Foam floor insulation on the balcony and loggia: features of installation

Owners of apartments equipped with a balcony or a loggia take active steps to warm them and more intensive use in everyday life. Glazed loggias allow you to expand your living space by several square meters, which are never superfluous. At the same time, not only thermal insulation of walls and ceilings is carried out, but also the floor is insulated on the loggia. This procedure can be carried out in two main ways. The first option is based on the installation of the lag and the placement of a modern insulation between them. The second option comes down to laying electric floor heating, made in the form of a heating mat, laid in the screed of the heating cable or infrared film floor.

First of all, to understand the main points, we suggest you look at the insulation of the floor on the loggia with the help of mineral wool. This will give you an idea of ​​the features of the work.

Step-by-step process of floor insulation

Expanding an apartment with a balcony is not accepted, especially in regions with severe climatic conditions. This room is ennobled for use as a "cold" room. At the same time, floor insulation on the balcony is carried out according to the following scheme:

  • Wooden battens are laid along the cleaned base floor of the balcony, the thickness of which is about 50 mm. For their reliable fastening, self-tapping screws are used, located at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other. When working, it is necessary to use a building level, otherwise the floor may turn out to be uneven.
  • Foam sheets are placed between the rails, and mounting foam is applied at the edges in pre-determined centimeter gaps.
  • Next, they carry out the laying of the floor covering, which can be selected as plywood or chipboards, abbreviated as chipboard. The thickness of the selected material should be 20 mm. Thinner sheets will not withstand loads. The flooring is also fixed with self-tapping screws, maintaining a 15-centimeter pitch between them.
  • During installation, small gaps are left between the plywood sheets, which will avoid further creaks. Until the sheet is fixed, the master should not step on it. This will prevent the deflection of the coating, which is then fixed with screws.
The design scheme of the insulated floor of the loggia
The design scheme of the insulated floor of the balcony

The design feature of the loggias allows you to upgrade their space into full-fledged lounges, workrooms, the microclimate of which coincides in parameters with other rooms of the apartment. It is clear that all surfaces of the loggia are subject to warming: walls, ceiling, floor.

Important! The removal of central heating batteries to the loggia is strictly prohibited, as well as the installation of a water heated floor. The heating of a small room is provided with the help of electric underfloor heating systems.

What options for warm floors are better to use?

Based on the technical features of the loggia, the owner chooses one of three possible methods of floor insulation, indicated at the beginning of the article. Let us briefly consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.

Cable floor insulation system

This method of insulation requires a leveling screed, on which heat-insulating material is subsequently laid. This can be expanded polystyrene, mineral wool plates, roll cork, etc.A reinforced mesh is laid on top of the insulation layer, and then a cable follows, which is laid out by a snake. In places where it is planned to install furniture, the cable is not laid to exclude cases of damage. The thermostat is mounted on the wall.

Cable system for balcony insulation
Cable distribution should be done at intervals, as written in the instructions

The laid cable is poured with a cement-sand screed, and a plasticizer is added to the solution. At the end, the floor is finished with tiles, laminate, linoleum or carpet.

Important! The disadvantage of this method is the weight of stacked screeds, which makes the whole structure of the loggia heavier. If the plate can not withstand this load, then the floor is insulated by other technologies.

Heating mats

The thermomat is laid on the floor without screed if its surface is even. Otherwise, the alignment of the base is carried out using a thin layer of bulk floor. The used heating element does not need to be poured with cement-sand mortar, therefore, it is immediately laid on it with special tile adhesive.

Infrared underfloor heating

The system of film infrared warm floor allows you to effectively solve the problem of heating the loggia. Moreover, this material can be laid on the floor and on the walls. To prevent heat leakage, it is necessary to lay a layer of insulation with a reflective effect under the film. Installation and connection of a film infrared floor should be performed by a professional electrician. After checking the operability of the system, the finish coating is installed. Work is carried out in a short time, which speeds up the process of repairing the loggia.

In custody

As you can see, there are many options for floor insulation on the balcony or loggia. Among the variety of thermal insulation materials, you can choose a heater that is suitable for price and performance. Exact adherence to the technology will achieve the desired result, while the neighbors will not experience problems from your global improvements.

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1 comment

    1. AvatarRenat


      In my opinion, floor insulation with extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) is the best option. Penoplex is one of the possible options. But you can also use other XPS options - Technoplex, URSA XPS, Polyplex, etc. The materials are approximately the same in strength, weight, and thermal conductivity. The price per cubic meter is important.
      I want to add that if you insulate XPS floors, then you can not use lags, rails. Because this insulation is able to carry a distributed load, even if cars will ride on it.
      And about the load on the weight of the human body and say nothing!

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