Do you want to equip a study or a cozy corner in your apartment, but there is not enough space? Or maybe you just want to increase the useful area of the apartment? To solve all these problems, you can use a balcony or loggia. It is only necessary to convert this room into a living space. And so that the corner can be used in winter, you need to insulate the walls with the help of high-quality thermal insulation.
Modern stores offer a huge selection of heaters that solve this problem. The rating of the best heaters for the balcony and loggia, which we present to you, will help to understand all the diversity.
Usually these premises are used as a warehouse for unnecessary things. In order to turn them into habitable living space, a good renovation is needed. To begin with, a balcony or loggia is glazed with high-quality windows with an energy saving function. After that, it is the turn of the balcony insulation.
All construction stores have in their assortment a large selection of materials suitable for wall, floor and ceiling insulation. They all have a different structure, composition and quality. But they solve the same problem - insulation.
Another parameter by which materials for insulation differ is the price. There are expensive materials on sale that are not available to most buyers, there are also more budget options. In addition to insulation, you will need to purchase other materials that will be needed when repairing a balcony. This includes battens for lathing, fasteners, adhesives, and foam for installation.
Before you go shopping for insulation, you need to figure out what to look for, which characteristics are important, and which can be ignored. After all, all the best-selling materials differ not only in price. So you can avoid mistakes when choosing.
Since the balcony or loggia is actually on the street, all surfaces will have to be insulated. In such conditions, it is important that the weight of the insulation is minimal. Such insulation will not deform building structures.
In damp weather, fillers with a cotton or fibrous structure are able to absorb moisture. As a result, they become heavier.
Please note that there is very little space on the balcony or loggia, and during installation, part of the space will be eaten by a structure made of beams. In addition, cladding material will still have to be laid on top of the insulation. Therefore, the thickness should be minimal.
When installing some materials, for example, mineral wool, a special wooden lathing will be required, which takes up additional space.Therefore, it is wiser to choose thermal insulation of small thickness, which can be attached directly to the walls or balcony ceilings on reinforced concrete.
We all know that often apartment fires happen due to the fact that someone, having smoked on the balcony, throws an open cigarette butt down, and it ends up on the neighbors' balcony. Therefore, resistance to fire is one of the important qualities of insulation.
Give preference to non-flammable materials. Moreover, now there is a wide selection of heat-resistant heaters in stores.
This parameter is relevant if you are going to make repairs on the balcony yourself. In this case, it is important that the insulation can be easily assembled even without the special skills of the builder.
For example, the widely advertised insulation called polyurethane foam has many benefits. But in order for them to insulate the balcony, a special device for spraying and the efforts of several workers is required. If you arrange insulation with mineral wool, then first you need to make a special crate. But for wall insulation with expanded polystyrene, no special knowledge and skills are needed.
In any room, there are always moisture vapors penetrating through concrete or brick walls. When using insulation that traps heat, it is often necessary to use insulation with a film or foil as an additional protection against moisture. This leads to the fact that wet vapors cannot penetrate outside; they settle in the form of condensation on the walls and on the insulation. All this leads to the growth of mold and damage to the walls by fungal colonies.
To avoid this unpleasant phenomenon, it is necessary to use insulation with vapor-permeable properties. Otherwise, it is necessary to leave a small gap between the layers of insulation so that the air can move. In this case, the flow of fresh air will not allow moisture to settle on the insulation.
There are quite a few popular companies engaged in the production of heaters. However, the following companies have earned the greatest respect from buyers:
Let's look at the most popular heaters that can be used to insulate walls, floors and ceilings on balconies and loggias.
This material is known to everyone, it belongs to the category of inexpensive thermal insulation. It has been used in construction for over four decades. There are many companies that produce foam, so it is not difficult to buy it.
Polyfoam is available in sheets of various thicknesses and sizes.It has good thermal insulation properties and can be used as sound insulation. For polystyrene, moisture, rodents and fungus are not terrible. It can withstand environmental influences well and is very durable.
At the same time, it is dangerous to use polystyrene due to its high flammability and the ability to break down from contact with certain chemicals.
The price of polystyrene depends on many parameters, the cheapest material costs an average of 28 rubles per sheet.
This product is made from polymer raw materials by heating and foaming under high pressure. The result is durable plastic capsules with air inside. Izolon, otherwise known as polyethylene foam, provides good sound absorption and thermal insulation. Outside, the insulating material is covered with a layer of foil, which provides protection from moisture and heat reflection.
Izolon is resistant to chemicals, does not emit substances hazardous to humans. It can be used as a stand-alone insulation or in combination with other materials.
The average price depends on the thickness and starts at 101 r per square meter.
The product provides excellent quality thermal insulation. The trade name of this material is penoplex. It is produced by mixing conventional foam granules with a blowing agent. This makes the penoplex very durable and allows it to withstand high mechanical stress.
The average price is 1,332 rubles per package.
Comparative video of this insulation with the following material - Stone wool:
Thermal insulation called "stone wool" is made from basalt using binders. After processing, a fibrous material is obtained from which slabs or rolls of various thicknesses and sizes are made. Stone or basalt wool can be used to insulate walls made of hollow bricks or wood.
Average price from 436 rubles per package.
This well-known insulation is made from waste glass production, combining microscopic fibers into mats or plates for thermal insulation. This insulation is versatile; it can be used to insulate walls from the inside and outside of a building, roof and other things.
Average price from 800 rubles per roll.
This bulk material is used for floor insulation. It is an oval granule made from clay. As a result of processing, a light porous fraction is obtained that perfectly fulfills its main task - to retain heat.
The average price is 200 rubles per cubic meter.
One of the varieties of mineral wool is slag wool, which is obtained from blast furnace slag by processing into microfibers. Slagovata were first used in Soviet times. Now it is rarely used, since more modern materials have appeared.
The average price is 400 rubles per package.
This insulation is polyethylene foam, additionally protected by foil. The action of this material is based on the principle of heat reflection and is similar to the action of an ordinary thermos. The material is particularly thin, its thickness does not exceed 10 mm. On both sides, the polyethylene base is covered with the thinnest layer of aluminum foil.
Average price from 1400 rubles per pack.
As you can see, the choice of thermal insulation materials is quite large. Therefore, it is not difficult to choose a product that is suitable for all parameters. In addition, modern materials are quite simple to use and you can insulate a balcony with them even without special skills.