A pressing question that often arises during the renovation process is how to insulate a loggia when combined with a room. Today, many homeowners are thinking that it would be nice to get an extra room by remodeling the loggia.
This issue should be considered comprehensively, because there are many nuances and pitfalls in this matter. If you trip over one of them, you’ll be lost! Let’s say that just glazing a balcony costs the owners a pretty penny, but then there’s the matter of combining two rooms.
Expert opinion
Konstantin Alexandrovich
Many people have great doubts when making a decision. Of course, you need to weigh the pros and cons, try to take into account the possible consequences and inconveniences. In such a case, there simply cannot be trifles - every detail is important.
Pros and cons of combining a balcony with a room
Before you embark on a global renovation of your apartment, you need to decide whether you really need it? Of course, at first glance, expanding your living space with a balcony looks extremely tempting. However, there are some dubious nuances in this matter.
Advantages of reconstruction:
- the living space will increase, which is especially valuable for small apartments;
- the cost of housing will increase (provided that you coordinated all redevelopment with the relevant services and carried out it legally and openly);
- thanks to the large windows of the loggia, there will be more light in the apartment;
- designers will have room to realize their ideas.
Minuses:
- it takes about 6 months and a lot of money to complete all the permitting papers;
- It is not always possible to completely remove the elements of the balcony - threshold, window sill and side partitions. As a result, you may not end up with an additional spacious room, but a small room;
- to insulate the walls and glass on the balcony after the merger, you need to either hire a team of professionals (which, again, is fraught with considerable financial costs), or have rich skills and knowledge to do everything yourself. In both cases, repairs will take a lot of time.
⚡ Regular insulation
In order to retain heat in the apartment after redevelopment, it is necessary to insulate the loggia. By law, without additional approvals, this can be done using an air conditioner operating for heating, an electric convector or a heated floor.
As for the insulation of the balcony, it cannot be insulated under any circumstances due to the fact that it is not designed for such a load.
The loggia can be insulated. But for this you will need to complete a thermal engineering design project. It must be completed by a professional construction or architectural company. In the process of performing a thermal engineering calculation, factors such as climatic conditions, material of external walls, design of floors, etc. are taken into account. Based on the results of the thermal engineering calculation, the owner will be provided with recommendations on the choice of insulation, its thickness and properties. Recommendations for choosing a French window will also be developed.
A letter from the Russian Ministry of Construction dated March 3, 2022 clarifies that insulating a loggia is considered a redevelopment and therefore requires approval from the local government. First of all, this position applies to the glazing of an unglazed balcony or loggia. Whereas replacing glazing from the developer with a more energy efficient one is legally permissible. The main thing is not to change the pattern of the window frame.
The balcony can also be glazed only after approval. In this case, the glazing should not violate the uniformity of the facade and must comply with fire safety standards. Therefore, the glazing has to be approved as a redevelopment.
Approval in BTI
If you are determined to completely demolish the partition separating the room from the balcony, be prepared to have to run through all sorts of authorities to obtain permits. In particular, you will need permission from the housing inspection and a detailed work plan agreed upon with the design organization.
First, you need to go to the BTI and get an apartment registration certificate, then order redevelopment of the apartment from the appropriate company. Performers must have a certificate to carry out this type of work.
Removing balcony ceilings is associated with a number of difficulties. For example, a loggia must be glazed and have sliding doors. In addition, radiator batteries from the dismantled wall cannot be taken onto the balcony.
If the housing inspection and other authorities have given you the go-ahead for redevelopment, you can begin the process itself. When the dismantling of the walls is completed, you will need to call a commission that will analyze the work carried out and draw up a certificate of completion. Take this document and go to the BTI, where you will need to re-issue a registration certificate for a home with a new layout.
Permissions
Development of a project to expand the area involves the preparation and approval of documents. Once all permissions have been received, the merger can begin. The project will determine not only the purpose of the new room, but also the types of heating, as well as thermal insulation options. The executive diagram will include comfortable placement of furniture and placement of lighting devices. These documents will speed up the work of finishers, heating engineers and electricians. You can calculate the quantities of all materials, equipment and tools.
Where to begin?
If you have obtained permission to transform the balcony and room into a single room, you need to start work from the loggia. If it is necessary to remove an exterior wall, ensure that the entire wall must be removed. Sometimes the partition can be left untouched, but only the windows and doorway removed. In this case, the wall is included in the interior composition and becomes an element that visually divides the room into different zones.
