Stretch ceiling on the balcony and loggia: types, pros and cons

In residential premises, tension-type structures are quite common, since they give ceilings a much smoother surface, which helps to hide the defects of old ceiling ceilings from prying eyes. If you have a great desire to equip a stretch ceiling on your balcony or loggia, you should take into account the features of this design solution, temperature characteristics and the size of the available space.

A balcony is, in fact, a small kind of platform that is mounted on a ledge of a slab protruding from the wall of the building. Usually it has a fence in the form of lattices made of metal or other materials. If the balcony has not been insulated, then it will be constantly cold on it, for this reason, most modern balconies are insulated and glazed without fail.

On the insulated balcony, you can use any kind of tension profile without any problems. Reviews that stretch ceilings are inappropriate on balconies are outdated and unprofessional.

Consider the pros and cons of choosing tension structures on balconies. Among the advantages are the following.

• Installation is done quickly enough... Time-consuming manipulations will not be needed here - putty, painting or primer.
• Aesthetic look... The end result of this setup will always look very nice.
• Long service life. The main thing here is to comply with all operating conditions, and then the product will serve for more than 10 years.
• Application in production eco-friendly materials.
• Practicality. Dust will not accumulate on such a surface, so you will not need to clean these ceilings too often.
• Thermal insulation. When installed, a layer of air will begin to form between the ceiling and the canvas - it will provide the best heating of the room.
• Variety of stylish solutions... You will be offered a huge selection of paintings of any possible color and texture. Popular shades can be combined, printed on the canvas, or ordered to create a design from several levels.

Cons of technology.

• High price... Other popular types of coatings will require much less material costs.
• The need to contact specialists. If you do not have the skill of installing stretch ceilings, it is better not to engage in amateur performances in your own home.
• High chance of accidental damage to the coating... On the one hand, the canvas will have a high degree of strength, on the other, it can be easily ruined by any pointed object, especially if you use your balcony as a temporary warehouse for unnecessary things.
• You will have to observe certain temperature conditions... Not all products can be installed on cold loggias.

For the production of stretch products, PVC film or polyester cloth is used. Not every specialist will immediately notice the external differences between them, but upon closer examination, a significant difference can be revealed.

This polymer film is made of a very strong and extremely elastic material that can be easily stretched when heated. It was this characteristic that at one time formed the basis for a new technology for installing PVC sheets as ceiling structures. PVC films are produced strictly according to individual sizes. Usually the dimensions of the film are made 8-9% less than the ceiling area.

During installation, the canvas should be heated to about 70 C using a heat gun, then it is stretched to the required parameters. Companies producing this film are ready to offer a wide range of various colors, shades and patterns. Even with active use, they will not lose their saturation.

With all its obvious positive aspects, a vinyl canvas will also have a number of negative aspects, which just limit its operation on balconies and loggias. The most significant disadvantage - lack of frost resistance... When the outside temperature drops to minus values, this film loses its elasticity, becomes more fragile and begins to crack even from an insignificant effect. However, all this will not make any difference if the PVC sheet is applied on a warm balcony.

In addition, PVC canvases have their own varieties.

• Glossy (lacquered). They differ in that they have the ability to reflect light and allow glare to be created. You can even find ultra-glossy products that will reflect 100% of the light.

• Matte. These coatings are distinguished by the complete absence of glare, although they will reflect light. Matte products are also offered in a rich assortment, but most often in light colors, because darkened matte designs are not very popular.

• Satin... This is a special subspecies of canvases. In texture, this is something between a gloss and a matte surface. They cannot create bright reflections, but they have the ability to shimmer with mother-of-pearl. On sale you can find only light colors of such products.

• Textured Is an imitation of the texture of various popular materials (leather or wood, mosaic or cloth, ceramics or metal). This product can be applied to a color photo or image (sky, leaves, landscapes).

This fabric is made from polyester yarns, and then specially impregnated with a polyurethane mixture. Separate adjustment of the canvas is not necessary here. The material is sold in wide rolls and during installation it is stretched without heating. The color variations are more modest here, and the prints do not look as catchy as on PVC products.

But on this product you can apply stylish images with acrylic.... These structures can be safely placed on cold balconies, since they are not afraid of frost and even in very cold winters retain their unique properties. Also, this fabric is almost impossible to spoil with a pointed object.

Stretch canvases are fixed with special profiles that are mounted around the perimeter of the entire ceiling and hold the edges of the film, thus keeping it taut.

It can be found most often, but it is only suitable for PVC products. Around the perimeter of the structure, there is a plastic border in the form of a harpoon, which helps it to firmly hold on to the profile.

The harpoon is welded to the canvas, precisely because the place of their connection has a solid appearance and is considered completely reliable. The profile is fixed to the wall or ceiling with special screws. The harpoon edge must be brought into the seat with a special spatula. The tension should always go along with the heating of the canvas, for this the master uses a heat gun. The gap that appears after installation between the ceiling and the wall will be neatly closed with a beautiful decorative plastic insert.

The advantage of this technology is that the canvas is removable. This means that the stretch product on the balcony or loggia can be safely removed at the right time in order, for example, to get to the wiring hidden above it or other types of communications, and then put it back in place.

This is one of the most popular types of harpoon mounting. Installation is carried out using a special plastic soldering around the perimeter of the entire product. The main difference from the harpoon version is that here the canvas will fit snugly against the wall, and therefore the insert will not be used to hide the gap.

With this installation, the profile will play the role of a "clothespin"... The harpoon must be carefully pushed into the seat, where it is securely clamped from 2 sides using pressure. To use this technology, the walls of the room must be completely flat, otherwise all their shortcomings will become noticeable.

It is used for both fabric products and PVC films. Precise cutting is not needed here. Measurements should be made with a small margin, and the excess fabric will be cut off after the installation of the product.

The advantages include a simplified installation that will not require the use of special equipment to heat the product. The downside is that the product will be non-removable. Since the excess of the canvas, with the help of which the stretching was carried out, is simply cut off, it will be impossible to pull this ceiling again.

It is not recommended to purchase PVC tension structures for non-insulated balconies. In the winter season, this material will quickly lose its vaunted elasticity, sag, crack and can burst at the slightest touch.

Stretch ceilings made of polyester fabric are highly resistant to negative temperatures and are suitable for warm balconies. This canvas will look just as great in winter as it does in summer. These ceilings will be expensive, therefore it is still more profitable to install PVC film on insulated and heated balconies and loggias, but provided that there are no drafts on the warm balcony.

With the right choice of a specific type of tension structure, it will present itself very well, this is evidenced by positive reviews from ordinary people on the Internet. True, some consumers note that over time, not very pleasant nuances may appear on the ceilings.

• It is best to buy products from well-known manufacturers. German designs very rarely cause complaints with active use. But Chinese products often fade or deform after 6 months of use.
• It is easier to care for the PVC film, it is characterized by perfect smoothness. Although the polyester fabric is also not very demanding to care for.
• It is difficult to find masters. Due to the oversized dimensions of the premises, many specialists do not want to agree to this kind of work. And if they agree, then the average cost of their work is much higher than when installing ceilings inside the apartment.

The operation of tension structures on balconies will be almost no different from their use inside the home. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the special installation technology and select the material that is perfectly suitable for certain conditions.

For how the stretch ceiling on the balcony looks like, see the next video.