DIY plasterboard slopes: preparation, tools, step-by-step manufacturing instructions

Door and window slopes were traditionally formed from plaster mortar.The wet plastering process is not easy. An experienced master can handle it. But there is a simpler and cheaper option, which refers to dry leveling operations. These are slopes made of plasterboard.

Preparation for finishing

First of all, you need to deal with the drywall itself. The window openings are in contact with the street. This means that condensation will accumulate inside the slopes. There won't be much of it, because insulation will be laid here. But water droplets will still form and leak out.

Therefore, the advice is to use moisture-resistant plasterboard for slopes; it is greenish in color. Sheet thickness – 12 mm minimum. Drywall should be wall, not ceiling.

Now about other materials that will be needed in the process of forming slopes, as well as the necessary tools.

What tools and materials will be needed

Additional materials you will need:

• profiles for plasterboard, if the technology of forming slopes using the frame method is chosen;
• gypsum adhesive composition, if the technology is adhesive;
• polyurethane foam;
• sealant;
• galvanized steel perforated corner;
• primer;
• putty.

Tools:

• construction knife;
• building level;
• screwdriver;
• drill and mixing attachment for it;
• spatulas;
• chisel with hammer.

Step-by-step instruction

It all starts with preparing the slopes. Typically, the gap between the opening and the windows or doors is filled with polyurethane foam.It expands in the air and sticks out onto the window structures, overlapping the slopes. Therefore, the bulging mass of foam must be cut off with a knife.

To prevent a gap from forming between the slope and the window, you need to cut off the mounting foam so that a groove 10 mm wide and 5 mm deep remains between the window frame and the end of the opening. Drywall will be inserted into it, which will be pre-cut to the shape and size of the slope.

Next comes cleaning the slope plane from protrusions of plaster mortar or other material. Here you will need a hammer and chisel. There is no need to regret anything, you need to remove everything unnecessary.

The slope surface is being repaired. To do this, you can use any repair composition. Even putty will do. It fills the defects of the plane, leveling it to the maximum. But before this, the slope is treated with a primer. The goal is to ensure that the particles of the material from which it is made do not interfere with the attachment of the repair mortar to the slope plane.

If communications, for example, cables or wires, will be laid through a window or doorway, then this must be done right now. Before it is laid on the slope cut drywall.

Cutting drywall

The dimensions of the slope itself must be transferred to a sheet of drywall. Then the cardboard layer is cut with a sharp construction knife. At this point, the sheet is refracted against an emphasis, for example, on the edge of a table or workbench. Then the bottom cardboard layer is cut off with a knife.

The edges of a cut piece of drywall are processed to maximum evenness. There is a special tool for this operation, but you can get by with a knife.

If the slope has an intricate shape, then you can cut the drywall with a hacksaw or a jigsaw. The hacksaw should have fine teeth.

Installation on polyurethane foam

This technology for installing plasterboard slopes differs from the other 2 in seemingly minor nuances. But how the slopes will stand later depends on them.

The first thing that needs to be done is to deepen and widen the groove between the window and the window opening, which is filled with polyurethane foam. The plasterboard slope itself is cut wider so that part of it fits deeper into the prepared groove. Polyurethane foam is poured into it before installation. And before it expands, a slope is inserted. Subsequently, the remaining remaining foam will be cut off with a knife.

Next, the free space between the gypsum board and the base surface of the window or doorway is filled with foam. The latter will begin to expand in contact with air. An increase in its mass by 3 times will create a serious load on the installed plasterboard element. From this load, the plasterboard frame will begin to bend. To prevent this from happening, the plasterboard slope is supported. This can be done like this:

1. A metal profile or a wooden block, or a board, can be placed vertically on the drywall, if it is a side element.
2. It is supported by 3-4 bars installed horizontally so that their opposite ends rest against the opposite slope.

In this state, the slope element should stand until the mounting foam dries completely. This usually takes 3 hours. Next, the supports are dismantled. The installation of another vertical slope begins. The last to be installed is the horizontal one, located above the window or door.

Before installing each subsequent slope element, the protruding mounting foam of the installed ones is cut off completely to the edges.

Installing plasterboard slopes with your own hands is only possible if the base slope surfaces are as smooth as possible - without defects or flaws. Therefore, they must be repaired first.

Installation on putty

It is necessary to clarify one point regarding the adhesive composition. For example, the KNAUF company produces a dry mixture called PERFLIX. This is a paste-like glue, it is universal, so it is also used as putty. Plasterboard elements can be mounted on it. You can't use regular putty.

Step-by-step instructions on how to glue drywall using putty glue:

1. The adhesive composition is evenly applied to the back side of the plasterboard slope in small slides.
2. The surface near the window or door is moistened, for example, you can use a spray bottle.
3. The slope is pressed firmly at the installation site so that the adhesive composition applied to it under pressure is distributed over the entire surface or fills it as much as possible.
4. In this case, the slope element must be moved slightly from side to side. This way the distribution of putty will be better.
5. Supports are installed. After a day they can be removed.

To make installation faster, installation is carried out simultaneously for all elements. For example, install the upper horizontal element. It is supported by installing supports on the window sill. Then 2 side ones with supports that will rest against the installed slopes.

Installation nuances:

1. The slope is installed with an inclination towards the end of the opening. To do this, draw a line perpendicular to the wall on the window sill, if the opening is a window, or on the floor, if it is a door. From the edge of the window towards the room.
2. The outer edge of the applied segment is shifted towards the wall by 1 cm.
3. Another line is drawn from the window, connecting the vertical plane of the window with the marked point. This will be the location for installing the plasterboard slope.
4. The laser level is installed exactly along the edge of the opening.
5. The slope element is placed in its place.
6. Laser beams will show the excess of the latter, because it is unlikely that it will be immediately possible to accurately cut it out of a plasterboard sheet.
7. The excess is cut off and the slope can be installed.

Typically, putty does not fill the entire space under the installed element. That's why polyurethane foam comes into play. There is no need to wait for the adhesive to set; you can fill the space with foam immediately after installation. Although it is not necessary to fill it out. Simply empty zones are areas of low strength.

Frame installation

This method of decorating slopes with plasterboard is more complicated than the previous two, because under the sheet material you need to build a frame structure from metal profiles. Therefore, this technology is used when the walls of the room are also finished with sheets of plasterboard.

The most difficult thing is to assemble the frame. To do this, you need to assemble a box from guides or wall profiles. They are attached to the slope plane with self-tapping screws. Installation method is on the sidewall, not on the crossbar.

For example, the vertical part. Install 2 profiles vertically: one close to the window frame, the second at the edge of the opening. They are attached not only to the plane on which they are mounted, but also to each other using wall profiles. The latter are laid horizontally. And in the frame structure they serve as cross members. One should be installed from below, another from above, and several intermediate ones - 3-4 pieces.

The frame on the top of the opening was assembled in the same way.Typically, horizontal and vertical frames are not connected to each other. This is not necessary, because the structures are securely attached to the ends of the opening separately.

Now you need to start trimming the plasterboard slope element. Because it is not the ends, but the frame that becomes the base to which the cut-out plasterboard element will be attached. Until it’s assembled, it’s useless to take dimensions, and there’s no place to get it from.

Slopes cut from plasterboard sheets are laid exactly at the place of their installation and attached to metal profiles with self-tapping screws.

Some useful tips for using self-tapping screws:

• they are screwed in every 10-15 cm;
• screwing point – 1-2 cm from the edge of the drywall;
• the cap is recessed to a depth of 0.5 cm, the recesses will be filled with putty.

The slopes of the entrance door and window openings are insulated. This must be done after assembling the metal frame - before installing the drywall. Thermal insulation material, for example, basalt wool or polystyrene foam boards, is placed in the gap between the frame elements. Here it is important to lay it in such a way that there are no gaps and cracks left, which will later become cold bridges.

Sealing cracks and decorating outer corners

Drywall is not the most durable material, especially its edges. Therefore they need to be protected. To do this, perforated galvanized steel or plastic corners are placed on the edges.

Perforation is necessary so that the putty solution applied to the edges can easily pass through the holes in the corners, without remaining underneath and without creating pressure. The corners will be pressed tightly against the edges, protecting them from mechanical stress.

This is done like this:

• a putty mixture is applied to the edge of the drywall, which is usually the outer corner of the slope;
• a perforated corner is placed on top of it, which is pressed firmly against the edge;
• the putty mixture that comes out of the holes is not removed anywhere, it is leveled over the protective corner;
• if there is not enough putty, it is added by embedding the protective element in the solution.

All that remains is to seal the cracks and carry out a rough finish. Everything here is done using putty. But the plasterboard surfaces must first be primed, preferably in two layers. The second is applied after the first has completely dried.

The putty is applied with a spatula in a thin layer, and all cracks are covered with the solution. The main purpose of the putty is to level the plasterboard surface, because after attaching it using any of the above methods, it will still remain a little uneven.

After the putty layer has dried, it must be sanded with fine sandpaper. Here it is important to remove small visible particles of the putty mixture and traces of the spatula. That is, there is no need to polish the surface. It would be good to apply a primer; it will ensure high adhesion of the putty to the material that will be used to finish the slope.

Typically finishing is painting. Apply water emulsion in 2-3 layers. It's better for her to paint drywall. Each layer is applied wet - no need to wait for the previous one to dry.

Another finishing option is wallpapering. Here, standard technology is used using wallpaper adhesive. There are other ways to finish drywall slopes, but painting is the best.

In fact, door or window slopes can be formed from different materials: laminate, lining, stone, brick, decorative plaster and others.Drywall in this regard is cheaper and easier to install. Even if some mistakes were made during installation, it can always be replaced with a new one. And this will not greatly affect the budget allocated for the design of windows and doors.

The only big drawback is that gypsum board is afraid of high humidity. Even a moisture-resistant model, if it is constantly loaded with moisture, will someday delaminate. Therefore, it is important to securely seal all cracks and gaps between the plasterboard slope and the window or door frame.

If any of the readers independently made plasterboard slopes in their own house or apartment, write in the comments about your experience. Even the smallest useful tips will be interesting.