In the conditions of urban life (and in many villages) plastic windows have long turned from a symbol of prosperity into an everyday occurrence. The installation of windows is carried out by specialists, because there are nuances during the installation process that are unknown to the average layman. But you can finish the design of the new opening yourself - by installing plastic slopes on the windows.
The case is complicated only at first glance. When you have detailed instructions and a list of materials / tools at hand, every homeowner can easily cope with the task.
When you need to make slopes on windows
Often, after installing windows, owners do not agree to professional installation of slopes. This is due to the high 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 misleading. Few people manage to reinforce the slopes made of plastic soon after the installation of the structures. Either there is not enough time, or laziness, but you never know what kind of interference may arise …
In fact, every truly knowledgeable specialistwill 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;
- foam, due to its porous structure, easily gets moisture, which can both lead to mold and, when frozen, destroy the treated area;
- over time, due to weathering, gaps may appear between the foam and the window frame, and all the efforts of professionals will be in vain;
- uncovered foam quickly loses its thermal insulation ability.
This is not the whole list of reasons, but it is enough to understand that plastic slopes (with your own hands or with the help of professionals - it doesn’t matter) must be built without delay.
Selection of slope materials
Slopes made of plastic are used for interior and exterior decoration of the building. For each type of work you will need certain tools and materials. It would be best to gather everything you need in one place in advance. So, the list of materials:
- Directly PVC panel. When choosing them, you need to know exactly the dimensions of the window, including the depth by which the width of the panel is determined.
- Finishing the slopes with plastic will require the purchase of an F-profile to edging the outside.
- The adjacent side is framed with a U-profile (it may not be useful if the foamed area around the entire perimeter of the opening is wider than 2 cm).
- Painting tape.
- Mounting foam - a pair of cylinders.
- Glue that dries quickly.
- White acrylic silicone.
Required tools
Let's list the tools with which we will sew the slopes with plastic. With your own hands, you can not only bring window openings to mind - build a palace! There would be a desire, and, of course, certain skills. So, for work we need:
- Triangle, pencil and tape measure - for precise measurements and outlining angles.
- Special gun for use with foam cans (not needed if the can has a nozzle).
- "Bulgarian" or a hacksaw - to quickly cut slopes of the desired size from plastic. Although, with a strong desire and the absence of such tools, you can use a large clerical knife - just prepare more spare blades for it.
- Pistol for extruding silicone and sealants from tubes.
When everything is ready, you can proceed to a detailed study of the instructions on the stages of work.
Outside slope treatment
You can choose how to close the slope from the outside of the house. There are tips on the net for using silicone-based sealants or self-expanding polyurethane sealing tape.
This is a good method, but the adhesion of facade paint to sealants leaves much to be desired, and after a while the bases can peel off from each other, depriving the foam of the necessary protection. This must be taken into account when deciding onsealing 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 slope treatment method.
Internal slopes
From the side of the dwelling itself, the slope can be repaired in different ways. Previously, all windows were finished with plaster due to the simplicity of its application and the low cost of the material. Unfortunately, plaster can lead to hypothermia of the slope and the accumulation of condensate. Therefore, nowadays slopes made of plastic are increasingly preferred.
Main production steps
At the first stage, there are two options:
- When the gap between the wall and the window opening is wider than two centimeters, the unevenness of the filled foam is cut off, and a groove is made in it, the thickness of which corresponds to the plastic panel. So prepare the entire perimeter of the box.
- If the gap width is limited to two centimeters or less, then remove only those areas of cured foam that may interfere with installation.
Stage two. Preparation of panels for installation begins. It is necessary to decide how the panels will be joined - at a right angle or at an angle of 45⁰. An acute-angled joint looks more aesthetically pleasing. The necessary measurements are made (a tape measure, a simple pencil and a triangle will come in handy here). Then, with the existing tool, we cut off the future slopes. You can make sure that the measurements are correct by applying to the right placeinstallation.
The third stage of work involves the installation of plastic blanks. The panels are attached either to the glue applied to the groove, or inserted into the U-profile glued to the box. The remaining gaps between the wall and the slopes are filled with foam, which will hold the structure well.
In this case, this material is applied in a thin strip, which will expand in the process (the percentage of expansion is indicated on the cylinders). If you overdo it with foam, it, having increased, deforms the plastic.
To prevent this from happening, and the slopes turned out to be even, plastic panels are attached 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 along the perimeter of the opening.
The final stage is grouting the joints with silicone. It is carefully applied to the seams and smoothed out with a damp cloth.
Summarizing, it will be useful to say a few words about the advantages and disadvantages of such slopes.
Benefits of using plastic panels
- PVC materials are extremely durable.
- The total cost of all products will not hit the family budget, because plastic panels are distinguished by a democratic price.
- Ease of installation and short installation time (one slope is mounted about 60 minutes).
- Easy maintenance. They can be easily wiped down 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 entire panel will need to be replaced.
- PVC products are not environmentally friendly. Comments are unnecessary.
- 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 left about how to make slopes from plastic.
This article describes the most common technique for finishing plastic window openings. It is easy to perform and does not require a lot of consumables.
