Space in your home, especially if you live in an apartment, is never enough: the more space we have, the more we’d like.
This is why it’s useful, if not necessary, to enclose your balcony or terrace, temporarily or permanently. This way, you can transform the space into an extra room or an extension of a room, such as a study corner, a reading nook, and so on.
What are the solutions for enclosing a terrace?
There are various commercial solutions available for enclosing balconies, keeping in mind that each municipality and administration has its own building regulations and restrictions to follow and comply with. While we’ll address this topic later, let’s now look at some of the most common solutions, which may provide inspiration.
Glass Walls: A Transparent Choice
The choice of transparent walls, whether made of glass or plastic, is among the most common and widely used solutions. The reason for choosing this solution over others is the combination of the possibility of gaining more usable space for the home while preventing natural light from entering the room.
The choice to enclose the terrace with glass, whether fixed, folding, or sliding, allows for good thermal and acoustic insulation, thanks to the structure of the glass frames, usually made of aluminum or PVC.
Affordable, permit-free alternative: awnings and pergolas
If you want to enclose your terrace with minimally invasive solutions, both in terms of design and cost, an awning is the perfect choice. It guarantees good weatherproofing and excellent insulation.
The most common solutions are classic track-mounted awnings, roller awnings, or panel awnings, which, in more modern versions, feature a side zipper that allows for complete closure of the space.
Of course, with an awning, the resulting “room” is unlikely to be used year-round.
Pergolas were designed to address this. They are a cross between awnings and pergolas, as the name suggests. A pergola is a sliding, foldable covering that allows you to enclose a balcony or terrace in both summer and winter. They can be made of aluminum or wood, anchored to the wall or freestanding, and can cover the entire surface or part of it. In short, they come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the client’s needs.
Given their structure and composition, they are less costly than traditional awnings, but like awnings, they allow the balcony or terrace to be closed without requiring a municipal permit. This avoids long waits and the cost of technical consultancy.
Enclosing with a bioclimatic greenhouse: the green version of the terrace
A third solution, for those who love plants, is to enclose the terrace by building a bioclimatic greenhouse.
This is an eco-friendly solution that can be built without a building permit, provided it meets the following requirements:
The greenhouse’s volume must not exceed 10% of the total volume of the building;
The greenhouse’s surfaces must be glazed for at least 70% of the total surface area, including the roof;
The bioclimatic greenhouse, since it was designed for this purpose, must ensure a 20% reduction in energy requirements for heating in the winter;
It must not have any air conditioning system;
It must face southwest or southeast.
The best advice, however, is to always rely on a technician who can verify the feasibility of this project and who can liaise with the municipality.
Enclosing the terrace with brickwork
This solution is certainly the most complex and expensive, but it will allow you to move the perimeter walls of the house, rebuild them with brickwork, and thus integrate the terrace surface into the interior of the home. This type of intervention requires the assistance of an architect and an engineer for both the design and structural aspects. The end result will be the expansion of an existing space, such as the living area, or the creation of a new room.
Permits to close the terrace
Any work that increases the original volume of the home requires a specific permit. If you live in a detached house, simply consult the municipal regulations and submit the necessary and required documents. The situation is more complex if you live in a condominium. Before even submitting the application to the relevant technical office, you must obtain authorization from the condominium administrator and the condominium assembly. Furthermore, if the building is located in an area of historical or artistic value, authorization from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage is also mandatory.
What are the most common cases?
Depending on the type of project, you may or may not need to apply for a building permit or an alternative notification.
For example, if you want to create a room, this does not require a building permit, but rather a simple Certified Notification of Commencement of Activity (SCIA), since it is considered a renovation project that involves a change in the building’s volume.
If, however, the terrace is enclosed with glass walls or an external veranda, a building permit will be required, as this work involves the creation of a new space outside the original footprint of the property.
In both cases, upon completion of the work, the appropriate documentation must be submitted to the Revenue Agency’s land registry.
There are also some structures that can be constructed as freestanding structures, such as gazebos and pergolas, as they are structures with no structural significance and are intended to furnish the garden.
Verandas, however, do not fall into this category, as they are fixed and durable.
Of the solutions described above, no permit is required:
Pergolas, which are not considered permanent or invasive structures, are easily removable and do not alter the location in which they are installed. Pergolas can be closed on the sides with glass or awnings, which provide complete protection from the outside environment even in winter.
Awnings, a classic method of vertically enclosing the terrace. They do not require any permit because they can be removed at any time and do not affect the shape of the building.
Unauthorized works: what are the risks?
If you’ve built a veranda or a wall structure without obtaining municipal approval, you’re committing a building violation. After consulting the Building Regulations, the first thing to do is remove the unauthorized structure, or you risk hefty fines.
In conclusion, there are many solutions available to completely or partially enclose a terrace. We recommend relying on professionals and experts who can help you choose the right solution and guide you through the bureaucratic and permit procedures.