How to remove and install a window sill near a plastic window?

Removing or installing a window sill next to a plastic window can improve your home’s appearance and functionality. In addition to offering a useful place to set objects or plants, a window sill is essential for reducing water damage and enhancing insulation around windows.

The right planning is the first step in any window sill installation or removal process. To guarantee easy access, clear the space surrounding the window. Acquire the required equipment and supplies, such as a utility knife, pry bar, level, measuring tape, screws, or nails, and the new window sill itself. Make sure the sill you’ve selected fits the dimensions and design of your current setup or goes well with any upcoming renovations.

The old window sill needs to be removed to start the process. Cut through any caulking or paint that is securing the sill to the wall carefully with a utility knife. Next, use a pry bar to carefully pry the old sill off the wall. During this process, take care not to injure the nearby wall or window frame. After removing the old sill, make sure the area is clean of any glue or debris so the new sill can be installed on a smooth surface.

It’s now time to install the replacement window sill. To guarantee a precise fit, start by taking measurements of the window opening’s length and width. If needed, use a saw or utility knife to cut the new sill to size. Make sure the replacement sill is level and fits tightly against the window frame before placing it in place. Using screws or nails that are driven through the sill and into the wall studs for stability, fasten the sill in place.

Lastly, put a bead of caulk on the edges where the window frame and wall meet the sill. This gives the space a polished appearance and increases the installation’s longevity by sealing it off from drafts and moisture. Before using the window sill, let the caulk completely dry.

With just a few simple do-it-yourself steps, you can successfully install and remove a window sill next to a plastic window, enhancing the look and feel of your house.

Reasons why window sills are replaced

This could be the outcome:

• natural wear and tear – the window was replaced without replacing the window sill;
• surface damage;
• changes in the interior of the room, as a result of which simple metal or polyvinyl chloride is changed to artificial or natural stone;

• installations near the window of a refrigerator or pieces of furniture, and the window sill, either wide or long, is in the way;
• the appearance of drafts from under it – insulation is required;
• changing cast-iron heating radiators to narrower aluminum ones, as a result of which air convection is difficult.

The methodical procedure for securely removing and reinstalling a window sill next to a plastic window will be covered in this tutorial. Whether you’re replacing damaged sills or remodeling, knowing these simple methods will help you accomplish a professional outcome. We’ll go over necessary equipment, how-tos, and helpful hints to make sure your project goes well and improves the appearance and usefulness of the windows in your house.

Tools and materials

A set of tools and materials should always be ready before you begin work:

• window sill to replace the old one (metal, artificial and natural stone, natural wood, PVC, MDF);
• polyurethane foam;
• perforated metal tape;
• dry plaster mixture (if the window slopes are plastered);
• self-tapping screws;
• scrap;
• knife with replaceable blades;
• hacksaw for metal;
• a hacksaw for plastic (when installing a PVC window sill);
• hammer drill (you can beat the plaster manually, which will take a little longer);
• hammer;
• mallet (rubber hammer);
• bit;
• chisel (for old wooden window sills);
• screwdriver (you can get by with a simple Phillips screwdriver);
• a grinder with a circle for cutting concrete (for plaster based on a cement-sand mixture);
• putty knife;
• several 3-liter cans of water as cargo.

Even though not every item on the list above will be needed, it is still preferable to have a tool on hand than to spend hours looking for one.

Preparatory work

The first thing to mention in any instruction on disassembling a window sill on a plastic window is the necessity of disassembling the slopes (the window sill’s surface at the edges is always slightly beneath them). Slopes can be detachable (panel) or monolithic (plaster).

The steps involved in removing plaster from a window sill are as follows:

1. Wallpaper near the window sill to a height of up to 1 m and a width of up to 30 cm is peeled off from the wall and wrapped (you can make a cut with a knife to make it easier to wrap) – the technology for removing trellises is discussed in the work: “How to prepare walls for wallpapering?", paragraph 5.1. "Cleaning walls from wallpaper". You need to start removing the wallpaper from the corner, helping with a spatula;
2. Concrete plaster is cut with a grinder at a distance of 10-15 cm from the surface of the window sill to a depth of 30-50 mm (the standard distance at which the window sill enters the wall). The frame is protected from accidental contact with the circle with a spatula (for gypsum plaster there is no need to make an incision);
3. The plaster between the window sill and the cut is knocked out using a hammer and chisel (chisel).

The panels are much simpler to disassemble (the installation diagram is displayed in the photo):

1. Decorative corners are removed (builders sometimes call them platbands). To do this, use the corner of a spatula along the entire length of the casing, on both sides, to remove the glue or sealant on which it was placed;
2. Use a screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the screws that secure the panel to the wall beam;
3. A knife is used to cut through silicone (liquid plastic sealant) to close the gaps between the slope and the window elements: window sill, frame and ceiling slope;
4. By moving towards you and up and down, the panel slope is removed from the groove;
5. Using a knife, remove the foam from the surface of the window sill, near the frame.

Removing the window sill

The first step in figuring out how to remove a window sill from a plastic window inside an apartment is to identify the kind of window sill—wood, concrete, or PVC—as each has different technologies and methods for disassembly.

Wood

When a wooden window sill is taken apart, repairmen—and experts as well—are in for the biggest surprises. Unlike window sills made of other materials, it can only be attached in a few ways:

• with pinching by a window frame;

• with partial pinching by the window frame and mechanical fastening through the frame profile from above or from the outside, from the street side;

• on glue;

• on support dies and glue;
• on metal brackets.

In this sense, there are various ways to take apart a wooden window sill.

The easiest way to remove the window sill is from the metal brackets. To remove the screws holding it to the brackets, use a Phillips or screwdriver. After that, the tree can be simply taken out of the frame and wall grooves.

In all other situations, a crowbar or hammer is used to rip the window sill from the lower plane of the window opening, and the entire length is tamped. Here, you must exercise extra caution and focus. If screws are screwed in, a sudden movement could cause serious damage to the frame (though it is impossible to tell for sure).

Thus, the window sill should only rise 1-3 cm when pulled away from the glue or polyurethane foam. After that, you have to try to remove it by shaking it back and forth. The attempt will be successful if there are no screws.

If not, you’ll need to locate them. First, take out the rubber seal from the window’s interior to accomplish this. If there is no hardware underneath, the ebb must be disassembled in order to access the window sill mounting. Alternatively, a self-tapping screw can be inserted through the ebb, eliminating the need for disassembly.

Concrete

If a plastic window sill is made of cement-sand mortar and is monolithic, how can it be removed? In these situations, knowledgeable experts advise moving the furniture to a nearby room or covering it with plastic wrap to keep it free of dust. Every lamp is shut as well.

To get rid of the solution, there are various methods:

• Hammer;
• Cut the strips with a grinder and then knock them out with a hammer and chisel;
• Work only with a hammer and chisel. The option is the least dusty, but energy-consuming. At the same time, it will take a lot of time to remove a cement window sill without using power tools.

Plastic

A PVC window sill can be removed in one of two ways:

• Gentle, when polyurethane foam is sawed through from the bottom of the plastic using a knife or a hacksaw blade, after which the window sill is removed completely intact. If necessary, it can be reinstalled;
• Destructive – using hands or a crowbar, the PVC is lifted up. This option does not involve preserving the window sill. It can break out in pieces until the window opening is completely freed from the old window sill.

How to put it in place

The idea of replacing a window sill on a plastic window by yourself encompasses both its installation and disassembly. The technological process is made up of multiple steps:

1. preparing the lower base of the window opening;
2. fitting (cutting protrusions);
3. installation work;
4. sealing slopes.

Preparing the bottom base of the window opening

Cleaning out old gaskets, mortar, and foam from the base of the opening and the grooves in the walls are essential steps before replacing a window sill. Only the material used to construct the wall should be on the opening’s surface as a result of the work completed.

The preparation work is finished if there are a few centimeters between the wall and the frame, allowing the space between the opening’s base and the window sill to expand. If not, a foam seam is formed by the grooved wall beneath the window sill, which has a width of up to 7.0 cm and a depth of 2.0–3.0 cm.

It is advisable to replace the foam underneath the frame, inside the opening, at the same time. The purpose of this work is to insulate the window.

Trimming the canvas

The new canvas for window sills comes in a rectangular shape for sale. It needs to be installed with a wide leg in the shape of a letter "T" so that it can pass behind a portion of an interior wall and under slopes. Furthermore, the material has to be cut longitudinally in order for the window sill’s width to guarantee that the heating radiators placed beneath the window overlap.

Be aware that window installers frequently leave behind small flaws. The window might not be positioned exactly parallel to the wall, for instance. In order to parallelize the wall and the window sill edge in this instance, a small diagonal cut must be made when trimming the window sill.

The following guidelines should be followed when determining the window sill’s size:

• the window sill should fit into the groove of the wall by 20-30 mm;
• the protrusion beyond the slope can be of any length, but be sure to overlap the plastic panel with the corner;
• the cross cut should be at the same angle as the slope in relation to the frame.

Installation of the windowsill

The following priorities for work performance are outlined in the windowsill installation instructions:

• The window sill is pressed by the upper cut edge close to the standing profile of the window (frame);
• The window sill canvas using lining (installation wedges) is adjustable so that the plane has a slope towards a room of 2-3 mm (the operation is needed so that water is not collected on the windowsill near the frame) and, at the same time, very tight contact was carried out With the end of the frame. The length of the gaskets is selected so that 8.0-10.0 cm remains to the inner plane of the wall;

• After installing the wedges, the window sill canvas is aside to restore the insulation seam under the frame;
• A vapor barrier tape is installed;
• When the foam expands a little, professionals call this moment “dry to the touch,” the window sill is inserted;
• A small weight (a 3-liter can of water) is placed on its plane – in this way, a tight fit of the upper plane of the window sill is achieved to the stand profile;

• After 15-20 minutes, foam is applied under the window sill in the area of ​​the frame along its entire length, which, when expanded, will tightly press the window sill to the frame;
• After 25-35 minutes, an additional 7-10 kg of oppression is placed on the windowsill;
• The entire space under the window sills is foamed. Considering that the foam expands too much, it is necessary to leave 3-4 cm clean from the edge of the wall;
• If the window sill is to be reinforced with perforated tape, it is installed after the foam has dried.

Seal of slopes

Slopes can seal themselves once the foam has fully cured. The tasks are completed in the opposite order of removal:

1. the panel is inserted at an angle past the end of the frame;
2. a small amount of foam is added near the frame between the wall and the panel;
3. the panel is pressed tightly against the rail attached to the wall and secured to it with a self-tapping screw;
4. after 2-3 hours, the joints of the panel with the window elements (window sill, frame, upper slope) are sealed with “liquid plastic” sealant;
5. corner is glued.

Phenolic plaster is used to seal monolithic slopes. The piece "How to align the corners of walls in an apartment?" on our website demonstrates the subtleties of plastering corners.

You can improve the appearance and usefulness of a plastic window by replacing the window sill nearby. To make sure the replacement sill fits exactly, start by taking exact measurements of the current one’s dimensions. Cut through any caulking or adhesive to remove the old sill, then carefully pry it away from the window frame. Be cautious not to harm the surroundings.

After removing the old sill, clear away any leftover debris and look for any damage to the underlying structure. Prior to continuing, fix any problems. Make sure the new sill sits flush and level on the window frame by carefully positioning it after liberally applying a bead of silicone adhesive to its underside. Firmly press to ensure it stays in place.

As directed by the manufacturer, let the adhesive cure after the replacement sill is installed. Usually, this entails leaving it alone for a predetermined amount of time. To create a seamless seal between the sill and the window frame, apply a new layer of caulking around the edges of the sill after it has cured.

Lastly, give the area a thorough cleaning and remove any leftover caulking. This makes the window look better and guarantees that the sill is adequately sealed against drafts and moisture. These instructions will help you install or remove a window sill next to a plastic window, improving the appearance and usability of your living area.

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