How to plaster the slopes on the windows with your own hands

After installing modern metal-plastic or wooden windows with double-glazed windows, it's time to take care of their framing - window slopes. Finishing a window opening is necessary not only to give the window a complete and neat appearance, but also to improve its heat-insulating qualities. The oldest, but to this day not lost its popularity, method of decorating window and door slopes is plastering. We will try to figure out how to plaster the slopes on the windows with our own hands, and find out all the subtleties of this process.

Methods for finishing window slopes

When installing new windows in old buildings, unforeseen situations arise. Very often the slopes of the window openings themselves “strive” to collapse. Under them are voids or a very large layer of insulation. Usually this is due to unsustainable standards during construction work.

You can make new window or door slopes with your own hands from various finishing materials: MDF, drywall, plastic. However, the traditional plastering of slopes with mortar has several advantages, among which:

• high impact strength;
• long term of operation;
• affordable price.

There are also disadvantages to decorating window slopes with stucco. First of all, this is insufficient thermal insulation and the possibility of cracking.

Plastering slopes in the openings of windows and doors is quite painstaking work, but with some knowledge and minimal ability to handle a spatula, you can do it yourself.

Tools and materials for plastering slopes

When doing the work yourself, first you need to decide on the selection of materials and tools with which you can plaster the slopes in the window opening. Their list includes:

• plaster mix;
• putty;
• primer;
• brush;
• polyurethane foam;
• spatulas of two types - wide and narrow;
• Master OK;
• grater and grater;
• short level up to 1 meter long, plumb line;
• roulette wheel;
• goniometer;
• containers for solution and water.

To remove an excess layer of old plaster from the window slopes, you will need a hammer drill, in the absence of which you can use a hammer and a chisel.

As a composition for plastering slopes, both cement-sand mortar and dry gypsum mixture are suitable. Gypsum-based plaster will cost you a little more, but it has some important advantages:

• high ductility, providing convenience during work with slopes;
• the possibility of applying a thicker layer.

Preparatory work

Preparation includes several stages: protecting windows or doors, removing cracks and surface treatment of slopes.

Structural Protection

Before starting the decoration of the slopes, it is necessary to take care of the safety of the windowsill, as well as the windows or doors themselves. They must be protected not only from mechanical damage, but also from the ingress of a solution, which is especially dangerous for wooden structures due to the possibility of swelling, deformation, damage to veneer or varnish.

1. The surface of the window sill is covered with thick paper.
2. Joints, window or door frames are glued with construction tape.
3. The door leaf can be removed or closed with oilcloth or foil.

Do not forget about the safety of accessories and radiators. They are easier to wrap with rags or paper than then wash for a long time.

Closing slots

The wide gaps between the window and the opening are sealed by the installation crew, but small gaps may remain. In this case, you can do it yourself with foam. After it hardens, the excess is carefully cut with a knife in such a way that a small recess is obtained up to a depth of 2-3 cm, which will subsequently be filled with a solution.

Slope surface preparation

This stage consists of the following actions:

1. Remains of old plaster, paint or oil stains are removed from the surface of the window opening.
2. If there are smooth spots, notches are made on them.
3. After cleaning, the primer of the slopes is performed, which is necessary to increase adhesion - adhesion of two dissimilar materials. Processing is done with a wide brush.
4. After the composition has dried, you can proceed to the next part of the work.

Opening markings

There is the concept of "angle of dawn." To get more light into the room, the angle that is formed between the plane of the window or doorway and the plane of the wall must be greater than 90 degrees. In order to take into account the angle of dawn, you need a goniometer. With its help, a line is drawn on the windowsill from the corner of the window frame so that 1 cm of deviation corresponds to 10 cm of the opening depth. So, with a wall thickness of 30 cm, the line will go 3 cm to the side.

Beacon Installation

Professional builders perform plastering work on beacons made of wood or metal. If you need to apply a small layer, then you can plaster the slopes on the marks of the gypsum mixture.

If you are going to plaster the slopes with your own hands, having absolutely no experience in leveling surfaces with building mixtures, it is better to purchase ready-made lighthouses for plastering in the store. In extreme cases, you can use strips of plywood.

• Along the outer wall along the entire plane, the lighthouses are fastened with nails or screws. The vertical is set using a plumb line, and the horizon level is set with a level.
• The second beacons must be installed so that they are adjacent to the window frame or door unit. They are attached with a mixture of gypsum, into which the profile is pressed. You can also use clean, quick-setting alabaster.

Alignment

After all the preparatory work, the sketch begins, and then the prepared mixture or solution is aligned to the plane of the opening. When the entire space between the beacons is filled, a smoothing from bottom to top is made to smooth the entire surface. Thus, work is performed on all three sides of the window: right, left and top.

After the solution has dried, it is necessary to remove the beacons. To do this, with the help of a spatula, the profile connection with the new plaster is trimmed. The free space is also filled with a mixture and leveled.

Tip: to prevent cracking of the plaster due to thermal expansion of the PVC window frames in a solution that has not yet solidified, a furrow is made between the frame and the slope 3-5 cm wide with a spatula. Silicone sealant is poured into the recess, which will act as an elastic gasket.

Slope grout

After several hours have passed and the mixture has hardened, plywood beacons - guides are removed. Putty or mortar close up the voids of the side edges. Then, using a grater in a circular motion, the slopes are grouted. The surface is pre-wetted with a brush.

When pits or cracks appear, a little solution is thrown into the problem areas.

Work continues until the plane becomes level.

After the plastering of the window slopes is finished, it remains only to wait until the surface has completely dried, which can last from 6 to 11 days, depending on the thickness of the plaster layer. Now you can putty, then paint the slopes with traditional white.