Traditionally, the balcony is a storage of unnecessary things. But this part of the apartment can be turned into an elegant continuation of the living space. The transformation should begin with the laying of a strong foundation, which in this case is the floor. You can choose any coating - from wood to tiles.
Possible ways to repair the floor
The floor on the balcony can be made of ceramic tiles. It meets almost all modern consumer requirements. Ceramics does not cause problems during operation. It looks aesthetically pleasing, and is offered for sale in a wide range of colors and textures. Another important factor when choosing for hostesses is the ease of care for the coating. The tile withstands any impact of the most aggressive detergent. This finishing material can decorate the floor on an open balcony or glazed loggia. The material copes well with exposure to heat and cold, as well as changes in temperature and humidity.
The floor on the balcony can be made using porcelain stoneware. Thisthe finishing material is durable and strong, it does not wear out so intensively and has a low susceptibility to mechanical stress. It is almost impossible to leave a scratch with household items on porcelain stoneware. This building material is characterized by moisture resistance and the ability to undergo frequent temperature changes. All these qualities are complemented by the ability to implement any design solutions. This coating is easy to care for, and you can use it on the balcony of any degree of security.
The floor on the balcony is quite often covered with a massive board. It can act as an additional heat insulator. The massive board looks quite attractive. If you mount it according to all the rules, then it will be ready to serve for a long period of time, and you will encounter the need for replacement if you get tired of the coating design. The only requirement when laying a solid board is the need for a glazed space.
Reviews about laminate and linoleum
You can cover the floor on the balcony with laminate. This material is usually laid in a warm space, because it does not tolerate sudden changes in humidity. The surface before installation work must be prepared, leveled. Laminate panels fit together easily, which is one of the positives.
Another plus, according to consumers, is the presence of a snap mechanism in products. Thanks to this, the joints between the panels are practically invisible. According to home craftsmen, linoleum is one of the available floorcoatings offered by the modern construction market. The coating can imitate natural materials such as wood and stone. Given that laying is a simple procedure, then the choice becomes unambiguous. Customers also like that the material is inexpensive compared to other solutions described above.
Reviews about carpet
The floors on the glazed balcony can be ennobled with carpet. If your plan is to repair the loggia, then it can be turned into a relaxation and recreation area. Currently, carpet can have any quality pile. Consumers, in their words, like that the yarn can be based on different materials, namely:
- artificial;
- natural;
- combined.
This affects the cost, but also expands the choice. Natural materials include animal hair. Among the artificial ones, one can distinguish:
- polyester;
- nylon;
- polyacrylic;
- olefin.
The combined materials at the base of the carpet include those to which natural wool is added in a volume of 10 to 30%.
Preparation of tools and materials
Quite often, novice home craftsmen wonder what is best to lay on the floor on the balcony. Regardless of which decision you make, you should prepare the following materials and tools:
- insulation;
- waterproofing;
- sealant;
- metal corners;
- bar;
- level;
- chisel;
- spatula;
- rag;
- cement;
- floor levelers;
- lighthouses;
- hardboard;
- roulette;
- hammer;
- trowel.
For painting you will need a primer, brushes and a roller. If you decide to lay linoleum, then you should take care of the availability:
- glue;
- skirting;
- fasteners;
- knit roller;
- metal shears;
- linoleum;
- fittings for joining skirting boards;
- glue brushes;
- linoleum cutting knife;
- square.
Making the floor on the balcony of ceramic tiles. To do this, prepare:
- glue;
- primer;
- tile;
- wood block;
- tile cutter;
- tile drill;
- glass cutter;
- tile grater;
- tile tongs;
- porous sponge;
- composition for grouting;
- distance crosses;
- metal corners;
- grinder;
- electric drill;
- dowels;
- hammer or mallet;
- spatula; comb;
- scraper.
If you decide what to make the floor on the balcony of, you can choose a self-leveling coating. It will require a special mixture, pigments and fillers.
But for laying wood flooring, you should take care of having a wider list of tools and materials:
- mounting foam;
- skirting;
- electricdrills;
- self-tapping screws;
- flooring;
- varnish;
- flame retardant;
- plywood sheets;
- Bulgarians;
- dowel-nails;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- glue.
Plywood sheets can be replaced with one of the following materials:
- MDF;
- OSP.
Surface preparation
Balcony floor repair always starts with ground preparation. The complex of works for all types of coating will include cleaning the rough surface from dirt and objects. If necessary, existing coatings can be removed. If there is a screed, then it is removed from the carrier plate. The next step is to clean the floor from debris. The slab needs to be leveled.
The operation is carried out during the device screed. To do this, you need beacons, which are strips of metal. Alignment of the position of the beacons is carried out by laying pieces of hardboard. On the open balcony, the floor is sloping towards the street, which will ensure the flow of water from melting snow and rain. Lighthouses are fixed. To do this, the cement mortar is applied with a trowel in the area where the hardboard is laid. After 2 hours, the horizontality of the beacons must be checked and fully fixed with a solution.
The next day you can start making formwork. It will consist of bars that are fixed on the outside of the railing. Before pouring the screed, the gaps between the bars and the base are filled with sealant. The solution is prepared from dryfloor leveling compound, which is kneaded according to the instructions. The consistency of the composition should resemble semolina. Add 3 kg of cement to a bag of mixture.
Before pouring, the base is primed with a deep penetration compound to increase adhesion. The finished mixture is poured over the entire volume of the formwork. The surface is leveled with a trowel, and then smoothed out with a rule. It is pressed against the ribs of lighthouses. Usually, special mixtures do not require additional leveling work. The screed after pouring is left for two days or more until it dries. The formwork can be carefully removed after that and straighten the flaws at the edges with a mortar. After drying, metal corners are fixed at the corners of the screed along the entire length.
Sequence of painting or laying linoleum
The floor screed on the open type balcony can be painted with paint on concrete. It should be designed for outdoor use, which indicates its resistance to weathering. The staining process is standard. The base must be primed, and then apply the paint in several layers. You can choose acrylic.
The coating will not withstand loads from furniture and heavy interior items, but the layer will remain for 5 years, despite sharp fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Linoleum can be used on an open or glazed balcony. Its modern types withstand any atmospheric conditions.
The material is flame retardant, high strength and eco-friendly. But it wears out quickly and can look pretty cheap. Forlaying on a primed screed, a sheet of linoleum is covered and left for a couple of days so that the material stretches and evens out. When this happens, the canvas is cut around the perimeter. After that, it is wrapped to the middle, and glue is applied to the reverse side. The cloth is rolled out and pressed to the floor. It should be rolled up with a roller. The operation is carried out with the second half.
Linoleum is most convenient to lay on plywood, which is laid when installing a wooden floor. Sticking sheets makes sense only if you plan to turn the balcony into a full-fledged living space. Installation of tiles based on linoleum is carried out on glue. It is necessary to act according to the same principle as with seamless laying of porcelain stoneware. A plinth is fixed between the edges of the coating and the wall.
Laying ceramic tiles
If you decide to lay tiles on the floor on the balcony, you can use this coating in an open or closed loggia. If the balcony is planned to be used as a living space, then it is advisable to organize a warm floor in its space. It is extremely risky to do it with a heated water system. Therefore, it is recommended to use electric floor heating.
Before you lay the tiles on the floor on the balcony, you should make sure that it meets the safety requirements. The surface of the finish must be rough or have a textured pattern. Glossy coating is dangerous, because due to the minimum amount of water, products become slippery.
The tile is glued onto a primed screed, whichpre-cleared. The composition is applied to the reverse side of the products. Installation is carried out starting from the far corner. The first piece is cut at an angle of 45˚. The leveling of the layer is carried out with a spatula comb. This will remove any excess. A small amount of glue must also be applied to the screed. The tile is laid and pressed.
It is necessary to set distance crosses for a constant width of the seams. Constantly controlling the horizontal position of the products with the help of a level, you must place all the rows according to the described principle. If necessary, the tile is trimmed with a wooden block and a mallet. The end tiles are cut with a tile cutter. Once the glue has dried, you can attach the metal corners with dowels. Fasteners are inserted into holes drilled with a tile drill.
Water floor heating device
Water floors on the balcony can be arranged on a concrete screed. It is pre-cleaned of debris and large potholes are filled with mortar. In those places where the screed will be adjacent to the walls, a damper tape should be placed. It will exclude damage to the material during thermal expansion. The surface is spread or filled with waterproofing, then you can do the insulation. For this, foamed polymer plates are used. It could be Styrofoam.
A reinforcing mesh is located on the insulation layer, which will prevent the pipes from moving during the filling of the leveling layer. The warm floor on the balcony at the next stage provides for the laying of the pipeline system. As a schema, you canuse double snail. Flexible pipes are placed on the reinforcing mesh, which should be reinforced with clamps. There is no need to tighten them tightly. A distance of 1 m should be maintained between the clamps. It is impossible to allow the tight arrangement of pipes to each other near the wall. A distance of 10 cm should be maintained between them.
On the outlet sections of pipelines that fit the collector, you should put on protection from a corrugated hose. If you are thinking about the question of how to make a warm floor on a balcony, then the next step is to connect the pipeline to the water manifold. Next, you should start the coolant, setting the pressure higher than normal by 1.5 times. The system is left in working condition for a day. After testing is complete, you can start pouring. At the same time, normal working pressure must be exerted on the pipes. The final floor covering is then formed.
Installation of electric floor heating and insulation
Electric floor on the balcony can be arranged on the basis of a heating cable. Such a system is supplemented with a concrete screed, due to which the height of the room is reduced by about 12 cm. It is necessary to act according to the following instructions: first, the old coating is dismantled, and then the surface is leveled. If you want to know how to insulate the floor on the balcony, you can use polyethylene foam. It may be foil coated. The joints between the canvases are glued with metal tape. A damper tape is also laid around the perimeter in this case, which eliminates deformation.
A mesh is fixed on the insulation layer ormounting tape for further installation of electric underfloor heating. The heating cable is attached with the same pitch. It is calculated based on the area of the room and the recommended heating power. It reaches 250 W per square meter. If you are wondering how to make a warm floor on the balcony, then you should read the instructions. The next step is to install the temperature sensor and thermostat, placing them in a suitable place for operation.
The circuit needs to be rung to make sure everything is connected and working. The finished system is photographed so that if repairs are needed, you know where everything is. Next, a cement-sand mortar is closed and a 5-cm screed is poured. As soon as it hardens, you can proceed to laying tiles or linoleum flooring.
Wooden floor installation
Before laying the wooden floor on the balcony, you must dismantle the old coating and remove the debris. The work will need logs, which are bars made of hardwood. Flooring is easier to make from a floorboard. The coating elements have the necessary impregnation, they are evened out in thickness and have embossed ends for connection according to the tenon-groove principle. The edged board requires polishing, the polished board has a leveled surface on all sides. Thanks to this, the boards fit well together.
If you are faced with the task of how to insulate the floor on the balcony, then for this you can use waterproof plaster. She will also play the rolewaterproofing. If the hole is large, then foam can be used to fill it. You will also need a waterproof film. Mineral wool, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam or other solutions with a low thermal conductivity coefficient are additionally used for the heat-insulating layer.
To make a wooden floor, you should prepare:
- screwdriver;
- electric jigsaw;
- hammer;
- knife for cutting insulation;
- drill;
- construction stapler;
- level.
The sequence of work is as follows: to protect the material from moisture, it should be sealed. For this, a film is used. Along the balcony at the next stage, it is necessary to mount longitudinal logs. The design will become more reliable if it is formed from longitudinal and transverse elements. The distance between the latter will be 50 cm.
Insulation is placed in the space between the lags. Next, you can proceed to the installation of the coating. Boards are used for this. They are checked with a level or square. Having retreated from the wall a certain distance, it is necessary to lay the first element. With the help of end fastening, all boards will be attached to each other. In order to ensure a tighter pressure, several wedges should be installed between the second board and the rail. When clogging them, the gap should decrease.
Which underfloor heating to choose under the laminate
If you decide to lay a warm floor on the balcony under the laminate, then you shouldseriously approach the issue of choosing a system. In this case, its power is taken into account. It should be approximately 190 watts per square meter. The infrared film has a maximum power level of 160 watts per square meter. There will be no benefit from such a design on the balcony.
If you want to lay laminate on a warm floor on a balcony, it is better to use a cable system, which will effectively heat the surface. The main thing is to comply with the recommended power. According to experts, the choice of system comes down to an electric cable floor. It should cover approximately 70% of the total area. The heated floor on the balcony under the laminate should be represented by an electrical cable system. It is inexpensive, and you can install it yourself.
Which underfloor heating for ceramic tiles to choose
The warm floor on the balcony under the tiles can also be laid. Heating pads are great for this. They have the form of a fiberglass mesh, on which shielded heating sections are fixed. They are made by joining hot and cold parts using a jointless method. This makes the system highly reliable.
It makes sense to lay a warm floor on a balcony under a tile if the space is well insulated. Floor installation is carried out in a certain sequence. First you need to draw up a layout of the heating mats, then you need to prepare the floor surface and lay the thermal insulation. The next step will be the creation of a cement screed and laying heating mats. Electric wires are connected to the network, and then you can proceed to laying ceramic tiles on a special adhesive. The layer thickness should not exceed 7 mm.
In conclusion
The floor-to-ceiling balcony can be repaired by yourself. In the first case, the repair is quite often used: laminate, ceramic tiles and wooden boards. If we are talking about an old high-rise building, then it is better to abandon the technology that involves pouring the screed. Quite often, the floor on the balcony under the laminate is arranged according to this scheme. Experts do not recommend resorting to this technique, because it contributes to the weight of the structure.
