Protecting the gazebo from rain, wind and snow: what can be sewn for the winter and how to shine from the sun
As you know, gazebos come in open and closed. Although the first option is usually used in dachas and small personal affairs, later homeowners often come to the conclusion that it is still necessary to protect such a place to protect themselves from pesky insects, rain, wind and other vacationers on the whims of nature. About what methods exist to solve this problem, what material is better to use and what to pay special attention to, further in the review.
Cover with PVC film
Perhaps the easiest way to protect the gazebo from the weather is to use a film of ordinary polyethylene or a more modern polymer material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Today you can buy the so-called soft windows of almost any size. Their installation is carried out according to the same scheme as the installation of plastic double-glazed windows in residential buildings – with the departure of specialists, making accurate measurements and the subsequent filling of the opening with ready-made frames. If you have certain skills in the field of construction works, you can independently tighten the pergola with a film in the right places, using a wooden, metal or plastic frame for mounting.
Despite the cheapness and lack of difficulty in installation, the rotary option of protecting the gazebo has a number of significant disadvantages. First of all, it is important to understand that the winter with its cold winds and wet snow, it probably will not survive, which means that in the fall it will either have to be dismantled and reinstalled, or renewed in the spring, or renewed in places of gaps. However, manufacturers of soft PVC windows claim that, if properly used, their products are designed to last for 10 years.
In addition, the film is excellent light transmission, so it will not protect from the bright sun, too. In terms of design, the pergola, walled with film, too, does not look too spectacular. In other words, before you decorate the summer gazebo on the garden plot with this type of material, you should think carefully.
Glazing
A more reliable and basic way to protect the gazebo from negative external influences can be glazing. But here, too, there are problems. Stained-glass windows and the door to the pergola are quite heavy and complex structures, so their presence in the project should be determined even at the construction stage.
A glazed pavilion is called a closed pavilion. Such a room usually provides its own water supply, a complex ventilation system, and sometimes even heating. First of all, to cover an open pergola with glass is technologically incorrect, although this does not mean that this option can not be implemented.
Glazing the finished pergola can be done in three ways – with a double-pane plastic window or old wooden window frames, or with modern, not dilapidated glazing.
Plastic euro window
To protect against wind or rain in summer, the so-called cold glazing process is used. It involves installing a frame with single glass in all openings, and it is imperative that the design allows the use of a maximum number of tilt-and-turn or window mechanisms that can be opened and closed as needed. Otherwise, the glass in the pavilion creates the same sauna-like atmosphere as the cling film.
If the pavilion is planned to be used all year round, the glazing is made with full three-chamber or five-chamber packages, which are designed to protect people inside the pavilion not only from rain or wind, but also from frost. This type of protection is called warm.
For glazing arbors can go old wooden frames with preserved glass, which very often remain unclaimed after replacement with modern European windows. With this material, of course, will have to tinker, but with a little ingenuity difficult problem will be solved almost for free.
Frameless glazing
Frameless glazing of the pergola looks very expensive and spectacular. In this case, all the walls of the gazebo from top to bottom are made of glass, which allows people in the room to have a full view of what is happening in the street and at the same time keep a full view of themselves. The advantages of frameless glazing and the fact that if the whole gazebo is closed, even in cloudy weather there is no need to turn on additional lighting, at least in the daytime.
Glass in this case is used as strong as possible, so to break it with a stone, as a conventional window, will not work. Still, it must be said that this option of glazing is used in the construction of closed gazebos, and then only on the fashionable homestead plots. To protect the existing gazebo from the rain in a modest country house is better to resort to less expensive and complicated schemes.
Fabric and linen curtains
The already mentioned soft windows can be made not only from foil, but also from other materials, including fabric or tarpaulin.
- The advantages of this option over transparent polymer is that such protection:
- Available in a variety of colors, which allows not only to protect the room from wind and rain, but also, if necessary, to shade it from the sun;
- in the form of curtains, roller shutters, cassettes or so-called French blinds, can be used only when really necessary;
- does not close the openings hermetically, thus maintaining a pleasant and fresh atmosphere inside the gazebo;
- offers many modifications, allowing each homeowner to choose the best option for themselves;
- easy to install, not expensive, lasts a long time, looks not too flashy, but neat and stylish.
mosquito net
Mosquito net – perhaps the most questionable option for protecting the gazebo. Its main disadvantage is that the considered material has a very narrow focus: it does not solve the problem of penetration into the gazebo of the cold, rain and wind. If the dacha is located in a place where mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects are a real problem, a mosquito net will not be able to fully protect against such plagues.
The frame with the mesh installed on it can not be in the windows, and even more so in the doorway of the gazebo – it is absolutely narrow, and this, in turn, means that so many insects are enough to make it closed enough to the light and warmth of the human body. Making guests’ stay in the gazebo uncomfortable.
But if there is a desire to experiment, any homeowner can buy everything to make your own window and door frames with mosquito nets: such parts are sold as a kind of “constructor”, so it is not very difficult to choose the right size and fix it in the existing openings.
Lorination
A radical way to protect the gazebo from adverse, external influences is a “deaf” retouching of openings. Completely to sew up all the walls of the gazebo – the solution will not be blown out, and if you place the table and chairs closer to the closed corner, the task of protecting guests from heavy rain will also be solved in general.
The choice of material that can be used to make covers is quite wide, below we will consider only a few of the simplest options.
Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate is a modern thermoplastic material that is widely used in construction.
For the erection of structures that require heat resistance and maximum light permeability of greenhouses or greenhouses, today polycarbonate has long and safely won the palm, showing the obvious advantages over glass, and before the film.
- So, the advantages of the material include:
- Lack of fragility (you can’t break it like glass);
- flexibility (can be bent, for example, in the form of an arch);
- low thermal conductivity (it does not cool down in the cold and does not heat up in the heat);
- lightness (much lighter than glass);
- durability (resistance to gusts of wind);
- durability;
- tightness;
- Ease of installation.
protocol
Cladding – this is an unscientific name for the finishing material, which is usually understood as a product of wood processing, usually fiberboard (MDF or particleboard). However, for exterior work such material is better not to use, since under the influence of precipitation and temperature fluctuations, it very quickly loses its shape, like the skin of a summer gazebo, so it is better to use siding, sometimes called plastic covering.
Boards or a wooden box
Wood is an excellent material for the construction of a summer gazebo. The only condition that must be observed for the construction to be durable is the pre-treatment of the board.
Despite this, the gazebo, sewn entirely with blank boards, does not look very attractive, in addition, any natural material – an expensive pleasure. An excellent way out would be to equip the openings in the gazebo wooden box. Such “walls” do not provide reliable insulation from the outside environment, but the atmosphere inside the structure will definitely become more comfortable and cozy.
solar fence
As already mentioned, all options to protect the openings of the dacha are in one way or another associated with certain problems, the main one being that if the gazebo was originally planned to be open, the owner goes out of the project and withdraws from it, and himself walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project and walks away from the project Design becomes ugly or ugly or ugly or ugly or ugly or ugly. Unreliable or acquires both of these disadvantages.
Therefore, the easiest and at the same time effective way to make staying in an outdoor gazebo as comfortable as possible, without violating the overall design concept – to plant around the perimeter of the gazebo hedge in the form of dense decorative shrubs. evergreen conifers or wicker plants such as ivy or maiden vines. By the way, for these purposes you can use and ordinary grapes, just choose the varieties that are suitable for growing in a gazebo.
Hedges not only create a pleasant shade and comfort indoors, but also, growing, can protect people in the gazebo from the summer rains and too strong winds. In most cases, such a shelter is quite enough, because dacha owners surely do not want to have a picnic outdoors in bad weather. Such cataclysms are much more comfortable to wait out in the house.
Open summer gazebo at the cottage differs from the closed one in that it is not designed for use during rain, wind and other adverse weather conditions. For this reason, it is better to think about the protection of the gazebo for such cases, even during the preparation of the project and its implementation. But if this was not done, you can protect the gazebo even later, but choosing the best option for such a solution from the many existing proposals will be a bit more difficult.
How to protect your home from the heat
Who does not love summer with its long-awaited vacations and vacations, picnics in nature and evening gatherings on outdoor verandahs! Unfortunately in many regions of Russia the summer season is characterized by long hot spells with daytime temperatures around +30. +35°C.
In order not to let the exhausting heat spoil the impression of the summer, owners of country houses, summer houses and cottages have to spend money on powerful air conditioners, which are now very expensive. For example, a multizone system for cooling living spaces of a house with the area of 100 sq.m. costs at least 200 thousand rubles (together with the installation). The generated cold is also far from being free: for five months of the warm season such devices can “burn” 15-20 thousand rubles worth of electricity.
Fortunately, owners of individual houses have many opportunities to radically reduce the cost of air conditioning and create a comfortable microclimate for themselves and their homes, no matter how hot it is outside.
In order not to be hot – insulate!
Protection of private homes from the heat should begin long before its opening – even at the stage of the construction project. For hot regions there is a typical set of solutions. In particular, the house should be properly aligned on the cardinal points. Try to reduce the area of u200bu200bt walls facing south, most windows are located on the north side. In addition, the windows should be small, deep in the facade and additionally protected from the midday sun by wide eaves and other architectural elements.
However, in our part of the world the hot summer is followed every year by frosty winter, and you do not want to hide your house from the sun by all the rules of southern architecture. In addition, people often think about insulation after the house is built or bought.
It may seem surprising, but the first thing you need to do to protect your home from the heat and hot sun is to insulate it well. More precisely, to insulate, that is, to create a closed loop that prevents heat exchange between the outside environment and the rooms. Thermal insulation protects the living space from cooling in winter and from heating in summer, so it becomes much easier to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors. It is no accident that in the hottest regions of the planet, in Central Asia and the Middle East, people have worn thick clothing that covers the whole body, such as thick men’s robes or spacious abaya (Muslim enclosed robes) since ancient times.
Therefore, the cottage, whose owner does not want to freeze or sweat, should also be dressed in a thick “coat”, using insulation for the outer walls, roof and ceiling. But here there are many nuances.
Responsible choice
Planning to insulate the house, it is necessary to decide what type of thermal insulation material to use. The main technical indicator is the thermal conductivity coefficient: the lower it is, the less the material conducts heat. But no less important are other properties of heat insulation, which affects their effectiveness and durability.
If we summarize the variety of products on the market, we can distinguish two groups of the most common heat insulation materials.
Styrofoam insulation
For example, polystyrene foam, penoizol, polyurethane foam and others. As organic polymers, they are flammable substances and under the influence of the flame begin to release toxic substances. In addition, low-quality materials and at room temperature gradually release monomers (ethylene, propylene, isoprene, vinyl chloride, styrene, butadiene and others), which are often carcinogenic.
It is also important that the natural movement of water vapor is disturbed due to the low vapor permeability of foam insulation materials in the building envelopes. In order not to accumulate moisture in the atmosphere of the rooms and in the porous building materials (wood, foam blocks, etc.), the building must be constantly ventilated. For these reasons, such materials are rarely used to insulate residential buildings.
Insulation made of mineral fibers
They are based on inorganic fibers that have such characteristic properties as elasticity, fire safety and vapor permeability. That is, they do not support combustion and do not interfere with the natural “breathing” of the building – the movement of water vapor through the enclosing structures.
- glass wool. This insulation is made on the basis of glass fibers derived from fragments or quartz sand. This material has relatively low water resistance, which may affect its durability.
- stone wool. This material is made from natural stone and is characterized by high thermal and sound insulation properties. It can be made in the form of rigid and lightweight plates, as well as mats and cylinders. Stone wool is incombustible, serves as an excellent barrier to the spread of fire (melting point of the fiber is + 1000 ° C and above), safe for the occupants of the house and the environment, so it is the best option for outside and inside insulation.
insulation of facades
When selecting insulation materials, you need to follow the recommendations of the manufacturer. Thus, for facades (depending on the purpose and technology of installation) are made insulators with different strength characteristics.
Insulation under the panel
One of the most common and affordable solutions for insulating and finishing the facades of private homes and villas is considered “insulation under siding. This technology is suitable for repair and residential and under-construction buildings with low heights.
Vinyl or wood siding is usually installed on a wooden frame of vertical guide rods that are attached to the exterior wall. Thus, an air gap is formed between the wall and the cladding. In summer it serves as a thermal buffer, and in the cold season through constant ventilation from the structure removed excess moisture. Insulation is installed between the rails, which should be protected with a windproof membrane from the cladding.
To make this solution permanent, select a material for the insulation that can retain its shape and thermal insulation properties for many years – such as lightweight, non-porous stone wool boards with lightweight Scandisch battens.
Stucco insulation system
If the homeowner wants his house not only always to maintain a comfortable microclimate, but also look spectacular, the best choice for the facade will be a gypsum-based insulation system SFTK (facade thermal insulation composition with a plaster layer). It consists of three main layers: 1. insulation, which is attached directly to the wall with facade adhesive and dowels. To ensure the strength and durability of the facade “pie” it is worth using rigid thermal insulation boards made of rockwool Rock Facade, which are not afraid of fire, moisture or rodents.
2. a base plaster layer with reinforcing glass drilled into it; 3. decorative plaster, which can be painted in facade colors.
In order for a facade that is insulated using this technology to last for many years without any problems, the proper selection of materials and qualified installation of the “pie” of the facade is very important. In particular, all materials must be chosen so that the water vapor permeability of each layer increases in the direction of the house wall up to the finish.
In both cases, the effectiveness of thermal insulation of the house depends directly on whether the thickness of the insulation layer is chosen correctly. Calculation of heating standards are made by experts based on local climatic conditions and heat loss that occurs in the surrounding structures of the house. For example, in the central region and the Volga region is recommended to use heating on rock wool thickness of not less than 150 mm, in the Urals and Siberia – not less than 200 mm.
However, if the homeowner has set a goal to radically reduce the cost of air conditioning and heating of the house, he can focus on the European experience of building energy-efficient buildings, in which the thickness of the insulating layer is much more – up to 300 mm for walls and even 500 mm for the roof.
So that it does not stink on top
On a humid summer day the most unpleasant place in the house are the rooms of the upper floor or attic, which because of the proximity of the roof can be heated to +40 ° C. +50 ° C and even higher. Proper insulation of the roof can solve problems with heat, cold and without the high cost of heating and air conditioning to maintain a comfortable microclimate in the underlaying rooms.
First of all, as in the insulation of all building structures, paying attention to the rural thermal insulation contour without “cold bridges”. For this purpose, both sloping ceilings and their end parts – gables – are insulated. Lightweight, non-combustible boards such as Light Batts Scandic are placed between the rafters. On the side of the roof and purlins, they are covered with a hydro-windproof membrane. To protect the insulation from condensation, it is covered with a vapor barrier film from the room.
With their own eyes you can see how to install the panels Light Batts Scandic, watching a video on the insulation of the roof overlap.
To reduce the summer load on the air conditioning system, it is more prudent to choose the type of roofing. Today, the most popular roofing material for pitched roofs is metal brick. It is relatively cheap, durable (service life – 15 to 50 years), does not require any massive roof substructures. In addition, it is available in dozens of different colors. One problem – in the summer, a roof made of dark colors gets very hot under the direct rays of the sun.
Another popular option is soft shingles based on bitumen and fiberglass. Since the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of organic material is much lower than that of steel, this material better protects roof structures from the heat. In addition, unlike metal, soft shingles is not afraid of corrosion, and its lifetime of 20 to 30 years.
Manufacturers produce a roofing material in hundreds of colors and shapes: rhombus, oval, rectangle, hexagon, trapezoid. Therefore, you can choose a suitable option for the house in any architectural style and in any color scheme. So it’s a good choice for a new country house or cottage, as well as for the reconstruction of a private house with a long history.
Summer looks out the window
In winter, windows are one of the main ways heat leaves the house. In summer, the heat flow is directed in the opposite direction: through the cracks in the windows, the hot air from the street constantly enters the windows, and the sun’s rays heat the objects in the room.
In order not to put the health of housewives to the test, the old windows should be replaced with energy-efficient designs with slots and separate panes of glass. How does a window that can protect the house from t-50 to +50 ° C look like? It is a window element of white plastic profile with a coverage of at least 70-80 mm, in which is inserted a two- or three-chambered glass unit. To ensure that the hot sun’s rays do not heat the room, one of the glasses in the double-glazed unit with low-emission coating should be equipped with a thin metallic coating that reflects the thermal radiation of the sun.
But even the simplest and cheapest option – a polymer toning film, which is glued to the glass from inside the room – will surprise you with its effectiveness.
Regions with the hottest and longest summer season can adopt the experience of the Mediterranean countries and abandon the louvered blinds and awnings – special canopies that can protect windows, balconies or glass veranda from direct sunlight during the day.
Ventilation must be economical
No matter how much we want to fend off the heat-filled streets, people need fresh air. And at least 40-60 cubic meters per hour per person. Where do you get it from?
