Usually, the installation of a window sill, plastic slopes and low tide occurs immediately after the window is installed. In most cases, this is done by a team of builders specializing in metal-plastic constructions. But there are cases when it becomes necessary to install the window sill with your own hands, and how to do it correctly, we will consider in the article.
How to choose a windowsill
There are various reasons why there is a desire or need to install a window sill with your own hands:
- The window is in good condition, and the window sill is damaged (soiled, scratched, melted, burned, etc.).
- Old windowsill was installed incorrectly.
- There was a desire to install a window sill of a different color. For example, after repairing the room, the color of the PVC plate does not fit the new interior.
- There is a need to replace the window sill with a wider or narrower one. Wider sill set in the event that it is necessary to place a large number of objects, such as pots of flowers or seedlings. A narrower window sill may be necessary if too wide prevents the free movement of warm air from the battery up and the air cycle in the room during the cold season. At the same time, the warm air from the battery does not heat the window, it “sweats”, dampness and even fungus appears.
- It is difficult to find a master who will undertake such a small amount of work as installing a single window sill.
- It is not at all difficult to install the window sill by yourself, and at the same time you can save money that could be spent to pay for the wizard.
- Just nice to do something useful with their own hands.
Important! A wide window sill visually enlarges the room and its usable area.
So, if you need to replace the PVC plate, you need to know that the window sills are different:
- colors, except for light and dark shades, there are imitations of stone and precious woods;
- dimensions: width from 110 to 800 mm, length from 4050 to 6000 mm, thickness from 18 to 22 mm;
- the company and the country of origin;
- price (from 3 to 20 dollars per meter);
- the quality of the material - polyvinyl chloride, including resistance to wear and scratching, resistance to heat, moisture and vapor resistance, resistance to ultraviolet radiation, environmental friendliness, durability.
Did you know? Polyvinyl chloride has a very wide application. PVCs even make condoms for people who are allergic to latex.
In addition to the window sill itself, it is necessary to purchase two end caps that are installed on the side sections of the sill at the final stage of the installation work. If there is a need for a direct or angular connection of two windowsills, you should purchase a universal corner connector for PVC plates.
Necessary tools and consumables
For high-quality installation of a plastic plate with your own hands, you will need the following tools and consumables:
- Metal square.
- Marker or pencil.
- Roulette.
- Primer.
- Bulgarian, jigsaw or hacksaw.
- Puncher (optional, only if the material of the slopes is dense concrete).
- Chisel and hammer.
- Brush.
- Building level.
- Construction foam and gun.
- A set of plastic substrates or wooden bars.
- Cement, gypsum mortar or glue to set the bars to the required height or to raise the level of the base.
- Sealant.
- Masking tape
- Stationery knife.
We recommend to learn how to remove the old paint and whitewash, whitewash the ceiling and glue the wallpaper, sheathe the door, how to make a plasterboard partition with a doorway or how to sheathe the walls with gypsum plasterboard.
Installation process
Regardless of whether the window sill is installed by a specialized installation team or a new person in this matter, the entire process of installing PVC plates can be divided into several stages.
Preparatory stage
You should prepare the place where you plan to install the PVC plate, namely the lower part of the window opening and the side window slopes. The window sill should enter the wall a little at the sides, therefore, in the slopes it is necessary to cut the connectors with a depth of 1-2 cm on each side in order to bring the plastic plate there. For this, the window sill sheet is applied to the wall and marks are made for cuts with a pencil or marker. Next, carefully select the grooves so that the sill is free to enter them. This work requires carefulness in order not to restore coarsely damaged slopes and not to close up large holes in the slopes.
Important! In order to minimize the procedure of restoring the slopes, it is worth treating them as carefully as possible in the process of installing the sill.
If the corners of the slopes were leveled with metal perforated corners, you should carefully cut the metal corner with the grinder. Grinder is also advisable to make a horizontal gash in the slope. The rest of the recesses in the wall is convenient to do with a chisel and a hammer. These tools are most suitable if the material of the slope is gypsum plaster. If the slopes are made of concrete, then the grooves in the slope should be done using a perforator. The side grooves in the slopes serve as an additional support for the window sill on the sides.
The lower part of the window opening and the support profile, which is under the window frame and is used for mounting the window sill, should be cleaned of plaster, concrete and brick, which appeared in the process of creating slots in the slopes. After that, use a brush to remove all trash and dust. The cleaned surface should be moistened. This is necessary for better adhesion of the mounting foam with the surface on which the window sill will be located. It is advisable not only to wet the surface with water, but to use a primer for this purpose. The soil strengthens the surface, removes dust and moisturizes it at the same time. Brush generously applied to the surface of the soil, impregnate all the pits, bulges, pores, cracks.
Important! In order not to blow from the window sill, you should check the quality of foaming of the window frame and, if necessary, eliminate all the shortcomings at the preparatory stage of work.
Trim window sill
ANDmea ready window sill, it is necessary to cut from it a blank for a window sill. To do this, calculate the length and width of the future window sill. The length of the window sill should be greater than the length of the surface for the sill, and go beyond the slopes. The length of these protrusions depends on individual taste preferences, usually 5-7 cm on each side, but you can limit yourself to a projection of 1-2 cm.
The width of the workpiece is calculated by summing:
- the width of the subwindow surface;
- the depth at which the slab is put under the window into the pedestal profile (usually about 20 mm);
- protruding part of the window sill, which should not be more than 100 mm, so as not to impede the passage of heat from the battery.
Consider in more detail how to put a light switch, a power outlet with your own hands and install a flow-through water heater, an air conditioner, a shower cabin, blinds, a sofa of pallets, a heating stove.
After the blank is ready, you need to try it on the spot, that is, put it on the lower part of the window opening and lead it into the recesses of the slopes and into the stand profile. If during the fitting some inaccuracies are revealed, they should be eliminated before the final installation of the window sill.
Gasket installation
Some installers install the window sill strictly perpendicular to the window, for control use a metal square. However, most experts believe that a properly installed window sill should have a small degree of inclination to the inside of the room, so that in the event of moisture, it flows down.
In order to fix the desired installation option for the blank of the window sill, it is necessary to lay plastic spacers or wooden blocks along its plane. Their sizes should be selected so that the surface of the PVC plate is perfectly flat. To install one sill you need at least 3 supports (one in the middle and two closer to the edges). The distance between the supports should not exceed half a meter. In order for the gaskets or wooden blocks not to move, it is advisable to glue them onto silicone sealant, plaster or cement mortar.
Important! The process of fitting and installing PVC windowsill must be constantly monitored at the construction level.
The supports of the window sill should be placed at such a level that when fitting the window sill blank there is no gap between the window sill and the window frame. If to meet this requirement, the supports are higher than 40 mm, this is unacceptable. A foam layer exceeding 40 mm will not be of high quality, there will be voids in it, it will not be able to withstand the necessary load, and the insulating properties will be insufficient. In this case, before placing the linings under the window sill, you need to raise the level of the bottom of the window opening. This can be done with cement or gypsum plaster, self-leveling floor, etc.
Installation
At the preparatory stage of the installation of the window sill, we cleaned the lower part of the window opening, strengthened it and moistened it with a primer. By the time of installation of the window sill, the primer is already dry, and for better adhesion and acceleration of the curing of the foam, the surfaces with which the mounting foam will come in contact should be wet. Therefore, it is necessary to moisten both the lower part of the window opening and the lower part of the window sill. PVC plate covered with a protective film. The edges of the window sill, which will be mounted under the window frame and in the holes of the slopes should be cleaned from the protective film.
On the remaining parts of the window sill, it is advisable to keep the film until all repairs are completed. In order not to blow out from under the window sill, the first thing to do is to slightly zapenit the space between the bottom of the window opening and the window support profile. Then the foam is applied with a wide strip under the far edge of the window sill, and then with dense stripes on the entire plane of the base. For the convenience of foam application, additional extension nozzles are used.
Important! The height of the foam should not be greater than the level of the supports under the window sill. When foaming, the main thing is not to overdo it.
When frozen, the foam increases in volume so much that it is able to lift the window sill up. To prevent such a nuisance, you need to put some weight on the PVC plate. It is desirable to put something flat under the load so that the weight spreads evenly. The load should be placed on the inner edge of the window sill, since the outer edge will be reliably pressed against the window block.
Deviation check
We check again whether there are no slots, whether the window sill is evenly positioned, whether the protrusions are the same at the edges, the required slope is observed. In the case of detection of small irregularities within the first two hours after installation, it is enough just to fix them. Perhaps you need to make a few gentle blows with a hammer in the right direction, and the formation of holes or hillocks can be leveled by moving the load on the surface of the window sill.
It will be useful for owners of country houses, summer cottages, as well as residents of the private sector in cities how to make a path from wood cuts, concrete paths, build a formwork for a fence foundation, make a fence from gabions, fence from a chain-link grid, and also how to build a verandah and a bathhouse , pool, toilet and cellar do it yourself
Sealing gaps
Gaps and cracks appear at the junction of the window sill and the escarpment, the window sill and the window, as well as the window and the escarpment. Obviously, it is advisable to correct such deficiencies after all the main elements (window, sill and slope) are installed.
The gaps are sealed using silicone sealant, which is applied with a thin strip at the joints. The edges of the surfaces on which the sealant should not get, it is desirable to glue up with adhesive tape beforehand. Moreover, the excess sealant and masking tape should be removed immediately after applying the sealant. After it dries, it will be much more difficult to do, and the result will be less accurate. Excess dried foam under the sill should be removed. Foam is easily cut with a stationery knife. The resulting groove should be filled with ordinary plaster for walls.
Excess foam under the window sill must be removed so that the thickness of the plaster layer is at least 1 cm. Such a layer will lie securely and will not be squeezed during further work and operation.
Installation clips
At the final stage, the side edges of the sill are protected by end caps, and the window sill itself is cleared of protective film.
How to wash the windowsill
When ordinary home remedies, such as: Soap, soda, vinegar, tooth powder, chalk turned out to be powerless in the fight against pollution special chemicals come to the rescue. The choice of modern household chemicals will be able to cope with any pollution on the plastic surface. You only need to correctly formulate your problem to the sales assistant in the department of household chemicals, emphasizing that you need a tool for cleaning plastic.
Careful operation and regular care will help avoid the problems associated with the laundering of complex contaminants. The main thing - do not use metal scrapers and abrasives: they leave scratches, which then accumulates dirt.
As a decoration of the house adjoining space one should consider a waterfall, an alpine slide, a fountain, a wattle fence, a bed of stones, a trellis, a rose garden, a mixborder, a dry stream.
Installing a window-sill with your own hands or using the services of a specialized construction team is up to you. In fact, the installation process of the window sill is not complicated, however, it requires the availability or acquisition of the necessary tools, consumables (the remnants of which may no longer be useful) and work skills. If the first attempt to install PVC plates with your own hands fails, then the total cost of self-installation may be much more than the wages of the master.
Video: how to install do-it-yourself windowsill
