Finishing the balcony MDF panels with their own hands

In modern houses, balconies ceased to play the role of a storehouse of unnecessary things. Today this zone is used for recreation. Therefore, many people try to make this place more cozy, beautiful. The easiest way to improve the appearance of the balcony is to use finishing materials that are easy to install. Modern technology allows you to perform high-quality finishing both indoors and outdoors. In addition, sheathing often plays not only an aesthetic role. It serves as an additional thermal insulation layer.

general information

Currently, many finishing materials are on sale, which can be used for lining a balcony or balcony. Each of them has its advantages, disadvantages and installation features. Choosing the right material, you should carefully study all the parameters.

First, decide which part of the balcony you want to trim - internal or external. And then go to the store or to a specialized market.

For decorating the inner walls of the balcony, the following materials are suitable:

• plastic;
• MDF boards;
• Drywall;
• Lining;
• siding;
• tree.

You can choose any option. But remember: finishing the outside of the loggia or balcony involves the use of thermal insulation material. In this case, the house will not only change its appearance, but also will keep the heat in the winter. For exterior plating, siding, MDF, block house or plastic lining are used.

The choice of materials for the paneling of the balcony is great. Everything depends on the preferences, financial possibilities and taste of the owner of the dwelling. Most often, the balcony is finished with MDF panels. We'll talk about them today.

MDF panel looks like a fibreboard. But this material is additionally pasted with a laminating film with a pattern. Therefore, a high-quality panel made from a finely dispersed fraction can often be confused with a natural tree.

Preparing for plating

This option, like the finishing of the balcony MDF panels, is preferred by many citizens. Their choice is dictated not only by saving material and money. Another advantage of this method of arranging the balcony is the ease of mounting the material. This process is very similar to the decoration of the walls by the clapboard. In addition, this material allows you to hide unevenness on the walls.

One can not help saying one more advantage of this method. It is a question of that the person receives an opportunity of furnish of a balcony of MDF panels with own hands. To do this, you need the following tools:

• Hacksaw, hammer, drill, construction knife, pliers, screwdriver.
• Dowels, nails, screws, staples.
• Corners.
• Wooden slats.
• Glue.
• Thermal insulation material.

Preparatory work

Before you begin to finish the balcony with MDF panels, you should correctly prepare a loggia. This process consists of several stages.

1. Completely free the room.
2. Inspect the walls for holes, cracks, holes and other flaws. They are closed with mounting foam, cement mortar or simple putty. This procedure is necessary to prevent the ingress of excess moisture, dust, wind or rainwater.
3. If there are traces of mold on the walls, they must be removed. The room is treated with a solution of the fungus using a nebulizer.
4. To insulate the structure on the balcony set hydro and heat insulation materials.
5. Conduct the installation of panels in a convenient way: on the frame, on the glue.

Mounting MDF panels on a frame

We cleaned the balcony (loggia). What's next? It is necessary to install the panels on the frame. To do this, we perform the following actions:

1. Measure the area of the walls, windows and doors of the balcony. It is necessary to purchase the required amount of material in advance.

2. Construct the frame.

3. Fix the plates to the finished crate. We start work from the corner, moving horizontally. The panel should be placed so that the protruding part is directed to the corner. The distance from the perpendicular wall should be about 3 mm.

4. By the same principle, we fix the second panel. Using screws and spikes, fix the panels. Between the two plates in the grooves we insert a corner.

5. Take the next plate. We put a brace on it, fix it well to the crate with nails.

6. On the other hand we use self-tapping screws as a fastening element.

7. By the same principle, we install all MDF boards. Now it is possible to fix skirting boards and platbands with the help of building glue. We put it on the back of the detail with a snake.

8. Plastic profiles and slats hide joints that could have formed during the installation of panel slabs.

In this article you can see a lot of photos of balcony finishing MDF panels. They confirm that the room has an attractive appearance after performing repair work. Here you can arrange a great place for relaxation and romantic dinners.

How to build a crate?

The result of repair works largely depends on the quality of the carcass fabrication. Experts argue that there are several options for collecting the frame. Often the difference lies in the choice of material for the creation of the crate. Most often, wood or metal profiles are used.

For balconies, previously sheathed with a heater, an independent frame is most often used. It does not require fastening directly to the wall.

Metal carcass

Suppose a tree does not suit you. You decided to build a metal frame. The following are important recommendations:

• We prepare the necessary tools: scissors, screwdriver, puncher, construction corner and level, nylon thread, cutter, dowels, plumb bob.
• Orienting on the windows, we put on the walls markings. At the junction of the lines and in the corners fix the dowels. To fix screws plumb, place the wall vertically.
• We fix along the perimeter of the profile, focusing on the markup.
• For door and window openings we mount vertical elements of the crate.
• Orienting on the windows, we straighten the metal profile.
• We fix the protector on both sides of the structure.
• We make a horizontal frame belt, to which panels will be attached in the future. We fix the cutter. We make sure that the distance between the belts is about 50 cm.
• If there are batteries on the loggia or balcony, they must be closed with a decorative grille.
• We fix all the profile elements securely with corners or straight hangers.

Wooden frame

Most people still make a frame of wood. First you need to prepare wooden beams 0,5 x 0,5 cm. This material does not need an additional amplifier, it can withstand heavy loads. As a fastener for this design, dowels are used.

Installation of a frame from a tree occurs on the same principle, as well as installation of a metal lathing. Fasteners - corners, screws or grooves in the uneven bars.

Mounting of MDF panels on glue

Do not you have time? You can not, for one reason or another, build a good crate? Pay attention to the photo finishing with MDF panels inside the balcony. This method of fastening is simple and effective. In this case, liquid nails are used.

Sequence of the work:

1. Preparing the room. Walls are cleaned of plaster, wallpaper. Do not know how to quickly cope with this task? It's enough just to tap the wall with a hammer. So the old coating can be quickly removed.
2. The surface of the wall is treated with a cement-sand mortar. Particular attention is paid to places with flaws.
3. The treated surfaces should be left alone for a few days, until the walls are completely dry.
4. We take the roller. We apply a primer to the surface of the wall. After drying, you can begin to finish the walls with putty.
5. We install MDF boards according to the same principle as in the previous method (from the corner). On the back side of the panel, we put the building glue, press it against the wall. Surplus glue can be removed with a knife.

Using this method of attaching MDF panels allows you to maintain the appearance of the material. After all, the integrity of the surface is not violated, and the hats of nails or screws will be almost invisible.

Cost of finishing

Many would like to know how much it costs to finish the balcony with MDF panels. It all depends on the total amount of materials that will be needed to perform repair work.

The average width of the standard balcony is 90 cm and the length is 3 m. Based on these parameters, we can assume that we need about 30 m of a bar 40 x 40 and 3.2 m of a bar 40 x 70.

We calculate the required number of panels: 2.6 x 0.25 m. We need 14 pieces.

Fasteners can always be found at home.

At the moment, the cost of building materials is unstable. Therefore, you can independently calculate the approximate amount that is required to repair the balcony. One will have to spend 5,000 rubles, and another - 2-3 times more. Here everything is individual.

Advice of specialists

For those who decided to finish inside the balcony with MDF panels, the information will be useful from specialists. After all, there are some nuances of work, which you can learn only during the installation.

Walls and ceiling need to be pre-cleaned and leveled. To do this, you can use sheets of gypsum board with a water repellent effect. To prevent misalignment, the first panels must be carefully leveled.

The order of installation of the elements is not important. You can begin to perform installation from both walls and from the ceiling.

When choosing a material, you should pay attention to the pattern on the panels. It should look harmoniously with the general interior of the balcony.

Reviews

Is it worth it to waste time and money on finishing the balcony with MDF panels? Feedback from others will help to make the right conclusion. Does the color burn in the sun? Does not it absorb the condensate, which often forms on the windows? How quickly does the surface of MDF panels get dirty? Many citizens are interested in answering these questions.

Many reviews of the interior decoration of the balcony of MDF panels claim that with these problems this material copes with cheers.

Let's talk about the condensate. Do you have a good double-glazed window on the balcony? Then the condensate on the windows can not be. If the problem is with the glasses, then experts recommend using waterproof MDF.

Direct sunlight will not be a problem for this material. The main thing is to install windows with a special double-glazed window, which does not let out ultraviolet rays.

About pollution. Any surface gets dirty with time. But MDF panels are easy to clean from dust and dirt. 10% vinegar solution will handle this task perfectly.

Conclusion

The finishing of the balcony with MDF panels has practically no drawbacks. This explains the popularity of this finishing material. Affordable price, durability, durability, moisture resistance, low thermal conductivity, easy installation - all this makes the panels of the finely dispersed fraction an ideal material for lining balconies and balconies.