Master class: repair of walls on the loggia

Recommendation points

• Zero stage
• Slopes
• Electrical wiring
• Operating procedure
• Wall decoration
• Operating procedure

What is the peculiarity of operating a loggia of a multi-storey building? What materials are best used for processing the walls of the loggia? How to lay the electrical network in this room? What materials to choose for decorative finishes? You will find answers to these questions in this article..

A balcony or loggia is a constant companion of individual apartments. In Soviet-built high-rise buildings, they often have impressive dimensions, which affects the estimate during their repair. The walls have the largest surface area in this case. They also have the largest number of problems associated with such factors:

1. Lack of ventilation. This leads to the formation of condensation. Often, fungus is already present on the walls before repair.
2. Winter freezing, temperature drop, dew point. Also the cause of condensation, especially on the glass (if any) and on the wall between the room and the loggia.
3. Wear of structural elements of the house. If the loggia was not glazed, damage is possible, up to the mechanical destruction of the plate.
4. Dynamic deformations. Distortions and cracks at the joints of the panels, blockages of the walls resulting from the shrinkage of the house and poor-quality assembly of the frame. This is a sign of panel and block houses. On monolithic frames, it practically does not happen (if anything, there is a crack).
5. The legacy of previous repairs in the form of plaster with a very high-quality mortar without skills or whitewashing with PVA glue.

We will consider the process of repairing, processing and decorating the walls of the loggia using the example of a room that has all the signs described above.

Before the start of work, the room was already glazed with a standard balcony glass unit and looked like this:

Zero stage

Taking out all that is superfluous, dismantling everything that is nailed and bolted. Seal the finishing surfaces of windows and doors with masking tape. It is advisable to protect windows.

A common problem of walls that have not been repaired for a long time is the coating with a very high-quality PVA-based whitewash, which would be time consuming and dusty to completely clean. In this case, it is not necessary to expose the wall to concrete. It is enough to apply a coarse deep notch, into the furrows of which the primer will penetrate, and then the subsequent layers. To do this, you need a drill with a bowl-type brush..

As a result of stripping, the weak spots of the whitewash were removed. Those areas that hold well will serve as additional adhesion of subsequent layers to the concrete. As a result, the cleaned wall looks like this:

Further, it should be noted that we are dealing with old factory concrete, which is very reluctant to come into contact with anything. Therefore, it should be carefully treated with adhesives..

In our case, we chose a deeply penetrating primer AKRIMAX-LUX with antifungal properties and the composition “Optimist concrete contact adhesive G109” with a quartz filler. As a rule, concrete primers have a color indicator – in order to distinguish the treated surface.

After processing by “Optimist” the walls look like this:

Slopes

At best, they are badly worn out, at worst, they are partially destroyed during the installation of windows and doors. Even well-preserved slopes look far from perfect, and in 100% of cases they have to be formed anew. Comprehensive information on how to make plaster slopes can be found in the article “DIY plaster slopes”.

Before installing the painting corner and applying the mixture, carefully clean the surfaces, cracks from polyurethane foam and loose inclusions.

Then we install the painting corner with a grid on the solution and level it. After the solution has dried and the corner is fixed, we apply the solution to the slope and part of the wall.

For the formation of slopes, a universal frost- and water-resistant non-shrinking base putty “Prospectors” was used.

Electrical wiring

To illuminate the loggia, economical diode lamps were chosen that consume 3.5 W of electricity, as well as a wall sconce with a 40 W incandescent lamp. On the wall – a paired block from a socket with switches. Since the loggia is supposed to be unheated, heating devices (more powerful than 0.5 kW) will not be connected. This allows you to select wires of small cross-section – 1 mm. All electrical installation is carried out with copper wire PVS 2×1.

Electrification scheme: 1 – exit of wires from the apartment; 2 – terminal block WAGO 2273-245 (it is allowed to use WAGO 773-xxx); 3 – ceiling diode lamps; 4 – wall lamp

Operating procedure

1. Mark with a pencil or marker the location of the cable, trying to make the most of the existing slots and cavities. Mark the installation locations for the switch box.

2. Cut with a grinder, a chasing cutter, or simply knock out grooves (grooves) of the required depth with a chisel for laying wires in them.

3. Using the “diamond bit for concrete 55 mm” nozzle:

deepen the seats for plastic sockets:

4. Process grooves and seats with “Optimist”.

5. Lay the wires and install the socket outlets on foam, alabaster, sealant.

6. Follow the steps after finishing the walls.

Wall decoration

Then the entire surface is primed again (AKRIMAX-LUX) and putty (putty “Prospectors”).

After covering, the putty should be cleaned with an abrasive mesh to smooth out any unevenness from the trowel. For the most reliable adhesion of the decorative finishing layer to the base one, another type of primer is used – BETON-KONTAKT with a quartz filler from KBS. It has a red indicator and serves for better connection of the finishing layers.

Decorative coating. We recommend using a ready-made mixture ModellierPutz of the German company Dufa as a finishing layer..

Operating procedure

1. Transfer the mixture to a paint tray.

2. Apply a layer of 1–5 mm with a spatula.

3. Level the layer by spreading the mixture with a roller.

4. Using a structural roller with a pattern, apply the texture to the raw mixture.

The color of the finishing coat is selected based on the overall design (taking into account the colors of the ceiling and floor). In our case, the glazing compound Sollasurro from SOLEX Premium was used, which gives a golden sparkling shade, at the same time being a protective coating.

After the glazing composition has dried, we complete the installation of the electrics. We connect the wires according to the diagram.

We install the outlet and switch in the seats.

Then we insert a decorative frame and keys. The final look of the walls is very interesting:

The main thing in this repair is that all the rules for applying and the sequence of layers are observed. All necessary measures for carefree operation are taken.

Cost estimate for materials and work (6×1 m, height 2.4 m) *:

Name	Packaging	Price, rub,
Primer AKRIMAX-LUX	Canister 3 l	180
Primer “Optimist betonkontakt G109” with quartz filler.	Bucket 3 kg	300
Putty “Prospectors”	Bag 20 kg	300
BETON-KONTAKT from KBS	Bucket 5 kg	220
Dufa ModellierPutz Blend	Bucket 15 kg	850
SOLEX Premium Sollasurro	Bucket 3 kg	450
Other expenses (rollers, tray, scotch tape)	–	500
Total material		2800
Job		2500
Total material and work		5300

* – despite the very small squaring of the walls, the material will have to be purchased in whole packages

The estimate does not include the costs of electrical work. During operation, it is recommended to periodically ventilate the loggia..