Many people who have never had a chance to make repairs in their apartment on their own do not know what architraves on interior doors are. Roughly speaking, this term refers to the boards with which the perimeter of the doorway is upholstered. The correct operation of the door itself does not depend on their presence (absence), since they perform a purely decorative function. They cover the gaps between the door slave and the wall, fasteners and building foam. Without architraves on the door, any apartment will look not only untidy, but will resemble the place of residence of people with low social consciousness. Installation of platbands is quite simple. Even a person who has never done carpentry in his life will cope. The main thing is to be able to hold a hammer in your hands, as well as use a drill and a screwdriver. But since the installation of platbands on interior doors is carried out at the end of all repair and finishing work, then to herquality is subject to special requirements.
Existing types of architraves and their features
Most often, molded (such products have a large length and a small cross section) platbands, the material of which is wood, plastic or MDF, are used as the decoration of openings. Experienced decorators always use MDF or polyvinyl chloride platbands, as these materials have proven themselves well when used in conditions of frequent changes in temperature and high humidity. This property is especially relevant for our latitudes and conditions. Such trims on the door are used in the decoration of bathrooms and even steam rooms.
Standard architraves are 7 centimeters wide and 2 meters 10 centimeters long. The standard thickness of the casing is 1 centimeter.
Tools for the job
In order not to be distracted from work, it is necessary to prepare tools in advance. You need a tape measure, a pencil, a miter box, a hacksaw or a wood saw with a fine tooth, construction nails, a self-tapping screw, a drill or a screwdriver with a set of bits, adhesive tape.
How to install wooden architraves
The most correct way to attach such trims is to put them on liquid nails. But it is also acceptable to use thin nails with a hidden head. If you use ordinary construction nails, then the hat will be striking, which will negatively affect the entire interior. Some people cutcaps with pliers. Another option is to use a special construction gun that shoots not with paper clips, but with hairpins without hats. But if for one reason or another none of the listed options is suitable, then they resort to the following method: the nail heads are sunk into the wood, and the formed recess is sealed with putty in the same tone as the wood. Instead of putty, you can use a wax pencil.
Each of the methods of fastening requires certain skills and abilities from the performer of the work, or at least the conscientious execution of each operation. The use of adhesives can turn out to be a big hassle in the future, when it becomes necessary to dismantle the casing for laying a telephone or fiber optic cable, or for other work.
The use of so-called liquid nails is justified only when the walls in the apartment were leveled. Otherwise, a wide gap will remain between the casing on the door and the wall, and the size of the gap will change along the entire perimeter, which especially hurts the eye and emphasizes the negligence of the repair, and at the same time spoils the owner's reputation in the eyes of his guests.
In the store, when buying wooden platbands, you should first of all pay attention to the presence of extraneous stains. Blue spots appear as a result of a violation of the technological process of drying wood. It is better to put such a casing aside.
Features of MDF architraves
Supporters of natural materials prefer to use wood in the decoration of the apartment. However, modernartificial materials can give odds to natural ones in almost all respects. So, outwardly, platbands on doors made of MDF are difficult to distinguish from natural platbands made of wood. However, they are not inferior to the latter in terms of environmental friendliness and performance. In addition, they are often cheaper than wooden counterparts. All this in a complex and predetermines the great popularity of this material among the population.
Installation of platbands on the door is carried out in a slightly different way. You can not punch through holes, it is best to use glue. It is recommended to use glue when installing on interior doors, since entrance doors are subject to the influence of the atmosphere and frequent temperature changes, which negatively affects the adhesive connection. In addition, work with glue is classified as complex, and it is difficult for an inexperienced person to independently glue surfaces with high quality. Also, such work is associated with the risk of poisoning with volatile substances and toxic fumes.
Unlike wooden architraves on a door, nails cannot be used when working with MDF. This is due to the nature of the material. If this recommendation is neglected, then the service life of the platbands will be significantly reduced.
Plastic trim on the door
Purchasing such architraves will be the cheapest. But experienced craftsmen do not recommend taking them for a number of reasons. Yes, there are different types of plastic. And even if you ask the seller for a certificate confirming the quality of the product, this still does not guarantee that the material is really safe and has a goodquality. Today, unfortunately, it is quite easy to forge any documents. Many owners complain about the persistent unpleasant smell that plastic trim on the door exudes. In addition, such platbands are difficult to remove and put in place if necessary. It's easier to tear them off and replace them with new ones.
Installation of rectangular flat architraves on the door: docking
The docking angle in most cases is 45 degrees. But sometimes designers choose other values to make the interior of the room special and unique.
Sometimes the ends of the platbands are regular rectangles. In this case, it is very easy to dock them, and even a beginner will cope with this task. But to dock the platbands at an angle, it will take a lot of time. Although the task is also quite feasible. The main difficulty is to cut the wooden architraves on the door correctly and maintain the given angle.
A protective coating must be applied to the cut surface (paint or varnish).
How to install embossed architraves
In the case when the front surface of the decorative element is a curved plane (may be complex carved), the trim on the door requires special attention when installing them.
So, it is necessary to cut the ends for docking at an angle of 45 degrees. No more, no less. Otherwise, docking will not be ensured, and noticeable gaps will appear between the platbands. Appearancethe whole apartment will be seriously affected by this.
The most accurate cutting angle can be obtained on a special machine. But only craftsmen can boast of such equipment, for whom the installation of doors and platbands is the main source of income. A simple layman can rent such a machine. Then all sizes of platbands on the door will be maintained. You can also get a fairly accurate angle using a hand-held miter box and a hacksaw (such a hacksaw has fine teeth that will not tear out the fibers of the wood).
Preparing the doorway for the installation of platbands
First of all, you need to eliminate everything that will interfere with the tight fit of the trim on the door. How to fix them if the construction foam sticks out, which was used to close the gaps. Therefore, you need to take a construction knife and carefully cut off excess foam and other materials that will interfere with the installation of trim.
After cleaning, the difference between the level of the door frame and the wall surface is checked. If the frame sticks out a little, then it's not scary. But if it is pressed in, you will most likely have to nail the bar.
The right and left architraves on the front door must be exactly the same in length. Therefore, before starting installation, they must be cut to one size.
General fitting
Before picking up a hammer and nails, you must first plan everything again, attach a casing, check if nothing will interfere with the opening of the door. Door hinges must notinterfere with the installation of platbands. Platbands are applied to the front door, after which the top of the corner is placed on them. It should be taken with a margin, since in the process of work it is not always possible to make an incision exactly according to the markup: the wood slides when working with a saw (during manual cutting), or from vibrations of the machine.
Processing side architraves
First of all, you need to prepare the racks (or vertical bars). And then the crossbar. The level of the top of the corner obtained by cutting is marked with a pencil. This stage should be taken very carefully, since the success of the entire operation of installing platbands on the front door depends on how conscientiously it is performed. In particular, you should pay attention to how even the floors in the apartment are. If a concrete screed is poured, then no problems will arise at this stage. If the apartment has old wooden floors, it is necessary to take into account possible differences when marking the platbands. In this regard, it is recommended to mark each element so that a difference of a few millimeters does not play a cruel joke, and so that the design is neat and even.
Preparing the vertical plank
The cut line should be neat and even, without torn fibers. It is very important to maintain an angle of exactly 45 degrees, otherwise the platbands will form gaps at the ends.
To keep the cutting line neat, you do not need to press hard on the saw during operation. This applies to both hand tools and the circular saw on the machine.
Preparing the crossbar (horizontalcasing)
The top rail should be cut at 45 degrees on both sides. Despite the imaginary simplicity, such an operation is very difficult to perform the first time and get into the overall size. The platbands on the door (vertical) are attached to the frame, and a horizontal platband is placed on them. Now you can accurately mark your cuts without worrying that the length will be too short.
