Balconies: glazing, insulation and staying within the rules
A glazed balcony can be a storeroom, a place to dry laundry or even a small study. But a balcony is part of an apartment building’s facade, and in Yerevan unauthorised changes can lead to serious trouble. Here is what you can do and what needs approval.
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What the rules say
Interior finishing inside an apartment does not need a construction permit. What can be seen from the street is another matter. According to the state portal hartak.am, in Yerevan a sketch must be approved by the municipality for, among other things, replacing external windows and doors, changing the appearance of balcony railings without structural changes, and repairing or replacing facade cladding.
Balcony glazing is not named separately on that list, but it changes how the facade looks. So before ordering frames, ask the Yerevan municipality (at a citizen service centre or via yerevan.am) whether your building needs a sketch. Outside Yerevan, check the same with your local community.
Anything that changes the structure — extending a balcony outwards, enlarging it, building an annex or adding a balcony where there was none — counts as construction and needs a permit. In May 2025 the Mayor of Yerevan said that any illegal construction, including unauthorised balconies, is unacceptable and will be stopped, up to and including demolition.
Your balcony and your neighbours
Under the Law on Management of Multi-Apartment Buildings, load-bearing structures, floor slabs and the roof are the building’s common property. Owners decide on major repairs of common property by at least a two-thirds majority. So if the work touches load-bearing elements, you cannot proceed without a design and the necessary decisions. Before ordering glazing, ask the building’s management body whether there are shared rules for balconies.
Cold or warm glazing
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Cold: light aluminium profile, single glass | light, keeps out dust, rain and wind, usually cheaper | in winter the balcony is almost as cold as outside |
| Warm: PVC or thermally broken aluminium with double glazing | the balcony can be used all year round | heavier, more load on the balcony slab, more expensive |
Weight matters. Balcony slabs in older buildings were designed for a certain load, and heavy double-glazed units together with a brick parapet and tiles on screed can exceed it. Before warm glazing an old balcony, have an engineer look at it: cracks, exposed rebar and rust under the slab mean the base needs repair first. If you only need the balcony to keep out dust and store things, cold glazing is usually enough.
Insulation without mould
- Check the slab and railing and repair them first if needed
- Waterproof the floor and the joints with the wall
- Insulate the floor, parapet and ceiling as one continuous layer, without cold bridges at the edges
- Cover the insulation with a vapour barrier on the room side
- Keep sashes that can be opened for ventilation
Removing the wall or the under-window block between a room and the balcony is a popular idea, but in an apartment building it may involve load-bearing structures, which are common property. It must not be done without a design and a permit. A safe alternative is to keep the wall and make the balcony a cosy extension of the room behind the door.
Before you order: a short checklist
- You have asked the municipality or community whether your building needs a sketch
- You have asked the building’s management body about shared rules for balconies
- An engineer has inspected the balcony slab and railing
- The installer’s contract states the profile, glazing unit, deadlines and warranty
- You have thought about how the sashes will open and how you will clean the glass from outside
Key points
- Interior finishing needs no permit; anything that changes the facade goes through the municipality or community
- In Yerevan, replacing external windows and changing the look of balcony railings requires an approved sketch — check whether your balcony glazing needs one
- Extending, enlarging or building onto a balcony is construction and needs a permit
- Warm glazing is heavier: check the balcony slab first
- Insulate as one continuous layer and keep a way to ventilate
