Siding is a modern facing material, which is increasingly used in the decoration of houses, balconies, modern industrial buildings. Its popularity is growing due to its ease of use, low weight of the structure and low price. In appearance, this is a ribbed coating, where each next ledge, as it were, hangs over the previous one, forming a corrugated surface, which increases the protection of the sheathed room from external influences, and is also an interesting decorative element.
There are many types of siding, but for domestic needs they are most often used on a steel base or vinyl. It is not difficult to guess that steel requires more maintenance, has a higher weight and a higher price. Therefore, the most popular is vinyl, it not only is not inferior in quality to its counterparts, but also has a number of advantages. In addition to weight, price, and ease of use, it can be noted that it is resistant to:
- aggressive environmental conditions - moisture resistance, frost resistance, heat resistance;
- dirt and dust - therefore it does not need special care, it is easy to clean;
- to temporary factors - it is practically not subject to aging and retains its durability even in unfavorable environmental conditions.
Therefore, siding is used not only for interior decoration of the house, but for cladding it outside. A lot of photos and videos of design solutions are proof of this.
Fastening fittings
Very often you can find houses or balconies sheathed with siding - this is easy to do, the cost of work is minimal, this is the decisive moment when choosing a facing material. Sheathing the house, outside with your own hands, is quite simple and no special skills are required. The only difficulty lies in the window and door openings. Therefore, if you decide to decorate the window with siding, do it yourself, read this instruction.
First, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and accessories for the job. A lot of important points are the choice of fittings:
- For fastening the facing material, be sure to select the original spare parts offered by the manufacturer. This will ensure quality and reliability for years to come.
- It is better to calculate the number of fasteners in advance, because When buying in addition, you may not find the desired shade of the strap or manufacturer. Calculating the required amount is simple:
- We measure the window opening around the perimeter. If the installation of ebb or windowsill is meant, then the distance under the window is not taken into account.
- Add up the obtained values.
- We add about 10% of the stock, for trimming or other inaccuracies.
- Choose original fasteners. Their price, although not so small, will provide high-quality cladding. If you are striving to save on this item of expenses, make a drawing, from this photo it will be easier to determine which fasteners can be replaced with cheaper counterparts, and which ones can be abandoned at all.
Window opening finishing
In order to sheathe windows with siding and refine the cut points you will need:
- H-profile
- J-profile
- Corners for decorating panel joints (external and internal)
- Chamfer
- Ebb
- Finishing and window strip
Depending on the individual architecture of the buildings, the windows may differ in their structure, and of course the siding will also differ. But there are general points that you should familiarize yourself with in advance:
- It is better to choose fastening screws galvanized, they are not susceptible to rusting, so they will last longer.
- It is necessary to screw in the screws at a right angle, the inclination will reduce the strength of the fasteners, and such a structure will last less time.
- The fasteners must not be screwed in completely, leaving about one millimeter of clearance. Over time, natural expansion of the material will occur, therefore, too tight fastening can lead to deformation of the panel.
- The corners are cut at 45 degrees
- The adjacent part of the fittings, at the point of joining with the slope, is cut at an angle on one side of the docking bar, and wrapped on the other. This ensures gap-free fastening.
- A final bar is installed under the window, which will add reliability to the structure.
- And, perhaps, the most important point when cladding with siding from the outside is the tight joining of the elements, which will ensure the tightness of the structure and protection from external factors in the form of rain, snow and wind.
Depending on the structure of the window opening, the outside siding finish will differ. And since there are several standards for windows, the principles of cladding for each building are different:
- Window according to European standards - the slopes of the window opening are less than 19 centimeters. In this case, the window strip has a standard size of up to twenty two centimeters. Fastening it with your own hands is a very simple process, and is carried out using a finishing profile into which the bar is inserted. If desired, you can replace the finishing profile with a chamfer and a J-profile, this will significantly reduce the cost.
- The window, according to Russian standards, has slopes of more than 19 centimeters. In this case, a J-profile is placed near the frame, an outer corner around the perimeter of the window, and we insert siding panels into the grooves of the fittings.
- Window without a slope. In this case, we install the platband, or you can use a narrower J-profile, and insert a panel of facing material into it.
- Arched window. In this case, a flexible J-profile is used, or the usual one is slightly notched at the bending points around the window.
As you can see, it is not so difficult to sheathe a window opening from the outside, it is enough to have all the necessary materials on hand and first read the instructions, and perhaps also look at the photographic materials for the installation of siding.
