The tambour is the passageway between the external and internal entrance doors

Did anyone ever think of why in the cold season in the apartment the door is not covered with hoarfrost? Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the good thermal insulation of the door. But not only in this matter. The main reason for the lack of ice on the door is the presence of a tambour room - a small space separating the entrance doors to the apartment and the street. This room happens in a private house. But first things first.

General concept of the vestibule

There are several values of the tambour room, but all of them are inherently reduced to one. So, the tambour is a separate room or a small part of it, preventing cold air from entering the living rooms immediately. It serves as a kind of air cushion where street and home air meet.

Another purpose of the vestibule is the retention of dirt, dust and sand brought on the sole of the shoe. Whichever rug is stylized before the front door or inside the apartment and house, it will not be able to provide complete cleanliness. But a separate room, where you can change street shoes for domestic, will cope with this task.

The construction norms that would regulate the required dimensions of the tambour do not exist. But when designing it, you should take into account at least the width of the inner door, which, as a rule, opens outwards. Therefore, the minimum depth of the tambour should be 1.3-1.5 m. If additional use of the tambour space is assumed, then, accordingly, its area should be increased.

Location of the tambour and its need

By its location, the vestibule can be built into the house or in the form of an extension (in a private house) to the house.

In public institutions, there is often a tambour. In this case, when building it, it should be borne in mind that the more people will come / go at the same time, the harder the plan of the tambour should be. Otherwise, there will be no meaning from it at all. Cold air will quickly get inside.

Many people believe that the tambour is absolutely unnecessary room in the house. It either consumes part of the living space, or requires additional costs for an extension. In fact, the cost of its construction is fully justified, because Funds for heating housing with a room in the room is required significantly less than without it. This is especially noticeable in the area where the cold season lasts long enough.

Tambour in a private house

The construction of the vestibule was invented long enough, when a small extension to a private house was called the "canopy". Today, such a room can be decorated in any style and used not only as a buffer zone. For example, using double-glazed windows, you can build an air structure that will perfectly perform the basic functions of the vestibule. If the room is made spacious enough, and the windows are large, you will get an excellent veranda, which you can collect at the guests' table during the warm season.

In the room there can be not only internal and external doors, but also the entrance to another separate room. So, often from the vestibule they make an entrance to the garage attached to the house. Then, in wet or cold weather, there will be no need to go out to get into the car, and gasoline vapors will not penetrate into the housing. An additional door can also lead to the utility building or boiler room.

Tambour in a block of flats

A tambour in the entrance, directly at the entrance, in modern houses does not always happen. More precisely, the room and the front door, of course, there is. But the next inner door that separates the entrance to the staircase may not be.

A tambour in a block of flats is also called a building that separates 2 or more apartments from the rest of the corridor. Such an obstruction is usually made not by developers, but by the owners themselves after settling. If to address in this case to the legislation such premises are possible only if other owners of the apartments located on this floor, not against re-planning. Also, when constructing a tambour in an apartment building, the following conditions should be taken into account:

• Entrance doors to the apartment to neighbors should open unhindered;
• In the separated territory, general electrical shields, cables, etc. should not be located.

Finishing of the vestibule

First of all, the finishing of the tambour is necessary in a private house. The attached room should be additionally insulated using heat-insulating materials. You can fix them both inside and outside the room. Thermal insulation layer from above shpaklyuyut and go to a finishing finish. Materials for the outside are chosen in accordance with the general concept of the house.

Built-in vestibule does not require additional insulation, it will be enough for it to finish the finish. The walls of the tambour room can be painted, put on them a textured plaster, and be covered with plastic panels. Use materials that do not respond to temperature changes and are not afraid of cold.

The floor covering of the tambour should be chosen so that it corresponds to the following parameters:

• Was strong;
• Durable (or at least easy to install);
• Easy to care for.

Such characteristics correspond to linoleum, and ceramic tiles, and porcelain stoneware. If desired, you can use more expensive materials, such as stone.

Often in apartment buildings, a tambour is a room used by residents of two or more apartments. And that's why finish finishing may not be at all. But if the relations between the neighbors are good, then the finish is done together. Materials in this case are chosen similar to those used in the private house tambour.

Operation of a tambour room

In addition to the basic functions to protect living quarters from cold and mud, the vestibule can serve as a storage room. If the area of the room allows, then it can put a cabinet, for example, for tools or sports equipment. Entrance tambour in an apartment building can be used to store various edible stocks, because, unlike a similar room in a private house, there will be no negative temperatures, but it will not be too warm.

In a small room, you can simply lay a dirt mat and install a small shelf for shoes. To the mat really detained dirt, it should be selected especially carefully. In this case, an option is a fine metal mesh with a rubber base. The base will not let the rug slide, and dust and sand will settle in the mesh cells.

Heating of the vestibule

As for the heating of the tambour room, there is much controversy. A tambour in a private home is one situation. According to construction norms, heating devices should not be installed there. Firstly, it can lead to freezing of the coolant. Secondly, even if it does not freeze, the heating costs will increase. This is also not very profitable. Therefore, if there is a great desire to supply the tambour with additional heating, it is necessary to choose the system of the warm floor. He and the room will warm up a little, and dry the wet shoes.

An alternative is to install a split system above the entrance doors. The outer doors will then be separated by a stream of warm air. The power of the system does not necessarily have to be large (considering the small size of the room), and it will not work continuously. This method is often resorted to public institutions (shopping centers, banks and other institutions). Naturally, in this case, the capacity of the split-system should be greater than in the private house.

In apartments rarely in tambours apply additional warming, tk. In the entrance there are heating appliances and they are enough to warm up the room a little. But if there is a goal, for example, to dry shoes in the wet and cold season, then in this situation, the system of the warm floor will also be appropriate. Another point is the connection of the tambour to the apartment and its warming. But such an action is illegal, because The vestibule in this case is part of a common corridor and can not be appropriated.

What else is called a tambour?

The tambour is not only a room that protects the living space from cold and dirt. There is another meaning of this word. So, tambour means also a special kind of knitting (embroidery).

In addition, there is a tambour in the train car. It also protects the interior from cold, smoke and wind.

Whether to build a tambour in a private house, whether to separate an apartment with an additional door from the site or not - each owner decides himself, but the presence of this small room obviously gives a lot of positive moments.