In the conditions of urban life (and indeed in many villages), plastic windows have long turned from a symbol of prosperity into an everyday occurrence. Specialists are engaged in the installation of windows, because there are nuances in the installation process that are unknown to the average layman. But you can finish the design of the new aperture yourself - by installing plastic slopes on the windows.
This is a complicated matter only at first glance. When you have at hand detailed instructions and a list of materials / tools, each owner of the house can easily cope with the task.
When you need to make slopes on the windows
Often after installing windows, owners do not agree to professional installation of slopes. This is due to the considerable price of the service. You can often hear that the window will not suffer from the fact that for some time it will “live” without proper design. However, such an opinion is a misconception. Few people succeed shortly after installing structures to independently strengthen slopes made of plastic. That time is not enough, then laziness, but you never know what kind of interference may occur ...
In reality, each truly knowledgeable specialist will name more than one reason why the window should be “brought to mind” as quickly as possible:
- mounting foam, which is filled with cracks and gaps after installation, quickly collapses under the influence of sunlight;
- due to its porous structure, moisture easily enters the foam, which can both lead to the appearance of mold, and during freezing, destroy the treated area;
- over time, due to atmospheric effects, gaps may appear between the foam and the window frame, and all the efforts of professionals will be in vain;
- bare foam quickly loses its ability to insulate.
This is not the whole list of reasons, but it is enough to understand that slopes made of plastic (do-it-yourself with your own hands or with the help of professionals) do need to be built up without delay.
The choice of materials for slopes
The slopes created from plastic are used for internal and external decoration of the building. For each type of work you will need certain tools and materials. It will be most correct to collect everything you need in one place in advance. So, the list of materials:
- Directly PVC panels. When choosing them, you need to know exactly the size of the window, including the depth by which the width of the panel is determined.
- Finishing slopes with plastic will require the purchase of an F-profile in order to surround the outside.
- The adjacent side is surrounded by a P-profile (it may not be useful if the foamed area around the entire perimeter of the opening is wider than 2 cm).
- Adhesive tape for painting.
- Polyurethane foam - a pair of cylinders.
- Glue that can dry quickly.
- White acrylic silicone.
Necessary tools
Here is a list of tools with which we will sew up the slopes with plastic. With your own hands, you can not only bring window openings to mind - build a palace! It would be a desire, and, of course, certain skills. So, for work we need:
- Triangle, pencil and tape measure - for accurate measurements and outlines of angles.
- A special gun applied to cylinders with mounting foam (it will not be needed if the cylinder has a nozzle).
- "Grinder" or a hacksaw for metal - to quickly cut plastic slopes of the right size. Although, with a great desire and the absence of such tools, you can use a large clerical knife - just prepare for it more spare blades.
- Gun for extruding silicone and sealants from tubes.
When everything is ready, you can start a detailed study of the instructions on the stages of work.
Outside slope processing
You can choose how to close the slope from the outside of the house. Tips for using silicone-based sealants or self-expanding polyurethane sealing tapes are common on the net.
This is a good method, but the adhesion of the facade paint to the sealants leaves much to be desired, and after some time the bases can peel off from each other, depriving the foam of the necessary protection. This must be taken into account when deciding on the termination of external slopes.
The best option is plastering with glue used for tiles. Its resistance to moisture and frost will be an ideal argument in favor of this particular method of processing slopes.
Internal slopes
From the side of the residential building itself, there are several ways to close the slope. Previously, all windows were finished with plaster due to the simplicity of its application and low cost of the material. Unfortunately, plastering can lead to overcooling of the slope and accumulation of condensate. Therefore, at present, slopes made of plastic are increasingly preferred.
The main stages of manufacturing
At the first stage, there are two options:
- When the gap between the wall and the window opening is wider than two centimeters, the irregularities of the filled foam are cut off and a groove is made in it, the thickness of which corresponds to a plastic panel. So prepare the entire perimeter of the box.
- If the gap width is limited to two centimeters or less, then we remove only those areas of the frozen foam that may interfere with installation.
Stage Two. The preparation of the panels for installation begins. You need to decide how the panels will dock - at a right angle or at an angle of 45⁰. An acute-angle joint looks more aesthetically pleasing. The necessary measurements are made (roulette, a simple pencil and a triangle are just useful here). Then we cut off the future slopes with an existing tool. You can verify the correctness of measurements by attaching to the desired installation location.
The third stage of work involves the installation of plastic blanks. The panels are attached either to the glue applied in the groove, or inserted into the P-profile glued to the box. The remaining cracks between the wall and slopes are filled with foam, which will hold the structure well.
At the same time, this material is applied in a thin strip, which will expand in the process (on the cylinders indicate the percentage of expansion). If you overdo it with the foam, it will increase and deform the plastic.
To prevent this from happening, and the slopes turned out smooth, plastic panels are fixed to the wall with masking tape.
After the foam dries, the fourth stage of fixing the slopes begins. It consists in gluing the F-profile around the perimeter of the opening.
The final stage is grouting the joints with silicone. It is gently applied to the seams and smoothed with a damp cloth.
To summarize, it will be useful to say a few words about the advantages and disadvantages of such slopes.
Advantages of using plastic panels
- PVC materials have a very long service life.
- The total cost of all products will not hit the family budget, because the plastic panels are distinguished by the affordable price.
- Ease of installation and short installation time (one slope is mounted for about 60 minutes).
- Ease of care. They are easily rubbed or washed with warm water and a mild detergent.
What are the disadvantages
- Plastic is known for its softness and resistance to mechanical damage. If a dent or crack appears, the panel will have to be replaced completely.
- PVC products are not classified as environmentally friendly. Comments are redundant.
- Plastic is extremely flammable and toxic when burned.
Now that everything is prepared, the characteristics of the material and the instructions for working with it have been studied, there should be no questions about how to make slopes from plastic.
This article describes the most common method of finalizing the openings of plastic windows. It is simple in execution and does not require a large amount of consumables.