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After installing the door, the walls adjacent to it – slopes – have a deplorable appearance. Perhaps the fastest way to put them in order is to finish them with laminated panels. It can be MDF or laminated chipboard (LDSP). There is no particular difference. The main task is to choose a pattern and shade to match the door or other finishes in the room, and making door slopes from MDF or laminated chipboard is not difficult. And there is a way that requires a minimum of time.
Laminate slopes are made quickly, while the appearance is at least good. Special skills are not required, you need to be able to handle a saw or a jigsaw – in order to cut fragments of the desired size. The rest of the work is simple and uncomplicated: glue, mounting foam, wooden planks, self-tapping screws are used. Even plaster is not needed, as when bringing to mind the slopes of drywall.
The easiest way
The easiest way to close the door slope is to use “L”-shaped additional strips. They are usually made from MDF. All that is required in this case is to cut off the required depth, correctly and clearly make a cut at 45 °. Then you need to coat the end part with liquid nails, apply mounting foam to the inside and press everything against the wall.
And, as always, there is a “but”, and serious ones. First, these platbands are expensive. Secondly, they are available only in large cities and specialized retail outlets. Thirdly, there are usually only a few colors available, all the rest are made to order. Therefore, other methods of facing MDF door slopes are more often used.
Installation of a slope on liquid nails and mounting foam
If the width of the slope does not exceed 20-25 cm, the laminated panel can be installed on liquid nails and mounting foam. The method requires a minimum of time, and the result is good.
Preparing slope elements
Laminate door slopes consist of three parts: two side and one top part. If the slopes are made at an angle, then one edge at the sidewalls will be beveled.
Measure the distance from the door jamb to the corner in several places, cut off the bar of the required width and height. The cut sidewalls should be a couple of centimeters higher than the required length – just in case, they suddenly missed the size. You can cut it off, but you can’t grow it.
Try on the sides, insert the top. If the edge turned out to be flush with the main wall, and the gaps near the door frame are minimal, everything is done correctly. If there are errors, we correct them.
Then the outer edge of the chipboard or MDF is trimmed – they glue the trim film: you do not nail the trim to the very edge, so that some part will be visible. Therefore, it needs to be decorated. You can do without trimming if the edge is trimmed with a decorative corner to match. But it is made of plastic, and how good it will look is the question.
Applying the adhesive film is easy. It is on an adhesive basis. Only the edge should be smooth and clean – without dust and dirt. Glue the trim strip evenly on it, then take a dry cotton fabric that does not shed, and iron the butt through it with an iron (at medium power). Then it is glued tightly, but all the irregularities are visible, so saw off evenly.
If a telescopic casing is used at the finishing stage of the slope, a groove is made under it with a cutter, in the laminated end. Width – exactly under the spike of the casing, depth – a little more than required so that it “sits down” well. Nothing is needed for an ordinary MDF platband. It just sticks on liquid nails.
Slope installation
Having finished all the preparations, proceed to the installation of slopes from MDF (laminated chipboard). The butt, which is directed to the door, is smeared with liquid nails. It is better to take the composition transparent – it will not be visible. The jamb to which the MDF is glued is degreased. Having pressed the sidewall, it is put in the desired position, checking the verticality and observing the same indentation. Then peel it off and wait until the glue dries a little. After 5-7 minutes, the fragment is put in place, adjusting the position relative to the walls.
The second sidewall is installed in the same way, and then the upper part. The top is additionally bursting: spacer wedges are installed above the place where it joins the sidewalls. This will prevent the trim from bending and additionally “clamps” the sidewalls.
Fixation
After the wedges are inserted, check how everything stands correctly and evenly. If everything is fine, take the foam, and put “patches” between the panel and the wall – apply a small amount of foam in islands. They should be full depth, but not wide. The entire volume does not need to be filled: a lot of foam will be required, and it can bend. Therefore, make islands.
After polymerization of the applied foam, the fragments of the slope are held rigidly. Now you can start filling in the empty space. It is also more convenient to seal it with foam, but not to the full depth, but only in front.
After the foam has hardened, its excess is cut off with a knife. You can start finishing.
Installation of platbands
This section of work is carried out as standard: first, one side plank is measured and cut off, then the top, then the second sidewall. Having tried everything folded and checking the accuracy of the docking, the platbands are planted on foam or liquid nails, depending on the situation.
How to plaster slopes is described here.
Door slopes from MDF on slats
If the slope width is large (more than 25 cm), additional supports are required for rigidity: the foam may not be dense enough. In this case, the straps are fixed. It can be lumber or metal profiles. The straps can be attached vertically or horizontally. The scheme for installing a slope from MDF panels with vertical slats is shown in the photo below.
Planks are attached to dowels (they are used more often) or self-tapping screws – depending on the material of the wall. After the supports are fixed, the slopes are cut to size, the procedure is similar. First, the ends and places where the slope is adjacent to the planks are smeared with liquid nails, the panels are peeled off for several minutes. Further, all the steps are exactly the same.
If, as in the figure, the joint between the panel and the wall is perfect, you can do without foaming the slots and installing platbands. In this case, there is little work at all.
Door slopes made of MDF can be installed on horizontal slats. They are aligned so that they are all in the same plane. On the sides, four supports are enough, at the top – three (departing 10-15 cm from the edges and in the middle). Further, the whole technology is the same.
How to make slopes on PVC windows made of plastic.
Slopes from laminate
Often after the repair there is a certain amount of building materials. Why not adapt them? When making slopes on an MDF door, you need to buy material. If, after laying the laminate, you still have a certain number of planks, you can also make slopes from them. There will be more work than using a single fragment, but the material is free.
Assemble the sidewalls from the laminate boards. They need to be docked with a shift, the joints from the inside should be fixed with planks – it can be made from an aluminum profile – it is less in weight. If necessary, the edge can be trimmed. How to make slopes on a laminate door, see the photo below.
You can install them on mounting foam. To give greater rigidity, apply it on the back side with a snake and press it well against the wall: large gaps in this case cannot be left: the material will sag.
In the video below, laminate door slopes are made in a panel house. The width of the slope is small – 7-8 cm, the sequence of work is clearly described. Helpful video tutorial.
In general, it is better not to put home-made laminate slopes on the front doors: large items are often brought in there, and the laminate is easy to damage even with a heavy bag. This type of separation is best used for interior doors. There is much less workload. At the entrance, it is better to make door slopes from MDF or laminated chipboard, drywall slopes showed themselves well, but the most reliable ones are plastered.