Combining the balcony with the kitchen: the order of work, the idea of design, whether reconciliation is required

"How to comfortably equip your own kitchen?" - this question sets all the owners at the stage of repair of this room. It is especially relevant in cases where the apartment is in old houses, where a very small kitchen (6 sq. M.). Stalinki, Khrushchev and economy-class housing have always been small in size, so it was not necessary to talk about installing new-fashioned kitchen sets and appliances in such apartments. In order to increase space, designers offer to expand the boundaries of small rooms, combining small rooms among themselves. One of these solutions can be the unification of the balcony with the kitchen. How complicated is this process, what kind of work does it involve, is it necessary to get permission for such re-planning? All these and other issues related to the expansion of the kitchen at the expense of the balcony space, we will consider in our article.

Advantages and difficulties of redevelopment

The use of the balcony room as a kitchen has several positive moments:

• The kitchen becomes more spacious and functional;
• Much more sunlight penetrates into the room;
• Improves sound and heat insulation in the apartment due to glazing and insulation of the balcony.

Among other things, combining the balcony with the kitchen offers many options for optimizing free space. This room can be arranged in several ways, it can be a kitchen:

• canteen;
• bar;
• living room;
• greenhouse.

However, in addition to the positive aspects, the unification of the balcony with the kitchen is associated with several unpleasant moments.

As for the registration of the combined rooms, there are no restrictions, but the redevelopment itself should be carried out only with the permission of the authorized bodies. Otherwise, the work performed will be considered illegal, and if the owners decide to sell the apartment, they will have some difficulties.

It should be noted that the registration of documents is a very long, nervous and expensive matter. Do not forget about the cost of repairs and interior decoration of this space.

Where to begin

So, suppose that you have a small kitchen (6 sq. M. Or slightly larger) with an exit to the balcony, and you want to combine both rooms. Where to begin?

First of all, you should find out whether there is the possibility of dismantling the balcony block. If the wall in the opening is a carrier, it will not be allowed to be completely removed. In this case, you can remove only the doors to the balcony and the window, and the remaining window sill to decorate in the form of a bar stand, table or shelf.

You can get permission or prohibition on such actions in the BTI. If the result is positive, you can order a new kitchen design, which is further agreed with the Ministry of Emergencies and SES. Usually it takes about 6 months to process the required documents and includes the following stages:

• Request for the issuance of technical plan apartments in the BTI.
• Drawing up the project of redevelopment of the apartment (it is agreed with the author of the project of the house). To do this, you need to contact the construction and design organization, which was engaged in developing a house plan, or in a local expert organization.
• The final plan is coordinated in Sanepidnadzor and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
• Next, you need to contact the Housing office, which will issue permission to redevelop.
• After the dismantling of the partition, BTI employees arrive and draw up a relevant act on the changes in the layout of the apartment. When the work is completed, you can go to the BTI for a new housing plan.

As you can see, the process of re-planning is very troublesome, but if you consider that eventually your small kitchen with access to the balcony can be the most attractive place in the apartment, any difficulties are worth it.

That is strictly forbidden to do, combining the balcony and kitchen

Re-planning of the kitchen should be carried out in strict accordance with the established rules, which read as follows:

1. You can not transfer radiators to the balcony. They are installed on the nearest wall in the kitchen. Since the space of the balcony is very small, it does not require the installation of separate heating. It's enough just to insulate walls and floor. To heat floors, you can use an electric heating system.
2. On the balcony is not allowed the installation of household appliances. Such projects are very rarely approved.
3. Do not take out a gas stove on the balcony. This is contrary to the rules of safety, therefore, such a project will never be legalized. Moreover, the working surface must be near the communications, so such a transfer will require great trouble. The electrical panel can be placed on the windowsill.

The above requirements slightly limit the owners in the arrangement of the balcony zone, so, thinking about how to increase the kitchen due to this space, you should immediately create a plan for arranging furniture.

Variants of registration of an aperture between two premises

As it became clear, the unification of the balcony with the kitchen can be carried out in two ways:

• With the complete elimination of walls, windows, doors and doors;
• Without dismantling the concrete partition (when only the doors and window are removed).

If the redevelopment involves the demolition of the wall, the owners need to be prepared for the time-consuming and dirty process of removing it. During the dismantling work, the main thing is not to break the integrity of the exterior walls of the house. Brick partitions are carefully disassembled, and panel cut out by a Bulgarian or smashed with a jackhammer.

If you decided to leave a window sill, such a redevelopment of the balcony will not cause any special difficulties. All that needs to be done in this case is to beautifully decorate the opening and make the functional interior of the remaining wall.

Stages of work

The combination of a balcony with a kitchen includes the following stages:

1. Glazing of balconies with two or three-chamber double-glazed windows. These works are performed in the first place, since after dismantling the balcony opening, the cold from the unheated space will penetrate into the apartment. In order to keep the heat in the room better, experts recommend leaving only one opening flap, or even better to remove the windows on the side walls.
2. Dismantling the partition. At this stage, the doors to the balcony, the window are removed, and the window sill is removed (only if there is a permit for such work). If you plan to install heavy furniture on the loggia, the foundation should be strengthened. For this purpose, metal supports can be installed, which are fixed to the wall and the edge of the concrete base.
3. Warming of the floor. It is very important that the floor level on the balcony and in the room was at the same height. Often, several layers of cement are leveled. Next, a system of warm floors is laid on a concrete base, a screed is poured over which ceramic tiles are laid.
4. Heat insulation of walls. Mounting foam blowing out all available slots and holes, and then put the selected insulation material.
5. Installation of internal walls. On a heater a lath made of wooden racks or a metal profile is mounted. On the obtained base with the help of self-tapping fasten the sheets of gypsum board.
6. Further the loggia combined with kitchen, is finished with the selected materials and is decorated under style of kitchen.

No one limits your imagination here. On the extra space you can put a cozy sofa and put a table for food. Pay attention to the fact that through a large window receives a huge amount of sunlight, so that your vacation was as comfortable as possible, do not forget to buy curtains for the balcony.

With what materials it is better to insulate the balcony

Warming the space of the loggia should be given special attention, since the quality of work depends on how comfortable the pastime of a person in this territory will be. It is desirable that the loggia, combined with the kitchen, was insulated both from the outside and from the inside.

On the street side, the balcony is insulated with expanded polystyrene or mineral wool, then it is lined with metal siding. If external insulation for some reason is impossible to implement, you should make every effort to ensure that the internal insulation to compensate for this shortcoming.

Choosing insulation material, it is recommended to give preference to fire-resistant and heavy-duty options. Please note that the foam for these purposes is not suitable, since it is very easily ignited and releases harmful substances into the air.

The best materials for warming the walls of the kitchen are:

• Cork tree (not subject to mechanical influences, fireproof);
• Mineral wool plates (easy to install, characterized by high thermal insulation characteristics);
• Extruded polystyrene foam (excellent heat retention, not susceptible to moisture).

The above options do not "eat up" the space of the room, which is very important for owners of small rooms.

Design Ideas

The kitchen design with a balcony is chosen by each owner, taking into account their individual needs and desires. Someone might like the idea with a mini-bar, someone will equip a dining room on the loggia, and someone will like the kitchen-living room. We will consider the most popular and practical options for using the connected space.

• Dining area . This is the most logical and most popular design of the balcony. Often the kitchen area does not allow to use it as a dining room, so you can place a dining table on the territory of the former loggia. Furniture is chosen depending on the style of decoration of the kitchen. It can be a round table, complemented by elegant high back chairs or a compact glass table with wooden legs. In a divided version, the former window sill can be decorated in the form of a table top, which will play the role of a full-fledged dining table.

• Rest zone . This kitchen design with a balcony is used in separate spaces. On the site of the former loggia set a cozy soft sofa or comfortable chairs, which complement the lamps, TV and coffee table. This space is intended for rest after a feast, reading books or watching your favorite movie. Here you can find useful curtains for the balcony, which will contribute to an even more comfortable rest.

• Working area . In this version, the territory of the kitchen is trying to get rid of all the necessary furniture and equipment. The tables on which food is prepared are transferred to the balcony space, and the hob is mounted in the former window sill. On the vacant seat, you can install a sofa, chairs, a table and everything that was so lacking before redevelopment.

Useful design solutions for the combined space

By combining the kitchen and the loggia, you discover for yourself the opportunity to realize the boldest design decisions. After you finally decide in which order additional space will be used, you can start creating your own interior design.

The style of this cuisine can be completely different, from the restrained minimalism to the glamor saturated with bright colors. It is important to observe only one main rule: the loggia and kitchen should be decorated with the same finishing materials and in a single color scheme.

If in the places where the balcony block was located, there were differences in the level of the floor, they can be formalized in the form of a small podium, which will differentiate between different areas for the purpose.

From the remains of the walls, which are located on both sides of the opening, you can make a round arch or columns with imitation stucco.

Windows can be decorated with roller shutters, Roman curtains, tulle and other fabrics that are combined with the general style of the room.

Tips for developing a small kitchen

At the conclusion of this topic, I want to highlight several practical tips, using which you can make your small kitchen more convenient and practical.

1. When creating a kitchen interior design, try to give preference to white and milky colors. They will allow you to visually expand a small space and make the room more fresh.
2. If the door leading to the balcony or other rooms opens into the kitchen, change it to a sliding structure. It will not occupy useful space and will allow to install in these places functional interior items.
3. Choosing kitchen furniture, refuse from the swinging cabinets. Better make a choice in favor of hoists.
4. If food takes place in the kitchen, equip it with a folding table top and folding chairs. For stationary tables it is recommended to choose chairs with a low back, which will not prevent them from hiding them under the table.
5. Curtains for small kitchens are better to choose in light colors. It is more appropriate to use air cloth or vertical blinds.

Conclusion

In this article, we examined in detail all the stages that every owner of the apartment goes through, who decided to make a kitchen remodeling. Someone will find this process very troublesome and time-consuming, and someone will seriously consider re-planning their own kitchen. In any case, apartments with large balconies give us the opportunity to use additional square meters with benefit. In this case, it is not necessary to start a global repair. Sometimes it is enough to simply decorate the balcony space, and it immediately becomes the main attraction of the entire interior. We hope, after reading our article, you have received answers to all your questions.