When do you need to install windows in your home? When are plastic windows installed in a house under construction? Negative consequences of non-compliance with window installation rules
During the process of building a house, many owners have a question about when to install windows. It is important to know that structures made of natural wood are installed after completion of interior finishing work such as screeding ceilings and plastering.
Before installation begins, the building must dry out a little, since high humidity air can lead to swelling of the natural material and its cracking, as well as damage to the paintwork.
You can reduce air humidity by using gypsum board to decorate walls instead of plastering. In this case, installation window design can be done after screeding the walls and before finishing with gypsum board.
If you prefer plastic windows for your home, they can be installed both after and before finishing, since PVC construction is not susceptible to moisture. However, it is important to remember that if the walls are finished with plasterboard, the windows must be installed before using it, since the material is not moisture resistant.
Carrying out work in winter: basic details
The main construction processes: laying the foundation, erecting walls, organizing the roof occur during the warm period of the year. In autumn and winter it is time for interior finishing work. After installation metal-plastic windows needs to be started in the house heating system. In winter, it is recommended to use plasterboard sheets for wall decoration. The choice of this material does not greatly affect the level of humidity in the room, but will significantly speed up the repair work.
If the owners plan to install windows made of natural wood, dry plaster is used for finishing work to avoid swelling of the frames.
The key to success: the correct microclimate in the room being renovated
The speed and quality of work largely depend on humidity and temperature. In houses where they are installed plastic windows, it is necessary to improve the system natural ventilation. To do this, the windows are left slightly open, and ventilation ducts fans are installed.
It is also necessary to control the temperature. Until the screed and plaster are completely dry, the value on the thermometer should not fall below +5°C. As an alternative to traditional concrete screed You can partially use dry prefabricated. This choice will speed up the finishing work by reducing the amount of construction moisture.
We carry out finishing work in the summer
Interior decoration is an important and labor-intensive process. Before starting repairs, it is advisable to complete the installation of plastic windows. Especially if the work is planned for the spring.
Window installation involves several stages. Upon completion of installation, repairs and leveling of slopes are carried out. Then they begin to treat the walls with cement mortar.
Installation of wooden windows should be postponed until the interior work is completed.
It is important to remember that a draft causes the wallpaper to peel off and causes the paint to “swell.” You can protect the room from air penetration using film. It is enough to fix it on window opening.
The slopes must dry after finishing work. Therefore on initial stage, the solution should only be applied to walls. Wooden windows are installed last.
At the final stage you should plaster window slopes. Masters also use alternative method cladding - finishing them with plasterboard.
On walls that are not insulated in any way, the facade can be plastered both before and after installing windows. However, it is still recommended to carry out the work after the windows are installed. This will allow you to perform all subsequent tasks faster and more efficiently. Finishing work. After installing the windows, slopes and external sills can be installed immediately. These works make it possible to avoid further alterations to the façade. If the plaster was applied before installing the windows, then the subsequent plastering of the facade will be very different.
If the plans include the organization of two-layer walls, then initially
installing windows, and then laying insulation and plastering the facade. In addition, this order of installation allows for better finishing work.
external slopes.
So that after insulating the facade it is possible to apply plaster, slabs
apply 2-3 cm to the window opening. It should not be allowed to be in the corners
windows formed joints from insulation boards. Therefore, the slabs are cut, giving them
"G" shape. And then they attach it with a cutout in the corner of the window.
During the period of plastering the facades, specialists cover the windows with film, which is secured with adhesive tape. Upon completion of work it is removed. It is not recommended to secure the film with masking tape, since after removing it, marks will remain on the window.
Construction installation rules
When ordering windows, you must invite a company specialist who will accurately measure the dimensions of the future structure.
The product is installed at an outside air temperature of at least -5°C. Lower rates can lead to the appearance of microcracks and chips on the plastic elements of the window. In addition, negative temperature indicators lead to poor adhesion polyurethane foam with a wall.
Fixing the window structure to the wall
The window is mounted in the opening using special bars, aligned in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is fixed to the wall using one of two methods - frame dowels and steel anchors.
If an anchor is used, one end of it is fixed to the window and the other to the wall. Such fasteners can be used to fix window blocks made of various materials.
The frame dowel is not so universal solution, since it forces changes to the design. To fix the frame with its help, a hole is drilled in the window profile and the wall. A dowel is installed into the formed channel and screwed. All work is carried out carefully by installers, since tightening the dowel too much can lead to deformation of the window.
Upon completion of the installation of the window structure, the joints along its perimeter are foamed, and the outside material is protected with vapor barrier tape or a special liquid sealant. It allows you to prevent the influence of negative external factors on the foam.
Placing a window in a wall
It is necessary to correctly position the structure in external wall, since this will prevent the appearance of “cold bridges”.
When installing the structure in a single-layer wall, it is placed closer to the middle, which reduces heat loss. In double-layer walls window unit mounted flush with the outer part of the masonry. In this case, it is important that the insulation extends onto the profile at a distance of about 3 cm, covering the joint between the wall and the frame.
In the case of building a house with three-layer walls, the window structure is mounted in the insulating layer, in close proximity to the masonry of the load-bearing part of the wall. The resulting gap is filled with a special tape that prevents the negative effects of moisture and temperature changes on the structure.
If you are building Vacation home, then sooner or later you will be faced with the question of the advisability of installing plastic windows at one or another stage of the construction process. Moreover, people, for the most part, try to install PVC windows as early as possible, explaining that the erected “box” needs protection from low street temperatures, winds, precipitation and outside penetration. Well, there really is some logic to this. But give in to panic and install windows even before the roof is erected (and in cases with winter construction This happens all the time) it’s still not worth it. Believe me, this will bring you much more troubles than positive moments.
Why does the question posed in the title of this article even arise? After all, plastic windows can be used without problems even in 40-degree frosts, so why not really install them as soon as the window openings in the house under construction are completed? Well, we don’t argue, polyvinyl chloride can really cope with low temperatures, and with winds and precipitation. But an installed plastic window is not only plastic, metal and glass, but also important element, like polyurethane foam. And if the foam meets the conditions excessive humidity, observed both from the street and from inside, it can accumulate moisture inside itself. As a result, with the arrival of frost, this same moisture will freeze, the cellular structure of the foam will begin to degrade, the insulation will be damaged, etc.
By the way, in the case of wooden windows everything is much worse. After all, if PVC cannot be saturated with moisture, then wood can. Frame swelling wooden windows can lead to the most serious consequences, including the need to install new window structures. Plus, don’t forget that wood is painted and varnished, and when deformed paints and varnishes will begin to burst and peel. PVC, which has color in its structure, will not encounter such a problem.
There is such an important concept as the warranty conditions for the operation of a plastic window. This concept is directly related to the topic of our article, since if the operating conditions of a PVC window structure are considered improper, then the window will simply be removed from the warranty. So, the normal warranty conditions for the operation of plastic windows are temperatures within +20 degrees Celsius, as well as indoor humidity at 50-60 percent. In principle, this corresponds to the average living conditions in our country, so going beyond the warranty on this item is quite problematic. Unless we are talking about installing plastic windows during the construction of a building. Here the humidity may be higher and the temperature lower. Please note that warranty conditions are not a ploy to allow the manufacturer to avoid warranty exchange or repair. These are the conditions under which the declared durability and performance of a plastic window is guaranteed. And if you break them, it will be entirely your fault.
Further, there is a division of repair work into wet (wet) and dry. Wet ones include those renovation work, which are associated with the use of compounds on water based requiring gradual drying. For example, this could be the hardening of a screed on the floor or a plaster layer on a wall/ceiling. Increases during wet work general level humidity indoors, up to exceeding the warranty operating conditions. Considering the fact that repair compounds take more than one day to dry, this can be a problem for installed plastic windows. What are the ways to solve this situation?
1. Replacing wet repair procedures with dry ones. For example, instead of using plaster mortars, you can level the wall with plasterboard, and instead of pouring screed on the floor, use mortarless leveling using joists.
2. Carry out work in spring or summer. As we have already determined, the main danger is the freezing of moisture inside the foam, and in spring and summer this problem is not relevant.
3. Creation of guarantee conditions artificially. Using heating equipment and by establishing proper ventilation in the room, you can achieve normal levels of humidity and temperature even when carrying out wet work. In general, you will need ventilation not only to protect against foam moisture, but to generally protect the window from condensation. Therefore, it needs to be done as early as possible.
Another problem that you may encounter is the appearance of mold, which is a consequence of moistening the polyurethane foam, as well as slopes. Therefore, if you are installing plastic windows during the construction of a house, it is strongly recommended to immediately restore the slopes and treat them with an antibacterial compound. When restoring slopes, you will close installation seam(foam), which will provide him with serious, although not total, protection.
Should windows be installed before “dirty” work is carried out, which can severely contaminate the surface of the plastic window? In principle, if you securely close the window opening with a combination of construction cellophane and tape, then problems with contamination should not arise. Another thing is that when carrying out construction and repair procedures you will use tools that can tear the cellophane or even cause physical harm to the glass unit or plastic frame. Therefore, proceed with extreme caution.
The issue of house shrinkage, which is especially relevant for all types, deserves special attention. wooden buildings. As a rule, in log houses, plastic windows are installed only after the house shrinks, which occurs under its own weight of building materials, as well as under wind and sediment loads. And even after the first shrinkage, it is strongly recommended to install PVC windows using casing, which will prevent deformation of the window block during subsequent shrinkage processes. With houses made of other materials, the moment of shrinkage also needs to be taken into account, although to a lesser extent.
None complex operations when installing a plastic window with my own hands not required. You do not need to have special skills or special expensive equipment for this. The installation technology is simple and consists of cleaning the opening and installing the window. In total, installing plastic windows yourself will only take a couple of hours. Agree, this is not too much.
But at the same time, you will save family budget, for a rather large amount of money on one window for not using the services of specialists. Sometimes the price for installation is calculated as a percentage of the cost of a new window and in some companies ranges from ten to forty percent of the cost of the windows.
Tool for installing plastic windows
So, what tool will you need to install plastic windows on a building under construction, be it a country house or a cottage:
- level;
- screwdriver;
- gun for more convenient application of polyurethane foam;
polyurethane foam is calculated 1 - 3 cylinders per 1 standard window
- perforator;
- set of hexagons;
- gun for applying silicone;
- stationery knife;
- jigsaw;
- roulette;
- pencil.
Cleaning the opening for a plastic window
Before proceeding with installation, it is necessary to clean the opening for the plastic window.
When cleaning an opening for a plastic window, deep depressions or all kinds of delaminations that arose during the construction of the house are removed; it is better to restore the wall and only then continue further work for window installation.
Installation of plastic windows and frame alignment
Installation of plastic windows consists of certain actions:
- We make marks with a pencil on the window frame in the places where the fastening will take place (there are 4 of them every 70 cm). Offset from corner window frame The extreme fastener is usually left within 5-15 cm. If your window comes with a stand profile, then you don’t have to attach the frame from below.
- The next step when installing a plastic window is to attach all fasteners to the window frame. Fastening element(self-tapping screw, diameter 4 mm) is fixed in metal, which is located inside the frame (bent channel). Self-tapping screw, has a drill at the end. If the windows are large, then you will need screws with a diameter of 12 mm. You can also use special anchor plates as fastening elements.
- In the window opening we make recesses in the places where the fasteners will be attached. To perform this action, you need to insert the frame with fasteners already attached to its surface into the prepared window opening. Where the fasteners will be attached to the opening, we hollow out recesses according to the fixed size of the fasteners and approximately to a depth of 4 cm. In these places we will recess the fastener elements. We do this so that there are no problems later when finishing the slopes.
If the window does not have a mounting strip, then when inserting it into the opening, it must be raised in advance to a certain height of the window sill. To do this, place pieces of foam plastic or blocks of wood under the frame. If the window has mounting plate, then this procedure does not need to be done. There is no need to attach the mounting strip to the frame; it is usually supplied already attached.
- Leveling the frame involves a number of steps. To do this, in certain places under the frame we place, for example, wooden wedges (bars established size), which must be located strictly under the transverse parts of the window frame. You need to insert them like this: first, the two lower ones and, accordingly, the upper ones into the horizon. The longest thing to do when leveling the eye is to align the wedges. As a result of the work, your frame should be level, both horizontally and vertically. We check the work with a level. This type It's easier to do the work together. We can finally secure the window in the window opening with anchors or dowels. For fastening to hollow brick, shell rock and foam concrete, it is better to use anchors with a diameter of 6-8 mm. We attach the ebb with metal screws (diameter 4 mm) to the window frame.
- Pre-adjustment window fittings. Window adjustments are made in the hinges using hexagons. During these actions, the sash should move freely. Sometimes, when closing/opening a window, it clicks in the places where the locking hardware is installed. The fix is simple: unscrew the screw on this element and move it 0.5-1 centimeter higher or lower.
- We foam all the gaps that have formed between the window opening and the frame.
Installation of double-glazed windows into the frame
Installation of a double-glazed window into a frame consists of the following steps:
- We check the presence of linings under the glass unit. If the case is a blind frame, then there should be 2-4 of them on both sides.
- Installing a double-glazed window into a frame requires experience; if not, then it is better to do the installation together. We place the glass unit on the pads (holding it at a slight angle towards you). Then, when you give it a vertical position, so that it slightly presses the receiving rubber on the frame.
- Next, we press the package along the plane where it joins the frame, and install glazing beads, first vertical. We press strongly from the ends of the bead, as if inserting it into the center. If you can’t drive it in by hand, tap it with a mallet.
Installation of plastic window sills
Often installation plastic window sills starts with cutting them off, because as they go standard width and length, that is, with a certain margin. To do this you will need an electric jigsaw, grinder or saw with small teeth.
- When installing a plastic window, we cut the window sill to the required level. Then we move the window sill to stand profile. Next, we level our window sill; to do this, we place wooden blocks, pieces of brick, or laminate cuttings under it.
- We are in the process of leveling the window sill. It is better to install the plugs so that they fit completely into the wall. And it is better to glue them additionally with super glue, since silicone and acrylic do not glue them.
As a result, your window sill should be level in two horizontal directions and not sag in any place (check by pressing with your hand). Sometimes the window sill is mounted with a slight slope, so that the condensation that forms on the window does not flow all under the window. And if you decide to make such a slope, then make it small, only about 3 degrees.
The next step will be to blow foam into the cavity under the window sill. After this, we evenly load the window sill with some weight (you can put bottles of water) over the entire surface for approximately twelve hours. If this procedure is not followed, the foam will simply bend it upward.
A day after foaming, we remove the remaining foam that came out of the cavity under the window sill with an ordinary stationery knife. Sometimes, due to the unevenness of the window sill, after its installation there is a small gap between window frame and the top of the window sill. In this case, we fill it with silicone. Remove any remaining silicone immediately with a rag.
Consider the fact that silicone turns black over time due to fungus and makes it unsightly. appearance windows and window sills, therefore it is better to prevent such a gap in advance. This can be done by screwing Z-shaped plates made of galvanized steel to the window sill profile before installing it. Also, such plates will come to the rescue when leveling the window sill.
Adjusting plastic window fittings
The final phase of the work on installing a plastic window in a house under construction, which is done only after the covering material and foam has completely dried, is the adjustment of the plastic window fittings (installation and adjustment of locking elements). When the window sashes close and open freely and there is nothing fastened anywhere, this means that you have successfully completed the adjustment of the plastic window fittings.
Better to delete protective film with the company logo right away. It will not add beauty to the window, and in the future it will only turn into almost indelible dirt.
That’s it, the whole process of installing a plastic window in a house under construction on your own has been completed; everything, as you have seen, is not as difficult as some might think.
When it is necessary to carry out glazing, the owners immediately have a question: which plastic windows are best to install in an apartment in Moscow? Plastic windows are quite capable of competing with products from natural materials– they have high quality, are easy to use, do not harm the environment and have at an affordable price. Therefore, choosing this service allows you to save a lot of money.
What are the advantages of PVC structures?
As is known, installation of plastic PVC windows helps provide sound insulation. This is especially important for those apartments that are located in buildings near busy streets and highways. In this case ideal option will be the choice of double-glazed windows.
The environmental friendliness and complete safety of such structures has been proven by numerous studies and confirmed by certificates. They are installed in preschool and educational institutions, hospitals and so on.
They are also specially airtight, which helps retain heat. This is ensured by the tight fit of the frames, but if necessary, they can be easily opened to ventilate the room in several variations.
The material’s resistance to impact deserves special attention high temperatures, fire and difficulty of ignition.
How to install plastic windows in Moscow - price of the service
Sooner or later, outdated frames require replacement. In this case, it is best to choose plastic structures, which are available to many customers. They are manufactured according to special technology, giving additional benefits. Thanks to this, heat is retained, and the appearance of the apartment becomes even more neat and aesthetic.
Install plastic windows in an apartment, price
A few years ago, it was not at all easy to install plastic windows inexpensively in Moscow. They were among the mandatory attributes of European-quality renovation and were ordered only by people with high incomes. But now everything has changed, and every owner of an apartment or house can order them - they are available to everyone!
