Earlier, loggias or similar parts of the premises protruding onto the street were used to store unnecessary things. Currently, many people prefer to finish the balconies with clapboard. This gives them an aesthetic appearance and creates an optimal microclimate.
About lining
This is a high-quality processed wooden lath or board in which butt joints are made with a tongue, lock or ledge. The manufacturer often coats it with a compound that prevents the accumulation of moisture.
Clapboard is a natural material made from hardwood or softwood. Walls finished with it are characterized by increased thermal insulation and exude a pleasant aroma.
Separately allocate eurolining having a width of 88 mm and a thickness of 125 mm. There are drainage slots on the sides. The lock is made so that even if it gets wet and swells, the connections do not diverge. It uses a tongue and groove lock with a large comb.
Requirements for sheathing materials
Interior decoration of balconies should be:
- durable - it should last at least a decade;
- practical - the surface of the finishing material should be well washed, dirt should not be absorbed;
- aesthetic;
- be distinguished by ease of installation, which is especially important in conditions where the skin is made on its own;
- repairable - especially for plastic panels as they are easily damaged.
Added to these requirements is economic consideration, as not everyone has the ability to spend significant sums on high quality materials.
Classification of wood paneling
It is divided into 4 classes:
- "Extra" - without core and knots.
- "A" - without a core, but with knots after 150 cm, the presence of 2 surface small cracks, surface damage with resin.
- "B" - 4 knots are already allowed at a distance of 150 cm, subsequent indicators are the same as for class "A".
- "C" - knots, cracks, contrast stripes, mechanical damage, blue.
If there are falling knots, the lining is considered defective.
According to the method of fastening, wooden lining is divided into the following types:
- Calm-rails - have a tenon-groove lock and rounded chamfers, harvested from well-dried wood.
- Smooth rails without chamfers, connection in the middle of the tenon-groove board - when finished, the joints are visible when looking closely.
- Ordinary lining - it is characterized by a quarterconnection, chamfers are located on both sides. The grooves connect easily. Mainly used for floor and wall decoration.
- Evronagonka - thorn-groove connection, chamfers are located on the two sides of the board. Its production is carried out according to European standards. Wood is used for manufacturing, having a moisture content not exceeding 20%. It is divided into rectangular "Standard" and rounded "Soft Line".
Plastic and MDF lining
This material, made of PVC, is divided inside by partitions, which give it reinforcing properties. It has the same connections that are characteristic of wood, but it is more moisture resistant, fireproof and has greater durability. At the same time, this type of lining does not "breathe" and does not provide the thermal insulation that a wooden look gives.
MDF lining does not tolerate high humidity, therefore it is not used for finishing non-insulated balconies. At the same time, it has the best thermal and noise insulation properties compared to that of PVC. It is aesthetically pleasing, safe and relatively cheap.
Next, consider how to make a clapboard balcony decoration.
Materials for sheathing a balcony with a wooden variety
To finish the balcony with clapboard, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures in the form of the purchase of a certain set of components and materials that will be needed during the work:
- Lining - is selected based on the area of \u200b\u200bthe walls and ceiling, on the basis of whichthe number of slats required is calculated.
- Bar - needed to prepare the frame; its thickness is determined by whether the balcony will be finished with clapboard with or without insulation. In the presence of this element, the thickness of the bar must correspond to or exceed that of the insulation.
- Fasteners - dowel-nails are used for the frame, and nails or kleimers are used for lining.
- Insulation - used if necessary, insulation of the balcony. The moisture content of the tree should be no more than 20%, and it is better if it is 14%;
- Wall primer.
- Varnish or paint to cover lining.
- Plinths can be purchased on request to provide slight unevenness at the ends of the cuts.
Tool
To finish the balconies inside the clapboard, you will need a special tool that may be available from the owner or can be purchased at the appropriate outlets:
- level;
- marker or pencil;
- roulette;
- perforator;
- hammer or screwdriver (depending on whether nails or screws will be used);
- Step-ladder or fixed table with straight legs.
Preparing for sheathing
Initially, you need to keep in mind that finishing the walls on an unglazed balcony is not worth it if there are small financial opportunities. This is due to the fact that most of the finishing materials are not intended for outdoor use. Therefore, before starting the sheathing, you needinvite experts to glaze your balcony.
Before starting work on lining the clapboard, you need to remove all unnecessary things from the balcony, clean the walls from exfoliated parts. If it is necessary to strengthen the balcony slabs, they must be carried out before the start of finishing work. Small cracks can be repaired with a self-levelling compound, while large cracks expand to the reinforcement, after which the latter is visible. If it is destroyed by rust, it is necessary to overhaul this plate.
First you need to make the necessary measurements of the ceiling and walls, cut the bars in accordance with them. The frame should be perpendicular to the lining. At the edges, gaps of 5 mm are left, since wood has the ability to “play” when temperature and humidity conditions change. However, a larger amount of material should be purchased, since it may be damaged, and trimmings will also be formed that cannot be used anywhere. Therefore, the amount of purchased material should be increased by 10-15%. Antifungal compounds and those against insects are applied to the lining. The cracks are primed, sealed with silicone or foam and puttied. If this operation is not carried out, then both fungi and insects can penetrate through them, which will lead to a decrease in the life of the lining.
In the bars, at random, after a certain distance, starting from its initial cut with a small indent, holes are made with a drill. The same holes are made in concrete. It is better to do them together, which will eliminate the possibility of incorrectly getting some holes into others. If the surface is not level, it may be necessary to put some boards under the frame, which will ensure the alignment of the structure. This is especially important if the decoration of the balconies inside the clapboard involves the use of insulation. And now let's move from theory to practice.
Step-by-step finishing of the balcony with clapboard
Step 1. Preparing insulation
If it is necessary to carry out insulation, this material is cut into pieces that exceed the width of the distance between the bars, which will allow not to fix it with dowels if a sufficiently dense insulation (for example, mineral wool) is used, while the cavities will be filled tightly. When using foam, the joints are filled with mounting foam, which contributes to better insulation, and it also acts as an adhesive material.
Step 2. Material preparation
Step-by-step instructions for finishing a balcony with clapboard recommends starting work with its preparation. After the implementation of this measure in relation to the structure, we proceed to cutting the lining according to the intended dimensions, taking into account the need to leave gaps. It can be done with a jigsaw, other power tools or a hand saw with a fine tooth.
Before the next step, you need to lay all the wiring under the ceiling or on the walls. Otherwise, you will either have to disassemble the assembled structure, or put it in plastic boxes, which will disrupt the aesthetic appearance.
Step 3. Mount
It can be started from either side. It is better to start from the side that is most visible. The first cut element is placed close to the wall, fastening from the edge is carried out through the lining, since the joint will close in any case. From the side of the groove, the cut can be fixed with nails or clamps. In the first case, we use a hammer, in the second - a screwdriver with self-tapping screws.
Step 4. Fitting
The step-by-step instructions recommended for finishing the balcony with a clapboard do-it-yourself step-by-step instructions necessarily contain this item. It must be performed so that the resulting design looks aesthetically pleasing. To do this, the strips must be combined very tightly with respect to each other. Each of them should be knocked out from the side through a wooden spacer, fastening is carried out from the side of the groove (a photo of the decoration of the balcony inside the clapboard is given in the article).
Step 5. Hole for lights
In the case of work on the ceiling, this step may also be needed. If the work on finishing the balcony with wooden clapboard is carried out on the walls, then you will need to make such holes for sockets.
This operation is best done not in advance, but in the course of the work. At the same time, all measurements are taken on the spot, which eliminates errors, and the work performed will please the eye (see the review for a photo of the balcony trimming with clapboard).
Ceiling trim
The interior decoration of balconies with clapboard should be started from the ceiling, if any. The cut size shouldset for each rail. Perfectly flat ceilings are quite rare, so the height of each plank may vary slightly.
Finishing balconies with wooden clapboard starts from the most uneven angle. We drive the first bar into a corner with a comb. We fix it with 3-4 nails. All these actions must be accompanied by the use of a level.
The corners on the balconies are mostly uneven, so there is no point in orienting yourself on them. Nails should be driven into the part that will be overlapped by the next plank with an inclination closer to the ridge.
Thus, we examined the lining of the lining inside the balcony. Photos can be viewed in the article.
Secrets of docking around the perimeter
When attaching the rails around the perimeter of the balcony, it may turn out that there will be such a bar that needs to be cut off a lot. In this case, on the penultimate of them, you need to cut off the comb in half and round it. We reduce the last board by 2 mm. We press them from above and below to each other, install them in the groove together with a “house” and snap them on.
After that, they move on to sheathing the slopes - first on top and then on the sides.
You can see how the lining of the balcony looks like in the photo available in the article. But for more complete information, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video instruction.
Plastic lining
This material received the name similar to wooden products only because of its correspondence to the latter in appearance. They are unpretentious in care, but they are an artificial material. At the same time, it is necessarytake into account that in many cases balconies are used for drying clothes, and this indicates that they are constantly exposed to high humidity. With such an operation of these premises, it is better to use plastic varieties of lining with the obligatory treatment of the bars with an antiseptic.
Unlike wooden ones, they are not divided into classes. Therefore, when buying them, you need to decide what color, size, and quality of the panels you need. Particular attention at the moment should be paid to ensure that the color shades match, since the seller can offer plastic lining from different batches. It is desirable to purchase thicker panels as they are of higher quality. When purchasing, you need to pay attention to the presence of stiffeners, their condition and number. When you are at a retail outlet, try to carefully bend the edge of the panel - for a quality one, it will return to its original position. To calculate the number of required panels, you need to know that its height is 6 m. Knowing the area of \u200b\u200bthe room to be finished, you can always calculate the number of plastic rails needed. As with wood paneling, it's best to buy in larger quantities as there may be trimmings and rejects.
Preparing for sheathing with plastic clapboard
To make it you will need:
- construction stapler;
- knife or miter box (for cutting materials at a semi-right or right angle);
- plus those tools that were needed for wood paneling with its variety.
Finishing plastic balconiesclapboard begins with mounting the crate. The latter, in any case, is made of a wooden bar 20x30. It is installed perpendicular to the plastic sheathing, one piece of timber is attached at a distance of 1 meter from the other. Self-tapping screws and dowels are needed to fasten the beams. How many of them specifically will be required is difficult to say, because their number depends on the evenness of the surface. They should have a size of 50-120 mm, while the bars should be screwed in at least 30 mm. You also need to buy a plastic plinth for decoration. Its quantity is determined depending on the perimeter of the balcony with a small cape for trimming the corners. Instead of a plastic plinth, you can use an L-profile. Staples will be nailed quite often, so you need to stock up on them for the future.
If it is impossible for financial or other reasons to purchase wooden beams, the crate can be made of galvanized profile. In this case, press washers are used instead of nails, which are wrapped with a screwdriver. The frame can be assembled on CD and UD profiles, its fastening to the wall is carried out by direct suspension. For each of them, two holes 6 mm in diameter are made. Fastening is carried out with dowel-nails.
Process of sheathing with plastic clapboard
Installation on the ceiling begins with stripping it. In this case, you do not need to try to clean everything in a row - only what is swollen and easily separated is removed. Holes are drilled in the bars every half a meter through which self-tapping screws will be screwed. With an unglazed balcony, the bars must firsttreat with drying oil or protective paints and varnishes. Then the bars are screwed with self-tapping screws and fixed with dowel-nails using a perforator.
The bars need to be fixed at the same level. If there is an uneven surface, you need to put some boards under them to achieve their alignment on the same level.
After preparing the frame, you need to fix the plinth or L-profile. With the help of a furniture stapler, they are fixed around the perimeter of the room.
Plastic lining with a wide end, on which the spike is located, is inserted into the plinth. The groove, located on the opposite side, is attached to the bar with a stapler. Fasteners at the top of the groove are fixed. Next, we begin to fasten each subsequent panel with the previous one. The wide side with the groove of the new panel is inserted into the groove of the previously attached one and fastened using a furniture stapler. This continues until the last panel. If it turns out to be wider than the place intended for it, it is cut to the required size and inserted into the plinth.
You can cut the last plate so that it goes into the profile by 5 mm. They remove the penultimate one and insert the last one before entering it into the profile. A gap is formed between the last and penultimate plates, 5 mm exceeding the width of the plastic lining, we insert it into it and into the last plate, and in order for the structure to be complete, we push the last one out of the profile with our fingers, moving it in short pushes to a connection that has an aesthetic view.
Thus, we examined the step-by-step finishing of the balcony with clapboard.
Unlike wooden lining, plastic does not require painting or varnishing at the end of work. The only thing to do is wipe the new upholstery of the balcony with a soft cloth treated with soapy water.
A photo of the design of finishing the balcony with a clapboard is presented below.
In conclusion
Furnishing a balcony with a clapboard can be made by its various types - both wood of different classes, and plastic of different colors, thicknesses and qualities. In any case, for sheathing, it is necessary to make a frame, which is mainly made of wood, but for open spaces and those with high humidity, it can be made of a zinc profile. Sheathing can be done with nails, self-tapping screws or clamps, beams are screwed to concrete walls or panels using dowel-nails.
