Balcony and loggia renovation in Batumi

Inspecting the balcony before the estimate

When we take on a balcony renovation in Batumi, the first thing we look at is where the water goes. After wind-driven rain it should run from the threshold to the edge of the slab and on into the drain, without collecting by the wall. New tiles won't fix a puddle by the door, so in that case we redo the fall and the waterproofing first.

At the inspection the foreman checks the fall with a level, taps the old tiles and looks at the balcony door threshold and the bottom of the reveals. We look at the front edge of the slab: if the concrete has spalled and rusty reinforcement shows, it is cleaned back and covered with repair mortar before any finishing. We check the railing fixings and the bracket of the air conditioner's outdoor unit for rust and play.

Open, cold or warm balcony

Before the estimate you need to decide what the balcony will be like a year from now. The materials and the order of work depend on it, and redoing things later costs more than building them in from the start.

If you plan to glaze the balcony later, tell us straight away. We then leave a level support and room for the fixings under the frame, and lay the tiles along the edge so that they won't have to be cut when the frame goes in. Which frames and glass suit your floor is covered in the article on balcony and loggia glazing. And it only makes sense to insulate a balcony together with an insulated frame, otherwise it will start getting damp by spring.

Fall, waterproofing and threshold

We lay the floor with a fall of 1.5–2% from the door to the edge: on a balcony 1.5 metres deep, that is a 2–3 cm difference in height. On a flat slab, water spreads along the joints and sits by the wall. Too steep a fall is no good either: on a long loggia the step at the threshold becomes noticeable, and a table on such a floor wobbles.

We apply the waterproofing as a flexible cementitious coating in two coats and bed tape into the corners and the joint between slab and wall. It goes 15–20 cm up the walls and, at the balcony door, under the threshold. The threshold is exactly where water most often gets into the apartment: under the floor of the room, or into the screed and down to the neighbours below. Before tiling we put a temporary upstand along the edge, flood the floor for 24 hours and check whether the level has dropped and whether it is dry underneath.

We finish the edge of the slab with a drip profile. Without it, water runs down the face of the slab onto the facade, leaves streaks and drips onto the balcony below. If the balcony has a floor drain or a rainwater outlet, we clean it out and take the waterproofing onto its flange.

Floor and walls: porcelain tiles, adhesive and joints

On an open balcony we lay porcelain tiles with an anti-slip surface rated R10 or R11. Why porcelain rather than glazed ceramic tiles is explained in the comparison of ceramic and porcelain tiles. The adhesive is a flexible exterior grade, class C2 S1. In summer the slab expands in the sun, in winter it cools and gets soaked, and a rigid adhesive comes away under these cycles.

Around the edge by the walls we leave a 5–8 mm joint for flexible sealant, and on a loggia longer than four metres we add a movement joint across the floor. We use an exterior cement-based grout, or epoxy if the balcony is washed often. Walls that wind-driven rain reaches are tiled or painted with facade paint.

If you'd rather not have tiles, we fit bearers on top of the waterproofing and lay composite (wood-plastic) decking. Water runs away under the decking on the same fall, the boards aren't slippery, and they get less hot in the sun than dark stone. Once a year the decking is lifted in sections and the slab is washed clear of salt and dust.

Railings and fixings by the sea

Sea salt finds galvanised steel and cheap stainless steel first. For the railing anchors, the brackets for the air conditioner unit and the drying rack, and the screws in the drip profile, we use A4 stainless steel, also known as AISI 316. Right by the sea, A2 steel often develops a rusty film within a couple of seasons, and a galvanised screw rusts and leaves streaks on the facade.

We separate aluminium and stainless steel with plastic washers and spacers, otherwise in humid air the aluminium corrodes where the two touch. Steel railings that have started to rust are cleaned back to bare metal, primed with an anti-corrosion primer and painted in the colour set for the facade. We don't change the design or height of the railing without the management company: safety depends on it, and it is part of how the building looks.

The fixings, joints and drain are worth inspecting once a season. If the apartment is rented out, this inspection fits neatly into apartment maintenance, along with checking the air conditioners.

Lighting, sockets and drainage

On an open balcony we fit sockets with a cover and protection of at least IP44, and lights exposed to rain are IP65. The balcony circuit goes through a 30 mA RCD: if current leaks to earth through water or through a person, it cuts the circuit within a fraction of a second. The cable is chased into the wall and never run through the floor waterproofing, and the switch is best placed in the room, by the balcony door.

The air conditioner's condensate drain is often led straight onto the tiles, and the water runs down to the neighbours. We take the pipe into a drain or run it past the edge of the slab to a spot the building allows. We leave a clear passage around the outdoor unit so that an engineer can service it without removing the railing.

How much a balcony renovation in Batumi costs

Renovating a balcony without glazing costs from 510 to 720 ₾ per m². The price covers labour and rough-work materials: strip-out, screed laid to a fall, waterproofing, tiling, the drip profile and finishing the walls. You choose the porcelain tiles, and we price them separately. If the fall and waterproofing are sound and only the surface is being replaced, tiling is priced as a separate job, from 72 to 110 ₾ per m².

A socket, switch or light costs from 42 to 66 ₾ per point. Glazing isn't part of the renovation and is priced per m² of opening: frameless from 640 ₾, thermally broken aluminium from 895 ₾. uPVC is cheaper than both, and its prices are on the glazing page. If the balcony is being made warm, insulation adds 130 to 180 ₾ per m² of surface.

The price goes up with a crumbling slab edge, a replacement railing, composite decking instead of tiles, and carrying materials up to a high floor without a service lift. A balcony comes out cheaper when the screed holds the right fall and doesn't need to be taken up. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed, and the price of each stage is written into the contract.

Building rules and the order of work

A balcony is partly part of the facade, so before the renovation we ask the management company or the developer for the building's rules. They may set the colour of railings and frames, where outdoor units go, and a ban on drilling into the facade cladding. Removing tiles is noisy, so we do it during the day: by law from 08:00 to 23:00, and if the building has shorter hours, by its rules.

Waste goes out through the apartment in bags, and nothing is thrown down from the balcony. The waterproofing and adhesive need a dry slab, so in the rainy season we schedule these stages for dry days and cover the balcony with plastic sheeting. We photograph the waterproofing before tiling, together with the water test, and these photos go into the handover file. Balcony waterproofing is covered by the 2-year warranty on the work, and what counts as a warranty case is set out in the warranty terms.