How to make a roof or visor on a balcony on the top floor

Recommendation points

• Safety at work at height
• The device of the frame coupled with glazing
• Installation of battens
• Roof covering
• Abutments and skates
• Balcony roof filing

The glazing of the balconies on the upper floors is a very specific procedure. The installation of a small roof requires a careful approach, the correct choice of covering and the correct execution of the nodes of the junction of the visor to the wall. We want to share the main secrets of installing the roof of the balcony on the top floor with you..

First of all, the classification: the roofs of the balconies are usually divided into dependent, that is, structures partially embedded in the wall of the building, and independent – fixed to the wall with the help of various types of mounting means. This division is only relevant for construction work. When repairing and glazing balconies, it is almost impossible to arrange a dependent roof, and there is simply no reason to do this – it is easier to use lightweight hinged structures. Therefore, it will be correct to classify the roof of the upper balcony by the presence of glazing on it..

Safety at work at height

Please note that performing this kind of work independently without professional training and equipment can have dire consequences. Do not try to arrange fall protection or work from the roof side by yourself. To exclude the very possibility of falling, all installation should be carried out from inside the balcony, except for cases when this cannot be done due to design features..

Of these exceptions, the most common are the laying and securing of the roof covering, the installation of ebbs and the protection of the junction points. This scrupulous work is difficult for an unprepared person, being at a height. It would be more correct to turn to the services of industrial climbers: if you yourself mounted the frame and crate, you have all the necessary materials (including consumables) and a pre-prepared scheme and laying technology, the services of climbers will cost a minimum.

The device of the frame coupled with glazing

The roof on non-glazed balconies is made up of triangular trusses welded from a 40×40 mm square pipe. All the complexity of manufacturing comes down to calculating the required slope of the slope (on average – 30 cm per 1 m), the length of the eaves overhang (25-35 cm) and the optimal pitch of installation of trusses (70-100 cm).

In the case of glazed balconies, it is necessary to provide space for laying insulation, therefore, the truss should be in the shape of a trapezoid with a smaller base length on the inside of at least 50 mm. The length of the trusses should be such that they rest against the glazing frame. Naturally, for the correct insulation of the abutment in this place, it is necessary to glaze even before laying the roofing.

Due to the direct abutment of the window frames on the trusses, absolute resistance to frontal wind loads is ensured. Reverse wind loads are compensated by connecting the frame to the trusses with steel plates at least 3 mm thick. The side pillars are resistant to wind gusts by directly attaching to the wall and by means of an angle profile to the front frame.

Installation of battens

To fasten the roof covering, it is necessary to stuff wooden beams or boards with a thickness of at least 40 mm over and across the metal trusses. The length of the slope usually does not exceed 1.5–2 meters, so in most cases only three slats are enough, but they must be solid. The task of fixing them is quite trivial, but on the balcony it has its own specifics.

First, the crate is laid on top of the trusses and temporarily secured with clamps or wire. Fastening is carried out using metal corners, which are bolted through the truss pipe, and the other side is attracted to the bars by two self-tapping screws. After the crossbeams are temporarily fastened with two slats, then the crate is removed from the mountings and the ropes are lifted to the roof.

Roof covering

The roof of the upper balcony has almost no access for maintenance, so the coating must be resistant to precipitation, temperature fluctuations and mechanical stress. The appearance, on the contrary, is not important, so it is better to cover the balcony with ordinary profile sheets. The coating should have the highest possible reflectance, so matt white and metallic silver are preferred..

Now you can conveniently and safely fix the roof covering, and then the insulation. The sheets are placed with the cut edge towards the top of the slope, the outer sheet is placed in one piece and with a large overlap. Then the assembled structure is fed back and bolted to the trusses.

Abutments and skates

When arranging the roof, it is critically important to perform high-quality junction nodes, excluding moisture seepage inside. One of the most problematic areas is the outer corner between the roof and the wall. It often happens that the water flowing down the building falls under the protective ridge and saturates the insulation, or further flows down the inner wall.

The problem can be solved for sure: it is necessary to make a cut in the wall with a diamond disc to a depth of 50–60 mm, completely fill the gap with sealant and insert the Z-shaped ridge for the profiled sheet into it. This method of sealing maintains corner joints and is guaranteed to protect against leaks even adjoining brick walls, where thick joints cannot always be sealed with sealant..

The front and side overhangs of the roof are hemmed with a corner ridge for the profiled sheet. The space between the window and the roofing should not have a single gap: it is filled with foam, which, after hardening, is cut off along the frame. The open cut of the foam is abundantly covered with roofing or ordinary bitumen mastic, then the corner strip is attached to the screws.

From the inside, it is necessary to re-process all joints and abutments to the walls and glazing with the help of polyurethane foam; in the corners, a side of at least 40 mm thick should be left. If the frame consoles protrude beyond the glazing line, they must be hemmed with the same metal ridge, cut on one side along the thickness of the console edge. The narrow space in the corner under the eaves must also be completely filled with foam.

Balcony roof filing

Insulation under the roof of the balcony is not laid to preserve heat. The balcony, in principle, cannot be warm: the three outer walls cannot be thoroughly insulated without a significant loss of internal space. Nevertheless, even on non-insulated, but glazed balconies, it is necessary to lay some layer of thermal insulation under the roof.

This is done to maintain a healthy balcony climate in summer. On hot days, the roof will inevitably heat up to 50-60 ° C, greatly heating the air inside. To avoid this, a roll of rock wool will suffice. Insulation is pushed into the gap between the roof and the trusses, tightly filling the space between the battens and breaking the resulting lumps of cotton wool.

It is not always convenient to attach siding or other finishes directly to the trusses, so they are knocked out from below with wooden blocks of minimum thickness. It is possible to install a rough ceiling made of OSB or plywood, in this case it is necessary to carefully fill the joints with polyurethane foam, which, after cutting, is covered with a protective layer of alkyd paint.