be removed. As a result, a concrete slab should remain, on which a reinforcing mesh is laid to fill the screed. You can install thin fittings. There are no special requirements in this matter, but the design just needs to be reinforced with additional elements. How to make a screed floor on the loggia? The alignment process will be discussed in more detail below.
If the loggia is open, then on the perimeter you need to put the formwork. This is necessary for the correct filling of the floor. On closed structures, this part of the work is not necessary. It will be necessary to install beacons along which the surface will align. Two elements are usually sufficient. The solution is poured over the beacons and leveled using a staff. Cement should dry for at least a week. Only after this can you continue to work and think about what to make the floor on the loggia of.
In an insulated room, you can immediately start work. Otherwise, it is better to deal with this issue more thoroughly. What floors are best done on the loggia? Warm. But here there are several options that will be described in more detail below.
Insulation is especially important for balconies, which are planned to be made a single space with a living room. How to make insulated floors on the loggia? The easiest way - laying polystyrene foam or polystyrene. If the floor level on the balcony and in the room differs by 25-30 cm, then the surface can be insulated with a layer of expanded clay. The screed is poured over.
The loggia is in good condition to immediately begin finishing work, but there is no insulation? In this case, you can lay the bars on which the coating will be attached. Insulation is placed at intervals. The surface can be insulated with waterproofing material, and then covered with expanded clay with a fine fraction.
The technology of the device of a traditional warm floor is somewhat different. First, the insulation is laid, and a heating system is installed on top of it. It can be electric modules or pipes for liquid heating. The screed is poured last. The minimum thickness of the solution above the pipe should be at least 2 cm.
Cement screed leveling
How to make the floor on the loggia? Repair begins with preliminary preparation. The base for the screed must be dry and strong. It will be necessary to remove places where the screed has friability. If necessary, you can use a hammer. Sometimes a whole layer is removed before the reinforcement. In this case, it is better to paint the metal with oil paint, so that rust does not appear through the screed.
All existing cracks must be repaired using one of the tile adhesives. For the same purpose, some masters use cement-sand mortar, but practice shows that it is ineffective. After completion of the preparatory work, all construction waste must be removed. If the surface remains damp, then you can use a special mastic or waterproofing mixture.
How to make a floor on the loggia with your own hands? The screed can be dry or wet. In the first case, the base is made of loose material, gypsum sheets are laid on a flat surface, and then a coating is laid. Wet screed is a mixture of sand and cement, which you can knead yourself or take a finished one.
Dry screed requires some experience in construction work, so many, making repairs on their own, decide to use the traditional method. For a conventional screed, you first need to lay the waterproofing material so that the film protrudes around the edges by about 10 cm. After pouring, all residues can be cut with a knife.
Next, a reinforced mesh is laid on the surface. For a loggia, it is better not to use reinforcement, because this will significantly increase the load on the concrete slab. The next step is to set up beacons. For leveling the floor, it is enough to raise the level by a maximum of 5 cm, usually they raise it by only 3 cm. Less (2 cm) is impractical because the solution will crack after drying. As for the lighthouses, the optimal distance between them is not more than 0.5 m.
The solution is prepared in the following proportion: one bucket of cement for three or four buckets of sand. The exact amount of material depends on the brand of dry composition. Ready mixes are used for best results. Additives are added to such manufacturers to impart frost resistance to the finished surface or to increase elasticity.
The screed is pulled in one direction. Usually everything is done so that the last area left near the door. To completely harden the solution, it is better to leave it for a week. But after about a day, the screed is checked by the rule, and all the influxes are removed, constraining with a sharp end. Further work depends on which floor covering will be used and on the need for surface insulation.
Floor insulation options
What to make a floor on a cold loggia? The best option is to lay the insulation, so that later you can safely choose from the whole variety of finishing materials. You can insulate the loggia with penofol, polystyrene foam, expanded polystyrene foam (polystyrene foam), mineral wool. Prior to screed installation, it is possible to lay liquid or electric floor heating.
Each material has its advantages and disadvantages. Penofol is made from foamed polyethylene and aluminum foil. This is an excellent tool for thermal insulation, as well as sound and waterproofing. Polyfoam is often used because of its cheapness. It is enough to place pieces between the logs of the floor and fill the slots with mounting foam. Penoplext has the best heat-insulating properties, but it is quite an expensive material. Mineral wool also retains heat well, but is inconvenient in work.
How to make a floor on a loggia with insulation? The floor must first be cleaned well. A thin insulation (5 mm) is laid over the entire surface; after laying, the entire loggia is foamed around the perimeter. The second layer is laid in the same way. Next, you need to install the transverse bars every 50 cm. The distance from the wall to the first or last should be at least 5-10 cm. At this stage, the fixation can be performed not at the level.
After you need to fill in all the openings. Ideally, the insulation should be flush with the beam. Heat-insulating material should be placed most tightly in the openings so that there are no gaps. If glades are still found, then they can be repaired with mounting foam. The main insulation coating is laid on such a basis. How to make a floor on a loggia with foam insulation is now clear. In the same way, another coating is installed.
Installation of underfloor heating
An alternative to laying insulation is a floor heating device. Insulation plates are glued to the concrete base with special glue. Before laying the structure, a thin insulation is covered with a layer of the same glue or covered with a welded metal mesh. For balconies and loggias, the power of the heating section up to 150 W / m2 is enough. As for laying pipes for liquid heating, this issue is best left to professionals.
The choice of materials for decoration
What floor to do on the loggia? After completing the preparatory work, you can proceed to the final finish. Here, before the owners, the issue of choosing a finishing material becomes an edge. What is better to make the floor on the loggia or on the balcony? The warmed and leveled base can be painted, sheathed with wood, laid linoleum, laminate or natural parquet, tile or carpet. The final choice depends on the characteristics of the room (temperature differences, humidity, etc.) and personal preferences.
Loggia floor painting
The easiest and most suitable way to finish both indoors and for open structures is painting. The workflow is simple, so you can cope on your own so as not to spend money on the services of professionals. It is necessary to purchase wear-resistant and weather-resistant paint. Epoxy, acrylic or polyurethane based materials are well suited.
How to make the floor yourself on the loggia? The surface before painting must be cleaned of dust and dirt, remove stains from bitumen or other compounds with solvents or other means. The paint is applied with a roller evenly over the entire surface. It is important to process each corner well so that there are no open areas.
After the first coat has dried, the second can be applied. This will achieve maximum resistance to temperature, if we are talking about an open loggia. In addition, the color will be more uniform and saturated than if painted with a single layer. The painted floor, although it looks simple, but serves for a long time.
Wooden floor on the balcony
This option of arranging the floor on the loggia is very popular, because the idea is easy to implement with your own hands, and the cost of finishing materials is acceptable. For work, you need a beam for the construction of the base, a board with a minimum thickness of 32 mm, fasteners, insulation and paintwork.
It is necessary to cut the bars to the size of the loggia and lay them on the surface. To set a flat surface during operation, a level is used. On the walls, you can make marks to navigate, which will greatly simplify the work. The base of the wooden floor is insulated with any suitable material. The layer thickness is at least 5 mm if the balcony is already insulated, and at least 10 cm if the open structure is lower.
After all the joints are filled with foam, to remove problem areas. The board is cut into pieces of the right size and fixed to the screws. The last element must be placed with the spike forward and attached through the top. The aesthetic side of the issue here may not worry the owners, because then later this section will still be covered with a baseboard. Each next part of the floor should fit tightly with the previous one.
When the installation of the wooden floor on the loggia is completed, it remains to apply a protective layer to the surface. It can be varnish or paint, not hiding the structure of wood. The surface must be resistant to adverse effects, wear-resistant. Application should be done in two or three layers to achieve the best result. It is better to paint the floor before fixing the skirting boards, so that then there are no gaps.
Linoleum for finishing
Linoleum is the most budget solution. This material is easy to install and reliable. The basis for laying linoleum can be different: a aligned screed with insulation, wooden flooring or sheet materials. To achieve the best result, it is advisable to close the entire space with one piece of linoleum without seams.
The material is spread out on the loggia and straightened. The canvas can be left for some time so that natural shrinkage occurs. Then you can trim the linoleum with a construction knife around the perimeter. The work is simple, but must be done carefully so as not to spoil the coating. Linoleum can be glued to double-sided tape or glue.
Laying laminate flooring
What to make a floor on a loggia? From the laminate. This material is suitable for fully enclosed (glazed) and well-insulated rooms. Under the laminate, you need to make the floor on the loggia with flooring. For work, plywood, chipboard or chipboard can be used. The thickness is selected depending on the expected load, because the finished surface should not bend.
Most often, options from 16 mm or more are used. How to make a floor on a loggia from plywood under a laminate? The flooring is fastened with self-tapping screws (at least twice as long as the thickness of the material). A substrate is laid on top to compensate for some irregularities. The substrate has good heat insulating properties. Hard and soft options are available.
The first row of laminate is laid along the wall. It is better to leave a gap (5-7 mm will be enough) to compensate for the deformation. The second row begins with half the panel. The joints should in no case coincide, so you need to move the joints at least 30 cm in adjacent rows. Rows are combined by assembly and snap. The exact steps depend on the design of the laminate locks. After that, it remains only to attach the baseboard, which will close the gaps and give the room a finished look.
Laying tiles
What to make a floor on a loggia? Photo options allow you to make a choice, if it is important how the finished balcony or loggia will look. Many owners prefer the usual tiles in this matter. Ceramic tiles are suitable for an unglazed loggia or an open balcony. Such a floor is much more attractive than painted.
For work, you need any floor tiles if the loggia is insulated. For open balconies, it is better to choose porcelain stoneware with a non-slip surface. The amount of material is calculated depending on the floor area. Glue for tiles is better to choose one that is used for outdoor work. To make the seams even, crosses come in handy, and to protect them you need to use a special composition. The color of the grout is selected depending on the color of the tile used.
In the process of laying the tiles, a drill with a mixer will be useful for mixing the mortar, an empty container, a notched trowel for glue. The plane can be controlled by the building level. It is better to cut the tile with a special device, otherwise you can accidentally break the floor covering or do the job sloppy.
How to make the floor on the loggia, if it comes to laying tiles? The surface must be cleaned of dirt and dust, and then prepare the adhesive. The glue is applied to an area approximately equal to one square meter. To keep the layer even, it must be distributed with a notched trowel. The size of the tooth on the tool is 8-10 mm.
The tile is laid on the surface, after which the position of the plates is controlled by the level. If necessary, you can fix the tile with a rubber mallet or even manually. First, gently hit the back with the back of your hand, and then check the surface again. If necessary, the procedure is repeated.
Laying proceeds in the same way until the surface is completely lined. To ensure that the seams are even, crosses should be put in the joints as work progresses. After completion of work, the surface should dry for at least 24 hours. During this period, you can not walk on the floor. When everything is dry, you can begin to grout the seams. This is done with a rubber spatula.
Carpet as flooring
What to make a floor on a loggia? If you plan to spend a lot of time on the loggia, it makes sense to make this space convenient and enjoyable. . . , .
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After the solution is poured onto the floor and leveled. Usually the mixture spreads in a uniform layer, but in which case it is possible to distribute the solution using a needle roller. The floor must be left to solidify. As a rule, this takes about a day.
Cork
Cork coating looks attractive, and the surface itself is very pleasant to the touch. The device of this gender is quite simple. It is advisable to purchase the material in panels with self-locking locks. Glue tiles create difficulties in work and require accuracy. Do not forget about the substrate, which is laid in the first place.
Laying the cork surface starts from the corner. The first row must be set indented 5 mm from the walls. After the rows are joined together. To keep the indent even, panels of the required thickness can be laid along the wall. The subsequent rows are joined so that there is a shift of at least 30 cm. The panels can be knocked out with a hammer as necessary, but to protect the ends, a stand is used (a wooden block is suitable). After laying, the baseboard is attached.