Yes, needless to say, many standard apartments with standard windows they cannot please us with wide window sills. What do you tell amateurs to do? indoor plants? After all, the window sill is the most important thing suitable place for green pets, the brightest and sunniest in our climate - we don’t live in Africa. What to do if standard width Does the window sill only allow you to place a tiny pot of cactus? The answer is simple - expand. How? Very simple - do it yourself!
First you need to stock up the necessary materials. Before this, in order to avoid mistakes, we carefully measure the existing window sill - its thickness, length and depth. It’s best to take a couple more photos so that you don’t get confused in the store due to the abundance of materials and quickly choose the one you need. And it will be easier to get advice from a specialist in the building materials department if you have a visual illustration of what needs to be expanded.
So, you are supposed to return from the store with a board of the desired size and color, several brackets and corners for them, as well as long screws and self-tapping screws. In addition, we advise you to stock up in advance with new holders-brackets for the cornice - more authentic ones. Since the window sill will eventually become wider, the curtains will need to be hung further away from the window. Is it possible to hang your curtain rod away from the wall? If not, then at the same time we’ll buy new brackets for the cornice. You may also need, depending on the method of extension and the material of the window sill, epoxy glue and materials for cutting wood.
The process of building a window sill itself depends, first of all, on the material of its manufacture. If we are building a wooden window sill, then the procedure will look like this. We make a groove in the front edge of the window sill. Accordingly, from the edge of the prepared dost we cut out a comb that exactly matches the groove in size. Then we screw three or four brackets to the bottom of the window sill. Each bracket must be supported by at least three screws. And we immediately attach the board to the brackets, carefully driving the ridge into the groove. That's it, the window sill is ready! If the dimensions of the resulting structure allow, it is better to screw it to the sides on the sides, also using brackets, for other reasons of reliability.
If the window sill is not wooden, but made of another material, for example, chipboard or plastic, we proceed differently. We take three pins with a diameter of 10-15 mm and a length of at least 100 mm. These pins will hold the new part of the window sill. In the front edge of the window sill and the board, we symmetrically drill holes for the pins. To begin, we drive the pins into the board. And then we place the board with pins on the windowsill. To make the structure more durable, you can lubricate the pins epoxy glue. The tighter they fit, the better!
If there is still a gap between the original window sill and the extended part, it can be puttied, dried and then painted with suitable paint. That's it, the wide window sill is ready, you can safely decorate it with flowers! And don’t forget to hang the curtains away from the wall, because we didn’t forget to buy new brackets for the curtain rod, right?
It often happens that in panel houses The window sills are so narrow that you can’t even place flower pots on them. Only small glasses with seedlings, nothing more. There is no way to place a large flower in a tub, alas. Today I offer three options for how to expand the window sill using wooden overlays.
What is a window sill: This is a horizontal window element located below the frame. IN modern design Window sills are of great functional importance. They are made wide to allow the placement of certain objects and even places of rest on them.
Attaching an additional board
This fastening option is convenient because the board can be taken of any width. This board is secured with a clamping strip. How the fastening is implemented can be seen in the photo.
A quarter is selected from the timber strip, then it is fastened with self-tapping screws to the main window sill, after which a new one is placed on top of everything wide board. The board, in turn, is fixed with furniture screws through the beam.
It turns out to be such a wide window sill on which you can place many pots of flowers or seedlings.
Extension of a window sill with an additional board
In this case, holes for dowels are drilled in the pre-cut edges of the window sill in increments of 20 cm. Then glued dowels are inserted into the holes.
In the same way, counter holes are marked and drilled in the additional board. Next, glue the protruding parts of the dowels and the entire lateral surface boards, after which the boards are tightly adjusted.
Sliding tabletop - window sill
A chrome bolt secures the table top to the window sill. To ensure rotation of the table, washers are placed under the bolt, and the left corner of the table top is also rounded.
This table has three points of support: two legs on wheels and a bolt attachment point. If you need to open a window, the table is simply turned to the side.
Now everyone is chasing plastic window sills and windows, but fashion may pass, but wood will always be in price. In addition, air does not penetrate through the plastic at all, the room does not breathe.
Natural window sill ideas
Finally, I want to show you two natural window sill ideas that I really liked.
Therefore, think about whether it is worth sealing the dacha with plastic, whether it would be better to make the windows wooden, and the window sills too. All the best!
Modern apartments boast a large area. However, the useful space under the window is most often very limited, but it can be used. A full-fledged work desk, a stand for plants, a cozy seat, but you never know how to use the free space you can think of. Therefore, many strive to increase it, using different methods.
The simplest of them is to build up the window sill. The job is simple enough to do on your own. Instructions for implementation:
We select the material for the future design. A board of the appropriate size, with a thickness equal to the installed canvas, is quite suitable. If you couldn’t find one, you can buy a sheet of MDF and cut it with a jigsaw, outlining the required dimensions. Don't forget to cover the ends of the plate edge tape, gluing it using a hair dryer or iron. If this is not possible, it is permissible to use assembly adhesive.
In the prepared part we drill holes for dowels and small connecting elements made of wood. The same cavities and at the same distance must be drilled at the end of the installed canvas. We hammer the dowels into the extension element and check the reliability of the resulting fastening. For a more durable joint, take assembly glue and coat the ends of the parts to be joined with it, then drive the part of the dowels remaining on the surface into the prepared holes.
Carefully fill the resulting small gap between the window sill and the board with putty along its entire length. We wait for the mixture to dry completely and after a few days we paint the elongated canvas.
You can extend the window sill to create a table. The work is carried out in the same way. But before they are carried out, it is necessary to decide on the desired shape of the tabletop, which can be arched or rectangular. It is worth considering several options and choosing the most convenient one. The workpiece is cut from an MDF sheet, its ends must be edged. You also need to prepare the legs of the future table. They must be the right height. It is quite possible to purchase adjustable legs, so it will be easier to install them.
The tabletop is attached to the window sill in the manner described. Afterwards, legs are attached to it, one or two, depending on the size of the structure. The building is ready. If you secure the tabletop with hinges, you get a convenient folding structure. But in this case it will be necessary to take care of ventilation and drill holes for circulation warm air coming from the battery. A simple and very practical structure will decorate the interior and make it more functional.
So, in order, the information is confirmed by test reports from leading manufacturers of polystyrene concrete, I drew a conclusion for myself and wrote it at the end of the commentary. MOISTURE RESISTANCE and HYGROSCOPICITY This is the most important property of any building material, especially in areas with high humidity. The higher the moisture resistance of the material, the more durable, stable and warmer it is. Polystyrene concrete absorbs no more than 6% moisture from the atmosphere; it can be exposed to open air almost unlimited time. STRENGTH Due to the super-strong cement-polystyrene matrix, polystyrene concrete has unique strength characteristics. This material is so durable that a fall from a five-story building will not cause significant damage to the block. FIRE RESISTANCE Polystyrene concrete does not burn; it is able to withstand enormous temperatures caused by fire, due to its unique thermal conductivity coefficient, and does not allow heat to penetrate deep into the wall. Flammability class NG. Fire resistance class EI180. DURABILITY The service life of a house made of polystyrene concrete is at least 100 years. Over the years, the strength of polystyrene concrete only increases. FROST RESISTANCE Tests for frost resistance and the amplitude of temperature fluctuations from + 75°C to - 30°C were carried out on 150 freeze-thaw cycles without loss of integrity and heat-insulating ability. THERMAL INSULATION It has long been recognized that polystyrene (foam) is the best thermal insulator in the world; it is warmer even than wood! A house made of polystyrene concrete does not require insulation: it is cool in summer and warm in winter. SOUND INSULATION Polystyrene concrete provides the best indicator for noise absorption, 18-20 cm dampens sound from 70 decibels. Consequently, a house made of polystyrene concrete has special comfort: noise from the street and inside from neighboring rooms and bathrooms is not disturbing. ECONOMICAL Cost square meter finished wall cheaper than other materials. Due to high level heat preservation, walls made of polystyrene concrete can be built 25% thinner than those made of alternative materials (aerated concrete and foam concrete) and 4 times thinner than those made of brick. Saving on wall thickness leads to overall savings on the construction of the box (foundation, roof and walls) of up to 50%. At the same time, the quality of the house will be even higher, and the house itself will be warmer. EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE Seismic resistance 9-12 points. Polystyrene concrete has not only compressive strength, but also the highest tensile and bending strength. Therefore, polystyrene concrete is considered the most reliable and earthquake-resistant material. LIGHTWEIGHT A large-sized block of 200x300x600 mm does not exceed a weight of 17 kg, which facilitates the work of a mason and reduces the time for laying walls: it replaces 20 bricks in volume, and is almost three times lighter in weight. ANTISEPTICITY The additive used in the production of polystyrene concrete does not allow insects and rodents to enter the walls, and prevents the formation of mold and mildew, which have negative impact to your health. VAPTOR PERMEABILITY Walls made of polystyrene concrete “breathe” similarly to walls made of wood, and there is no danger for them from condensation and waterlogging. This ensures a comfortable environment in houses made of polystyrene concrete. PLASTICITY Plasticity is the only material from cellular concrete that allows the production of window and door lintels; its flexural strength is 50-60% of the compressive strength, for concrete this parameter is 9-11%. CRACK RESISTANCE Polystyrene concrete, due to its elasticity, is incredibly resistant to cracks. And this guarantees a long period of preservation of the interior decoration and durability of the entire house. TECHNOLOGY High speed of construction wall structures due to the lightness and convenient geometry of the blocks. Easy to saw and groove, the ability to give building material any geometric shape. ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY The International Building Code (IRC) classifies polystyrene as one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly insulation materials. Thus, polystyrene concrete has a lot of undeniable advantages over materials such as expanded clay concrete, autoclaved and non-autoclaved aerated concrete, foam concrete, wood concrete, etc. The disadvantages of polystyrene concrete appear only when the wrong brand is chosen and the technology of masonry and preparation for construction is violated. interior decoration. We can say with absolute certainty that there is not a single significant advantage for materials such as aerated concrete and foam concrete over polystyrene concrete. At the same time, polystyrene concrete key characteristics significantly surpasses them.
How to increase the window sill? We have so little space in our apartments that not using space that would go to waste in our conditions is a crime! Therefore, I decided to increase the window sill with my own hands!
The frame of the enlarged window sill was made in 1998 and has already passed
We continue our review of our renovation.
The first photo of an enlarged do-it-yourself window sill. Filmed on a phone, so the quality is not very good...
The quality of the photo, of course, leaves much to be desired, but this is the only and first photo of the enlarged window sill.
If you could turn to the left, you would see, which I also already wrote about
What do we have? A small window sill, a small apartment, and a small kitchen!
Required: a large window sill, simply because there is so little space, and when it is not used, then those things that could be there take up other places.
And the place above the battery is a dead place - there’s just emptiness there. So I decided to make a window sill like this. I didn’t want to break the old window sill and start major renovation, so the solution came to this:
You need a piece of chipboard that will enlarge the window sill itself. To prevent it from falling under any load, we put vertical racks who will load-bearing structures for an extended window sill.
We attach a 5 cm wide board along the entire length of the concrete window sill in order to attach a new window sill on top.
Vertical posts are fixed to the corners, holes are drilled in concrete wall. And secured to simple dowels 6 mm by 40 mm. There are 2 corners for each rack.
When you have a stable structure, the reliability of which you have no doubt about, you need to combine the concrete window sill and its extension.
I took ordinary fiberboard and laid it on top of a concrete window sill. Fill it with Titan glue. Not jelly!
We drill carefully, because there is no reinforcement in concrete window sills, so it can easily crack!
On the chipboard side, we nail the fiberboard with small nails.
I made a curve on the right because I have a door there
Well, there was some space left to the right of the battery, so I made two shelves, the width of the shelf turned out to be 17 cm.
I had leftovers from a roll of wood-effect wallpaper that I bought for the balcony ceiling.
We cut out a strip for the end, leaving at least 1 cm so that there is an overlap. And we glue the main piece on top.
I used ordinary wallpaper glue.
Varnish at least 3 times. For me it was nitro polish.
Second photo of an enlarged do-it-yourself window sill.
Since there is no photograph at all of the enlarged window sill in its original form in more or less decent quality, here is our photo before the next renovation, around 2007...
Since I have a lot of materials, it’s impossible to calculate the cost of making a window sill!
How much does it cost to increase the window sill?
Everything is made from leftovers. The only thing that was purchased was white paint.
Total spent on materials:
A piece of chipboard – 0.00 rubles.
A piece of fiberboard – 0.00 rubles.
Glue Titan – 0.00 rubles.
Wallpaper glue – 0.00 rubles
Varnish - 0.00 ruble.
Paint 1.0 liter – 150 rubles.
The amount of time spent on making a wide window sill.
Approximately 7 - 8 days.
Enlarged window sill version 1.1
And as they say in some films... our days, or almost our days... I already did this in 2010. The task was not to do a major overhaul, but only to clean up the mess. That's a quick painting + the texture paper was torn off. It was puttied a little and just needed to be straightened out. And on top, I simply decided to glue a wood-look cladding film.
I also decided not to paint the bottom of the shelf, but to glue a facing film. In my opinion it turned out well.
Certainly! And here the quality of the photo is lame, then I had never had anything like this before
