When connecting a balcony or a loggia with a living room, apartment owners are faced with the problem of a lower floor level in the attached room. It is not convenient, and sometimes unsafe, especially for young children and people with disabilities. You can solve the problem by various methods, but each of them has its own characteristics, which determine the final choice of the appropriate technology.
Options for raising the floor, their pros and cons
There are many ways to raise floors on a balcony, but all of them can be divided into 4 groups:
- lagging;
- cement-sand screed and expanded clay concrete;
- metal frame device;
- layer of extruded polystyrene foam (EPS).
Each of the options has its own advantages and disadvantages, differs in the technology of work and the materials used. Therefore, when choosing a method, the following factors must be considered:
- technical condition of the balcony slab;
- total weight of building materials, including glazing and parapet;
- insulation design of a loggia or balcony;
- type of finish flooring.
You should think about the arrangement of furniture and other items in advance, since they will also provide additional weight on the stove.
Lags
Light wooden logs allow you to level and raise the floor to almost any level. At the same time, the rails can be fixed at the desired height with the help of studs, battens, bent metal channels or wooden support posts.
TO the benefits the method can include:
- low weight of the structure;
- affordability;
- simple assembly technology;
- the possibility of installing "warm floors";
- the use of environmentally friendly materials.
Main disadvantage lies in the need to protect wood from moisture and the mandatory presence of high-quality glazing. At large temperature differences, the linear dimensions of the wooden logs change with the possible damage to the floor covering.
Screed
To raise the floors on balconies, three screed technologies are used:
- pouring reinforced cement-sand monolithic layer ("wet");
- “Dry” over a layer of expanded clay or other light insulation;
- laying of expanded clay concrete layer.
Wet DSP has the highest strength, does not require large expenditures, is easy to fill in and will provide a flat surface for any finish coating. However, the large weight of the cement-sand monolith greatly limits the height of the floor to 50 mm on glazed balconies and up to 80 mm without glazing with a light parapet.
"Dry screed" from expanded clay is much easier and allows you to raise the floor on the loggia by 20 cm. In addition, it:
- can withstand weight loads up to 500 kg / m2although this does not mean that the balcony slab itself can bear such weight;
- possesses good heat-insulating qualities;
- quick, easy work.
By cons include:
- multi-layer construction with hard sheet coating;
- hydrophobicity of expanded clay granules;
- high final cost.
High costs arise due to the need to cover the surface with moisture-resistant plywood, OSB, GVL or other sheet material.
Pouring expanded clay mixture - The average option for the weight characteristics of screeds. The most common method involves laying a dry insulation and spilling it with liquid "cement milk". After hardening the surface, a steel reinforcing mesh is laid on it and an ordinary cement-sand screed 25-35 mm thick is made.
Such a coating has sufficient strength, durability, provides a smooth surface for finishing. However, it is limited by a lifting height of up to 150 mm and requires the mandatory installation of a waterproofing layer.
Metal carcass
Steel frame structures allow you to raise the floor to any height without large weight loads on the balcony slab. Talking about positive parties, they possess:
- high strength and reliability;
- long service life;
- the possibility of laying insulation;
- affordable cost;
- light weight.
Minuses:
- sophisticated technology for mounting a flat horizontal surface;
- possible corrosive effects on the metal.
In addition, the work will require the skills of a welder and the presence of a welding machine.
Extruded Polystyrene
The laying of EPS panels is increasingly used to raise the floor level. This is due to the large number pluses this technology:
- light weight load on the stove;
- low cost of materials;
- simple laying technology and quick work;
- excellent thermal insulation;
- range of plates from 20 to 100 mm;
- compatibility with all types of floor coverings.
The disadvantage can be considered the need to level the surface with a screed in the presence of a standard slope of the plate.
Preparatory work
With any chosen method of raising the floor on the balcony or loggia, preparatory work is required. These include:
- removal of all foreign objects and cleaning;
- inspection of the plate, identification and elimination of defects;
- conducting measurements to determine the amount of necessary materials;
- device or laying a layer of hydraulic insulation (if necessary).
Defects include cracks in the junction of the parapet to the balcony slab, cracks, bumps and protrusions on the surface.
Technology of raising the floor by 200 mm using a “dry” screed
After completing the preparatory measures, you need to purchase the necessary materials and prepare a tool for work.
Materials:
- polyethylene film;
- damping tape;
- expanded clay;
- U-shaped profile for beacons and reinforcing sheet support;
- sheet material for the top layer.
Tool:
- construction level, tape measure, rule;
- puncher and screwdriver;
- cord and pencil;
- Master OK;
- bucket;
- knife.
Instruction manual
Work on the device “dry screed” on the balcony or loggia is carried out in 5 successive stages:
- determination of the level of filling expanded clay;
- laying of a plastic film as a waterproofing layer;
- fixing the damper tape;
- installation of beacons;
- filling and leveling expanded clay;
- laying of sheet flooring.
To determine the level of expanded clay backfill:
- open the balcony door and put on the floor in the room any stable object, the height of which is greater than the threshold;
- take a level rail, attach a level to it and mark the resulting horizontal on the surface of the parapet;
- take away from it the height of the support, the thickness of the upper sheet material and the finish coating;
- then mark the horizontal around the perimeter of the balcony will be easy;
- lay the polyethylene and fasten the tape;
- set the beacons at the marked level, proceed to backfill the insulation.
Log floors
To raise the floor using the support lags you will need:
Materials:
- wooden beam;
- plywood, OSB or particleboard;
- studs or metal supports;
- dowels and screws;
- antiseptic for wood impregnation.
Tool:
- electric drill and screwdriver;
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- tape measure, level, pencil;
- drill with a drill under the dowel.
Instruction manual
There are three common ways to arrange floors on lags:
- Buy supporting metal elements in the form of the letter "P". Fix the supports on the balcony slab using dowels. Screw the logs with screws to the fixed racks. Check the horizon with a level and adjust if necessary.
- As supports, you can use steel dowel pins. To do this, draw logs on the balcony slab and place wooden blocks on them. Every 50 cm, drill through holes in the logs and through them mark the locations of the studs. The bars should be clamped with two nuts and washers, making a preliminary sweat so that the upper nut does not protrude above the surface. Cut the top of the stud with a grinder.
- Logs can be laid on the transverse crate of a wooden beam, which is attached to the floor with long dowels or using metal corners.
Before starting work, do not forget to treat the wood with an antiseptic and put waterproofing in all places where the tree adjoins the stone and metal structures. Installation of sheet material is carried out only after laying the insulation.
Extruded Polystyrene
It is very simple to level the floor with EPSS sheets. To do this, prepare:
- polystyrene foam boards;
- dense sheet material - plywood, OSB, chipboard;
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- knife, tape measure, marker.
If there is a slope of the balcony slab, it will have to be leveled with a small reinforced cement-sand screed. After that, simply lay the plates in 1-2 layers on the surface with the required overlap over the lock. All slots must be filled with mounting foam. Then lay the sheet material by attaching it to the wall and parapet using metal corners.