Any owner of a private house in the city or a country cottage sooner or later faces the desire to build a veranda or renovate an old one. But how to do that? How to plan everything, calculate, choose high-quality materials for construction and decoration? And in general, is it possible to do it yourself or do you need to call for help from specialists? The answers to these and many other questions are further in our today's article.
What is a veranda
The word "veranda" has Bengali roots, and such a room is called a completed or built-in building, which can be either glazed or open. In our climate, it is mainly attached to the private sector, but in the southern latitudes it is attached to apartment premises even in multi-storey buildings.
Heating such a room usually does not need. Ventilation is through open windows.sashes. Sometimes includes equipped sunscreens.
Planning the veranda
When the house has not yet been built, but only in the plans, it is advisable to immediately choose a project of an already finished building with a veranda. Such a design will be a single whole, because the foundation, roof and even some walls will be common. Such a design will look harmonious and beautiful. But often the construction of the house does not include a veranda, or it is, but of a small size. In this case, you can always complete or enlarge the veranda without harming the structure of the house itself.
Any construction starts with a project. When planning the completion of the veranda, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the architecture of the already built house and the plan of the land plot adjacent to it. The presence of a veranda will significantly insulate a part of an already standing house, for this reason it would be appropriate to locate it from the north. It is also important to consider that when using the veranda as a lounge or for sports, and maybe a summer kitchen, the windows of such an extension should face your courtyard, and not your neighbors.
When an extension is planned to be built at the entrance, it will be a spacious summer hall, using it as a rest room is very inappropriate.
So, to develop a veranda project you will need:
- Determine which part of the house it will be combined with.
- Type of veranda (what will it be - open or closed).
- Entrance location.
- Choosing the right material for building.
- Calculate the amount of selected materials and cashfunds.
Selection of materials
If the plans include a large extension, then to avoid the greenhouse effect during the hot season, you need to plan a ventilation system (for example, opening windows). An interesting idea is also to install windows in which frames can be removed - so, in the summer season, a closed veranda can always turn into an open terrace. It's very convenient, the owners say.
To keep warm during the cold period of time, the veranda is glazed with a double-glazed window. The material for the walls is chosen with a good density, gathering it back to back to avoid troubles such as gaps and crevices.
Experts advise to create a single architectural ensemble of the house and the veranda to apply the same materials to the enclosing structures that were used to build the walls of the house. But this is only advice, and not a mandatory rule, that is, it is not necessary to build a brick veranda for a brick house. The main thing is that the extension maintains the general style of the house construction, and the materials used are combined with each other and combined correctly.
Natural wood blends flawlessly with almost any material that makes up the built house. It is also possible to create the entire structure of the extension from glass and plastic elements, and sheathe the walls of the house with siding. It is an excellent finishing material that gives a flawless look to any room.
Glass doors with a sliding system fit perfectly and practical as an entrance.
Also commona way to create a metal frame, which is lined with the following materials for finishing the veranda from the outside:
- Brick.
- Natural stone.
- Beam.
- Board.
- Polycarbonate sheets.
Construction Features
The side walls of the extension join the house, but remain independent. It is impossible to tie a new building to a house rigidly. All joint lines are sealed temporarily only with mounting foam, and the sealing is more thoroughly performed after the end of the shrinkage process of the entire veranda.
The foundation for the walls should be columnar or tape. The roof should not be too steep. If it is planned to build a veranda of a closed sample, then under the roofing sheets it is necessary to lay material for thermal insulation.
Floors are slightly sloping. The slope should be no more than two centimeters for every meter of extension towards the site.
If the extension is planned to be used only in the warm season, you can make thin walls. If you need a winter veranda, then the walls, respectively, should be thick. Although in both cases it will be necessary to waterproof both the walls and the foundation. This stage cannot be ruled out.
Styling the veranda from the inside
The choice of the style of interior decoration of the veranda directly depends on the style sustained in the design of the whole house. It is also worth considering the purpose of the room - whether it is a place for eating, or for rest and relaxation. The verandas in the countryside look very original.style (use of country, provence or native Russian style) with a unique combination of comfort and simplicity. If you want to create something unusual, an eco-style, Japanese or Roman version is recommended (fountains, flowerpots and terracotta tile floors).
Examples of different styles and corresponding photos of veranda finishes are available in our article.
Choice of materials for interior decoration
In the interior of the veranda, it is appropriate to use natural materials or materials that have a similar appearance. As an economical option for walls in the decoration of the veranda in the country, use:
- Plastic panels.
- MDF panels.
- Cement plaster.
Wall decoration of the veranda can be done with brick or stone, referring to the loft style. Or maybe a wood version. It always looks very organic.
Finishing the veranda in a private house on the floor should be durable and unpretentious. The option with porcelain stoneware is perfect for this purpose.
For a veranda, panoramic windows are the traditional way of lighting and decorating. Since the room is located on the border of the house and the plot with the garden, a natural palette of colors is chosen for finishing the veranda in a private house. Shades of natural green, gray, brown and terracotta look great. It is customary to combine them with brighter and more eye-catching accents. A photo of finishing the veranda in a private house in natural shades is attached in this article.
Wooden clapboard trim
Wood in wall decoration in the interior of both the house itself and attached structures is a classic. Finishing the veranda inside with a wooden clapboard looks good, and it also does not have high requests for wall preparation and is easy to mount.
The lining is mounted on a crate made of wooden bars (size 0.4 x 0.4 cm) using special fasteners. Such clamps make a secure grip of the panel in the place of the groove and fix it with a solid fixation. Finishing parts are placed in a vertical, horizontal or even angular position. In the photo of finishing the veranda of the house with a tree, this option looks great. This room looks very attractive.
Plastic
The most common and economical option for finishing a veranda in a private house is plastic. It is perfect for a closed veranda. After all, this is a material that is sensitive to temperature changes, so its outdoor use can be very short.
Compared to wood materials, plastic is practically not afraid of moisture. In addition, today there is a huge variety of plastic panels that differ not only in color, but also in texture.
Mounting the plastic trim of the veranda is even easier and much faster than wooden clapboard, due to the significantly greater width of the panel itself.
Plastic parts are attached to the crate, previously attached to the wall. This is done with a construction stapler, and the staples are driven into the place of a special wide shelf located onedge of the product. Further finishing of plastic after installation is not required. The only thing you may need is to simply wipe the plastic with a damp cloth from dirt and dust.
What would that look like? A photo of the finish inside the veranda with plastic material is presented. This option is suitable for many.
MDF
This decoration inside the veranda is also quite common. The sheathing process is fast due to the good width of each panel. It is attached to a wooden crate with the same clamps that are used in the installation of wooden lining.
There are a huge number of colors that create the illusion of natural wood, stone or even leather. Therefore, a spectacular appearance is a huge plus for MDF panels. The photo of finishing the veranda with MDF panels shows how original the walls can look.
However, this material also has disadvantages. The most significant among others is a very low moisture resistance threshold. For this reason, it is not recommended for those verandas that are open. If you want to take a chance and install these panels in an open veranda, then the walls need to be additionally varnished (for reliability, you can also varnish the back of the panel). Only in this way the room will serve for a long time and not lose its attractive appearance.
Cement containing materials
If building materials containing cement were used in the construction of the extension (it can be blocks or bricks), then the internalit is recommended to finish the veranda with such details and mixtures that are close in composition.
It's no secret that cement finishing material is not cheap, but if you wish, you can easily make the same artificial stone at home. And if you add aniline dye, then the interior of the entire room to be finished will look really unique.
The use of plaster with a gypsum base and gypsum artificial stone is quite suitable for finishing the veranda inside in a private house, only on condition that the room is closed.
Polycarbonate
It has already been noted above that polycarbonate (artificial transparent material) is increasingly used for the construction of walls. It allows you to create a closed space, but at the same time contact with the environment will be visualized.
There are only two main types of such plastic. It can be cellular and monolithic. The first option has a minimum weight, a high level of light transmission, and a long service life. It can be used as a veranda roof.
The monolithic look is similar in properties to real quartz glass, but has better strength. Such polycarbonate is successfully used in the frames of vertical structures of windows, doors, transparent walls.
Production is not limited to the release of only bleached sheets. At the moment, to achieve a soft shadow effect in the decoration of the veranda at home, polycarbonate of the following palette of shades is used:
- Greens.
- Blue.
- Reds.
- Yellowness.
Bright andthe whole structure looks unique both inside and out, if you combine several shades of color at once.
To finish the walls with polycarbonate, you need a minimum of tools: any construction knife and a screwdriver.
Steps of installing polycarbonate on the walls:
- All parts of wooden structures are carefully impregnated several times. This is necessary to protect the tree from rot, various microorganisms and other damage. This is especially true if the veranda is fully or partially open, which means it is periodically subjected to harsh climatic conditions.
- Before installation work, polycarbonate sheets are cut with a construction knife to achieve the desired parameters. If it is planned to create a fence partially, then the sheets are laid parallel to the floor covering. If, according to the plan, the finish is solid, they are laid perpendicular to the floor, mounting each new canvas separately.
- Polycarbonate is fixed with special self-tapping screws. Such self-tapping screws have an enlarged head and washers are used with them for gaskets. To avoid accidental damage to the material, it is recommended to use rubber pads as a supplement.
- After several seasons of using cellular polycarbonate, water begins to accumulate inside its pores. Why is it dangerous? This contributes to the development of various moisture-loving microorganisms. It is because of this phenomenon that the ends acquire gray-green stains over time, which significantly spoils the appearance. To avoid this kind of trouble, the sheet ends must be closed whenusing special insulating inserts. If this is not possible, then you need to at least apply stationery tape in several layers.
Mounting a cellular variety of polycarbonate on the roof of the veranda is carried out in the same way. If there is a ridge (this is the docking of two slopes), the profile of this ridge is used on the roof. It can be easily purchased in the market or in a specialized sheet shop. Also, at some construction bases, you can order sheets already cut to the required size, so you can avoid cutting polycarbonate with a knife yourself.
Furniture
In order to adhere to the chosen style in the design of the veranda, the furniture must be chosen so that it matches the decoration and purpose of the room. Also, the quality of furniture should directly depend on what kind of veranda is built: open or closed, with or without heating.
Fortunately, there are no problems with the choice of furniture today, stores are rich in their variety from classic to modern, so it remains to make your choice, and that's it - your veranda is ready to use.
So, we found out what types of veranda finishes currently exist.
