Which windows are better to install on the loggia: plastic or aluminum

Glazing of balconies and loggias in modern apartments solves several problems at once: increasing the safety of the home, increasing the reliability of protection from rain and snow, increasing the area, solving interior problems in the same style. There are a great many glazing options. Often, aluminum profiles or fairly popular plastic windows are used for these purposes. The most popular are frameless or panoramic glazing. This article contains everything about the types of glazing of balconies, advantages and disadvantages, consumer reviews. For those who have not yet decided which type of glazing to choose for their own balcony, a photo will help.

• Cold glazing
• Warm glazing
• Pros and cons of cold and warm glazing
• Types of glazing
• Options for opening balcony windows
• Which windows are best to put on the balcony?
• Tree

Plastic windows

• Aluminum structures

Cold glazing

The frequent use of the cold method is evident in balconies, which are located in public places and act as a source of fresh air. Due to its reliability and durability, this method is often used in the improvement of ordinary residential apartments.

Cold glazing will be an excellent option for those for whom the issue of heat preservation is not at the forefront.

Aluminum profiles reliably prevent precipitation from settling in the room and tightly close the balcony opening. Their use in residential and other adjacent premises will provide a comfortable microclimate. In addition, aluminum is a fairly light metal that is quite resistant to damage, is fireproof, and installation of such structures is carried out in the shortest possible time.

Sealant

There is a rubber seal along the perimeter of the junction of the sashes to the supporting frame, in the mounting areas of double-glazed windows and on the glazing beads. Its main purpose is to ensure the required level of tightness of the structure and prevent the penetration of noise from the street.

A high-quality seal must have the following properties:

• Maximum elasticity with sufficient strength.
• Maintain properties in hot and cold.
• The seal does not evaporate toxic substances and does not emit strong odors.
• Does not fade when exposed to ultraviolet light.

For the manufacture of seals, materials such as:

Warm glazing

This type of glazing is suitable for people who prefer to transform their balcony into a full-fledged, warm living space or simply to use the space as a winter garden or workplace.

This glazing method uses plastic and aluminum (with thermal inserts) windows that are completely sealed, which makes it possible to forget about such unpleasant moments as precipitation and drafts. These systems have a pleasant appearance, which makes them compatible with any room interior. Therefore, examples of such glazing always delight with their practicality and beauty.

Another important point should be noted: despite the fact that the pricing policy of the above types of glazing is quite high, their cost is fully recouped by their service life (about 30 years). For example, the use of wood for glazing requires certain maintenance, but for modern aluminum and PVC windows there is no such need. They are quite easy to care for – you just need to occasionally wipe them with a damp soft cloth using a non-abrasive detergent. Another little tip: when choosing a suitable glazing option for a balcony space, determine the presence of a micro-ventilation system - this will help you forget about the problem associated with the formation of condensation on window structures.

If you have already decided to glaze your balcony, but have no idea where to start, then this article will give you a lot of useful information, so to speak, the basics, by which you will definitely be able to determine the glazing option you need. If your only needs are protection from wind and dust, then cold glazing will be an excellent solution.

If your dreams are connected with a warm and cozy place to relax, then you definitely need to choose a warm type of glazing. Moreover, both of these options can be produced using different materials, which differ from each other and have their pros and cons.

Single or double glazing

A double-glazed window for a balcony is a structure that includes a certain number of layers of glass. The space between them is called chambers. The type of future device depends on their number. At the same time, many people are interested in which plastic windows are best placed on the balcony.

Pros, cons and their differences

The structure of a single-chamber double-glazed window includes 2 glasses, between which the chamber is located.

Although the design is simple, it has many advantages:

• light weight - this helps to save on fittings;
• affordable price - this option is suitable for people with a limited budget.

At the same time, single-chamber double-glazed windows also have some disadvantages:

• impossibility of normal insulation of the balcony;
• not very good sound insulation.

To achieve greater comfort, you should give preference to double-glazed windows. This design is more durable. It includes 3 glasses and 2 cameras. However, they have different volumes. However, the structure still does not look very massive.

The main difference from the single-chamber design is the higher price. At the same time, a two-chamber double-glazed window is more reliable in terms of thermal insulation.

Which double-glazed window is better: multifunctional or energy-saving?

When answering the question of which glazing for a balcony is best to choose, we can recommend energy-saving and multifunctional options. Also popular are models that provide protection from shock and noise. Such structures are capable of reflecting heat waves from heating devices back into the room.

The energy-saving effect is achieved due to a special glass coating that reflects infrared rays. Such glasses can be of soft or hard type.

Multifunctional double-glazed windows are considered a new product. Their distinctive feature is that they not only reflect heat into the room, but also reflect heat waves from the sun outward. This is especially true in regions where there are very hot days.

To protect from the sun, you can safely choose such designs. This will help save on heating costs in winter and keep you cool in hot weather.

Pros and cons of cold and warm glazing

In order to make a choice, you need to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

Cold glazing.

Pros:

• The space is perfectly protected from dirt and precipitation;
• Installation takes place in the shortest possible time;
• Does not require huge material investments.

Minuses:

• There is no way to fully use the space;
• Low sound insulation;
• Not very comfortable temperature.

Warm glazing.

Pros:

• This results in additional usable space in the apartment;
• Optimal temperature conditions;
• You can implement interesting design ideas;
• Good sound insulation.

Minuses:

• Requires large material costs;
• It is necessary to take into account the boundary load of the concrete slab and in no case exceed it;
• If the balcony is located on the top floor, then you will also need to install and insulate the roof;
• Requires special care, otherwise the glazing will lose its presentable appearance after some time;
• Repair work takes more time.

Frame material

Double-glazed windows are inserted into frames made:

• made of wood;
• made of aluminum;
• from PVC.

Despite all the advantages of modern wooden windows, they are rarely installed on a balcony. There are 3 main reasons for this:

• High cost: aluminum or plastic frames will cost much less.
• Large weight: you will have to strengthen the supporting structures before installing such frames. And this is a serious alteration of the balcony, which requires effort and expense.
• Wooden frames must be regularly painted or treated with compounds that prevent them from deteriorating under the influence of the external environment. And when installing them on a balcony, this can be difficult to do from the outside.

Therefore, loggias and balconies are glazed using aluminum or PVC frames.

Types of glazing

These two groups can be divided into several subgroups by type:

• traditional (classical) glazing;
• French glazing (French balcony);
• installation of metal-plastic structures (“Euro-glazing”).

The first type of glazing is the veranda type - a window, a load-bearing wall or a parapet underneath it. With this option, the window frame is mounted on a steel fence, which is found on almost all balconies. Before assembling the window, it is necessary to complete all finishing work on the outside. An important aspect when installing such glazing: it is worth conscientiously foaming all existing holes so that the steel fence does not become a conductor of cold air into the room.

The second type is floor-to-ceiling windows. The wall or parapet under the window is dismantled, glass is attached to the floor and ceiling. With such glazing, it will be necessary to coordinate the project, because you are actually changing the appearance of the facade of the house.

The third option is a higher quality, reliable type of glazing. When installing metal-plastic windows (if the permissible load on the concrete slab allows), additional heat and sound insulation is achieved. In addition, you can insulate the room and use it as a full-fledged living room, the temperature in which will not differ from the temperature of the rest of the apartment, provided that all existing walls, as well as the floor, ceiling are waterproofed and insulated, heating is carried out (warm floors, electric heating devices, exhaust main heating). With these options, you are guaranteed the warmth and comfort of a balcony room.

Some good advice

There are no trifles in creating comfort in the house, and even more so in such a matter as choosing a convenient window, therefore, a few recommendations will not hurt you:

• If you have small children, order a locking device for the window so that the child cannot open the sash on his own;
• Don’t forget to order the micro-ventilation function to avoid increased condensation due to temperature changes;
• Do not take measurements of the future product yourself - entrust this to professionals, this will minimize errors in the finished dimensions;
• If possible, try to choose windows that are more square in size - they transmit more light flux than those that are elongated in length or width;
• Think about the width of the window sill in advance: maybe you plan to place flowerpots with flowers on them, then they should be wider, or maybe, on the contrary, some furniture will be placed near the window, and a wide window sill will only get in the way;
• A mosquito net will be a very useful element - it is also better to order it immediately complete with the windows;
• If your windows face north, you should not make a large glazing area - this can directly increase the future costs of heating the loggia.

If you decide to create truly comfortable conditions for relaxation, work, sports, or just staying on the balcony, admiring the sunset or cityscape, then PVC balconies with PVC windows are exactly what you need. Use the information provided in the article, we hope it was really useful for you.

Options for opening balcony windows

When approaching glazing responsibly, you should also think about the ways in which the windows will open. There are three main systems:

• sliding;
• swing;
• with no frames.

Balcony glazing options with a sliding transom system are used when installing frames made of aluminum profiles with single glass or double-glazed windows. With this option, sliding frames save usable space on balconies when opening the window, but do not provide sufficient tightness. Accordingly, heat and sound insulation will not be at the highest level.

When open, they take up little space. Thanks to this, they are excellent for glazing small balconies and loggias.

Advantages:

• In strong winds, you don’t have to worry about the window slamming shut. Accordingly, there is no need to secure it.
• An open door will not accidentally damage furniture.
• Convenience and ease of care.
• Sliding glazing systems are practically not subject to atmospheric influences.
• High tightness. Sliding balconies do not allow moisture, dust, or dirt to pass through.
• Durable service life.

Flaws:

• Insufficient thermal insulation compared to PVC windows.
• When using single glazing, there is poor thermal insulation.
• Low noise insulation due to the lack of a multi-chamber profile and multi-layer double-glazed windows.
• Hinged opening is more common: metal-plastic windows open with several ventilation modes. When glazing a balcony space, it is worth considering the load created by the structure. Due to the weight of the fittings, metal-plastic windows with a hinged sash opening system are heavier than aluminum or wooden structures with a similar opening system.

Advantages of swing glazing systems:

• High level of sound insulation.
• Ensuring comfortable temperature conditions throughout the year.
• Easy to use and maintain thanks to the tilt-and-turn opening.
• Reliability and durability with proper installation and operation.
• Ensuring high tightness of the balcony and good heat retention.
• Stylish appearance, which provides a harmonious addition to the interior of the building and significantly improves the facade of the building.

Flaws:

• High price. Glazing balconies with plastic windows is a rather expensive method. It is advisable to use it if you need to make a warm room. If the temperature on the balcony is cooler, you can opt for a cheaper type of glazing.
• High weight of the structure. Plastic windows have a significant mass and require a solid base for their installation. In older houses, for example in Khrushchev-era buildings, it is necessary to strengthen the balcony structures.

Frameless glazing of the balcony offers a panoramic view, which is suitable for houses located in picturesque areas. Despite the high cost, this type of glazing overshadows the traditional use of window frames - more and more people prefer this option.

Frameless glazing has many advantages:

• originality of appearance
• high light transmittance
• using thick 6-8 mm tempered glass
• ease of movement of the structure

But there are also disadvantages:

• this is cold glazing that will not protect it from the cold;
• with this option it is impossible to insulate the loggia;
• transparency;
• installation of mosquito nets is not provided;
• poor sound insulation and tightness.

This is useful to know

Better connection of the sashes ensures a high level of tightness of the window structure. By glazing the balcony with plastic profiles and multilayer double-glazed windows, you can get the warmest room possible. For these cases, swing systems with double-glazed windows are more suitable, which will reliably protect against the cold and significantly reduce the level of noise penetration. For balcony rooms that are not used during the cold season, sliding systems are more suitable. This type of block is really simple and easy to use. They can be used effectively not only in summer, but also in autumn and spring. However, these systems can serve quite well in winter. In some versions they are quite airtight and will be able to efficiently perform their main enclosing function.

Which windows are best to put on the balcony?

Let's look at several options for glazing an external structure based on materials.

Tree

• Initially, to protect the loggia from precipitation, wind and to partially reduce heat loss, ordinary window frames were installed on the fence. Standard wood was used for their manufacture, and the structures themselves were assembled using tenons and wood glue.
• In such windows, single glass 4 mm thick was most often installed and secured with wooden glazing beads. This design did not provide proper tightness, so heat loss through this unit was significant.
• Another disadvantage of conventional wooden windows was the loose pressing of the sash to the frame. Even when using sealing tapes made of porous material, the blowing was noticeable, because the temperature on the balcony rarely exceeded the street temperature by more than 8 - 100C.
• Among the advantages of traditional wooden carpentry, I would name low cost (although plastic of the “if only it was” level costs about the same) and low weight. In general, wooden frames with single glazing should be installed only if energy saving is not important - for example, on the balcony of a country house, which is used only in the warm season.
• If heat saving is important, then instead of conventional frames it is worth installing structures made of timber - the so-called Euro-windows. For the manufacture of their load-bearing elements, laminated veneer lumber is used, which is given a certain shape (profiling), and a sealed glass unit is used for glazing.

Windows used for glazing balconies and loggias are in contact with the environment for a long time. To protect wood from moisture, aluminum linings are used, which are installed at the junction of frames and sashes from the outside.

Such windows are not inferior to metal-plastic ones in terms of heat transfer resistance, while maintaining all the advantages of wood - primarily environmental friendliness and attractive appearance. But in any case, wooden structures require periodic protective treatment with water-repellent impregnations or varnishes - otherwise, sooner or later the frames will swell and become deformed.

Plastic windows

And yet, wood is not used so often for our purposes - old woodwork has modest performance indicators, while modern euro-wood windows based on bursa are quite expensive. So, much more often the glazing of loggias with windows is performed using metal-plastic structures:

• The window frame, consisting of frames and sashes (opening parts), is made from a multi-chamber profile reinforced with greasy elements with a thickness of 1.2 to 2.5 mm.
• Single- or double-chamber double-glazed windows are installed in the frames and sashes, providing a high level of energy saving. To reduce the thermal conductivity of glazing, in the last 8–10 years, so-called energy-saving glass coated with metals (tin or silver) has been used, as well as filling the chambers between the glasses with inert gas.
• The pressing of the opening sashes to the frame is ensured by the operation of a special mechanism - fittings. The same mechanism allows you to open the doors slightly for ventilation with different intensities.

The high versatility of metal-plastic windows and a wide range of components provide them with a number of advantages:

• PVC windows with steel reinforcement have excellent performance characteristics - they retain heat well, can be used as sun screens, and protect the balcony well from loud sounds.
• Mechanical strength directly depends on the type of profile and reinforcement, therefore, even if we need floor-to-ceiling windows (i.e. glazing like a “French” balcony - from the top to the bottom floor without a parapet), we can find a suitable option.
• Installing fittings expands the functionality of the products, while ensuring not only the convenience of ventilation in different modes, but also safety. Anti-burglary fittings quite effectively resist attempts to “squeeze” the sash from the frame from the outside, and it should be installed on balconies of the first and last floors, as well as if the balcony window opens onto an entrance or other publicly accessible area.
• Finally, for installation you can choose not only standard white, but also colored (laminated with film or painted in the paste) windows - glazing balconies with such structures allows you to transform the room not only from the inside, but also from the outside.

The disadvantages include the appearance of the balcony - plastic surfaces, even laminated to resemble wood, are not liked by everyone.

The price, of course, is directly related to the functional parameters: if we want truly effective glazing, we will have to pay, and a lot.

Aluminum structures

If the size of the balcony exceeds 5-6 m in width, aluminum should be used instead of plastic. Aluminum structures on our market are presented in two versions - cold and warm:

• “Cold” aluminum windows are assembled on frames made only from aluminum profiles. As a rule, one or two separate glasses are used for glazing, since the main purpose of these structures is protection from precipitation and wind.
• The most popular form of “cold” glazing using aluminum is sliding. The moving parts of the frame are installed on a special guide profile and can be moved to the side, opening the opening. Naturally, it is almost impossible to ensure complete tightness in this case, so when filling gaps, they are usually limited to installing dust caps.
• “Accordions” are also often made from aluminum - folding frames that can be assembled in one place, completely opening the opening. Such transformable glazing is usually installed on the terraced balconies of private houses: in an ordinary apartment the need for such a complex structure almost never arises.

An alternative to “cold” is “warm” aluminum:

• Structurally, the windows replicate metal-plastic products - their frames and sashes are of similar shape (adjusted for material), the double-glazed windows and fittings used are almost identical.
• The peculiarity is that aluminum conducts heat well, and in order to prevent the frame or sash from becoming “cold bridges”, they are reinforced with a polymer insert - the so-called thermal break.
• Even with a thermal break, aluminum windows are inferior to plastic ones in terms of heat saving efficiency. But at the same time, the strength of the structure will be much higher, so if we need to glaze an object that experiences significant wind loads, then I usually make a choice in favor of aluminum.

Fittings and its impact on performance characteristics

Fittings - implies many parts, mechanisms and devices that allow the structure to work well. These include: brackets, handles, rods, hinges, etc. The quality of the window fittings, as well as the quality of the profile and glass unit, determines how the window will perform its functions.

The fittings elements must be made of high-strength steel, otherwise there is no guarantee that any of the elements will not simply break in the near future. As a result, the details and mechanisms of the fittings will directly affect:

• Wear resistance - any distortions will lead to abrasion of parts, therefore, the system will not be able to fully perform its functions;
• Durability - elements such as microlifts can reduce the load on hinges and extend the life of the entire structure;
• Reliability - latches and special clamps will not allow the shutters, even open ones, to move under the influence of wind from the street, safety locks (so-called “child locks”) will not allow you to turn the handle when the sash is open, erroneous opening blockers will not allow the window to be opened in two planes at once, protection from hacking is important for confidence in security, etc.;
• Ergonomics - convenience and comfort of using the product, this includes a complex mechanism that provides slot ventilation when the doors are closed, as well as the fact how quietly and smoothly the doors will close and open, how tightly the fit of the door and frame will be maintained.

Thanks to high-quality fittings, flexible control of the system is ensured.