Slopes – design and comfort of metal-plastic windows

In the modern world, a large number of people are increasingly opting for metal-plastic windows. And for a complete and beautiful view of the entire window opening, finishing of its slopes is necessary. This is where you have to face rather big costs and a difficult choice of the type of finishing slopes, because they should not only be aesthetic, but also perform a heat-insulating function.

The concept of slopes and methods of their finishing

Slopes are considered to be that part of the wall that adjoins directly to the window frame and performs the function of decor and insulation. For modern metal-plastic windows, there are several common methods of finishing slopes: using plaster, sandwich panels, drywall and plastic.

Plasterboard slopes

This type of decoration is quite common and is used, most often, in the case of large destruction of the opening. Installation of drywall is carried out directly on the wall, while insulation must be placed between it and the wall. An important point in this process is the treatment of the resulting frame with antifungal coatings or a special primer. Only after this is it allowed to cover drywall with putty, paint and wallpaper, in accordance with the idea. The positive qualities of this type of slopes are their long service life and high thermal insulation, and among the disadvantages are their complex installation and the need for regular repair and renewal of the top coating.

Sandwich slopes

When finishing slopes using sandwich panels, no painting work is required, they are attached at the ends with dowels to the opening and are framed for decorative purposes with plastic corners. All formed joints should be treated with a neutral-colored sealant. This method is the most modern and quite widespread due to its advantages. This is a long service life (up to 35 years), structural rigidity, high steam, noise, thermal insulation, moisture resistance, ease of care and installation and a small amount of debris..

Slopes using plastering

Plaster slopes are most often used for finishing both internal and external slopes of public and industrial premises. This is the most inexpensive type of slope. The technology for their implementation is as follows. The previous layer of the slope coating is cleaned and leveled for the next finish, then the dry mixture with a gypsum or cement base is diluted with water, applied to the slopes and brought to complete solidification. After that, the resulting layer is sanded and a finishing layer of plaster is applied over it. This completes the process of preparing the surface of the slope for painting. Outside slopes are processed in the same sequence. The advantages of such a finish include its versatility for all types of windows, ease of implementation and low material costs. As for the disadvantages of plastered slopes, there are several of them: poor thermal insulation, the possibility of fungus and cracking.

Plastic slopes

This type of slope trim is also very popular. When choosing it, the result is a holistic ensemble of a combination of a metal-plastic window and a plastic slope. During installation, wooden blocks are laid along the outer perimeter of the slopes, and a starting tape is laid along the inner perimeter. Then an F-shaped strip of plastic is stuffed onto the outer side of the slope and mineral wool or other insulation is laid, and in some cases, the voids can be filled with construction foam. And the final stage is the plastic sheet itself. This completes the installation. The list of positive qualities of plastic slopes is quite rich. This is ease of care and cleaning from dirt, resistance to simple damage, reliability, durability, ease of installation and manufacture, heat and moisture resistance, durability, hygiene, aesthetic appearance and environmental friendliness. Among the disadvantages is the presence of joints and not too low cost.

Outer slopes

With a joint width of up to 15 mm, a sufficient finishing option will be the use of a sealant or a special sealing tape that has the property of self-expansion. But this method has big drawbacks: the color change of the material over time under the influence of external factors, as well as its rapid aging and flaking. The most practical way to finish external slopes is to plaster them with ordinary plaster or tile glue, and then paint them..

The use of glue will make the surface of the slope more moisture and frost-resistant, while this material ideally fits and adheres to any surface previously cleaned of contamination. As for the costs of implementing such a method, they are, of course, higher than when using conventional plaster, but these overpayments are justified by the result: low material consumption, ease of application, durability and surface quality.