Do-it-yourself balcony insulation

Insulation of balcony walls is a necessity for modern construction. With basic skills and a minimal set of tools, you can do it yourself. In this master class we will look at step-by-step instructions for insulating a balcony.

Saving energy, and therefore money, when heating or cooling a home has recently become an urgent need. Nice modern windows and balcony systems are designed to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. But what about the heat transfer through the walls? The answer is to make thermal insulation.

There are many ways to insulate, science does not stand still. We will focus on the proven classics – mineral wool (“stone”) slabs. This material has proven itself over the years. In addition, slabs (like any sheet insulation) have a dual purpose – they insulate and level the surface.

Training. What is needed

The surfaces should be well cleaned and dust-free. Carefully glue the frames of windows and balcony systems with masking (paper) tape. We also recommend protecting the surface of glass units from accidental sudden movements..

Potholes, voids and cracks in the walls should be repaired with mortar or cement glue. The wall surface must be flat (without mortar flows) and rough.

Tool:

• perforator with a drill 200 mm with a diameter of 12 mm, a whisk;
• hammer, tape measure, retractable knife;
• notched trowel (for a concrete wall 4 mm, for a brick wall 6 mm);
• spatulas of different sizes, plastic half-graters;
• bakeware, rollers, soft plastic buckets, trestles.

Material:

• mineral wool slabs;
• glue for fixing plates and reinforcing the outer surface;
• dense painting net;
• plastic or metal corners (profile);
• primer;
• putty “lamb”;
• if necessary – color or facade paint.

Work process

Apply glue to the primed wall using a notched trowel. At a time about 1 sq. m.

Question.Why notched trowels are used to apply cement adhesives?

Answer.When the material is pressed against the surface, the “ridge” of glue is flattened evenly into free space on the sides and an adhesive layer of the same thickness is obtained.

We press the insulation boards to the wall, on which the glue is applied, close to each other.

Attention! After pressing, it is undesirable to move the plates, so you should carefully try on before.

After laying the boards on glue, they must be fixed to the wall. This is done with plastic dowels in the shape of an open umbrella. They have a long hollow stem with a diameter of 10 mm with a head and a spacer rod. The stock is used if the wall material is not very strong (for example, marl or worn brick). In our case, new brickwork (like concrete) allows the use of “umbrellas” without a rod.

Attention! Calculation of the dowel length: insulation thickness + 100 mm.

We drill holes for dowels with a pitch of 400–500 mm. We retreat 50 mm from the edge of the insulation plate. We insert the “umbrellas” and carefully hammer them in with a hammer. We putty the joints and dowel caps.

Question.Why can’t you use one method of fastening – glue or dowels?

Answer.The dowel is a point fastener that carries the main load. Adhesive is an auxiliary element that distributes this load to the wall surface. The adhesive fills in voids and cavities in the wall, preventing condensation.

The next step is to fix the reinforcing mesh. In this case, the same glue is used as for fixing the boards. First, we apply a layer of 2-3 mm to the insulation. The layer width should exceed the width of the masking net sheet by 100 mm. Then we gently embed the mesh in the wet glue, ironing it “vnatyag”. We level it with a simple spatula. Mesh sheets are glued with 50-100 mm overlap.

Attention! Make sure that there are no wrinkles and creases on the mesh – they will be an unpleasant hindrance during further work.

If necessary (if the edges of the slab do not seem even enough), install a special corner profile at the corners and fix it with glue. After the main layer with the mesh has dried, apply another layer of glue over the entire surface

We recommend adding a reinforcing fiber – viscose to the glue. This will improve performance and make the entire structure more durable..

After complete drying, we prime the entire surface. In our case, an extremely reliable primer with quartz sand was used.

Application of a decorative layer. The choice of finishing is a matter of taste. One of the simplest outdoor decors is lamb. It does not require high qualifications of the plasterer-painter, has an unassuming appearance and excellent performance properties. It can be tinted or dyed.

With a spatula, apply a layer of putty 3-4 mm.

After 2-3 minutes, rub with a plastic scraper in a circular motion, giving the texture.

Calculation of the approximate cost of 1 sq. m:

Layer name, material	Unit rev	Consumption for 1 m2	Price 1 unit / rub.	St-th 1 m2/rub.
Adhesive for fixing plates	Kg	3	15	45
Mineral wool slabs (100 mm) *	sq. m	1	80	80
Dowel “umbrella”	PCS.	five	ten	50
Painting net	sq. m	1	15	15
Adhesive for mesh reinforcement	Kg	3	15	45
Adhesive starter layer	Kg	3	15	45
Primer	Kg	0,4	50	20
Facade putty	Kg	3.5	6	20
Total cost of materials				320
Job				280
Total materials and work				600

* – with a plate thickness of 50 mm, only the cost of the insulation itself will change, the remaining consumption indicators will coincide with those given in the table.

Our balcony is ready. In the same way, you can insulate any walls by selecting the appropriate insulation thickness. As noted above, the method is proven and reliable. Detailed descriptions of each process separately are given in the instructions on the packaging of materials (glue, putty). We recommend using all the components of the insulation system from one manufacturer – this will simplify the material procurement process and guarantee perfect interaction of the components.