The quality of the front door determines the appearance of the whole house. However, it is not enough to just install it, because you still need to make an opening. To make high-quality and stylish slopes is a simple task for which you can apply various facing materials. The rest of the article will explain how to decorate the doorway of the front door.
Slope function
Finishing the opening is an important stage in the repair work. Close slopes need when a new door has been installed. If you ignore this requirement, as a result the whole view of the room will deteriorate. Therefore, after installing the door, you need to think about how best to improve the opening. However, there are other reasons why these repair operations must be completed:
- To exclude gradual dust shedding, since concrete will eventually be covered with finishing material.
- Give the doorway a decorative look.
- Eliminate the flow of cold air (draft), which contribute to heat loss indoors.
Masters advise that before decorating the doorway, protect the entrance doors with plastic wrap or a normal rag. This must be done, since plastering mortar, which must be pre-coated with large cracks, can accidentally stain the canvas. In addition, defective places are sometimes filled with polyurethane foam, on top of which a sand-cement mortar or gypsum mixture is applied.
Plaster slopes: general information
This is a classic and cheap option on how to finish a doorway. Such a slope will not spoil due to sudden changes in temperature, high humidity and extreme cold. All cracks and voids, as a rule, are filled with a plaster mortar. Upon completion of the main work, such a slope can be decorated. To do this, use paint, wallpaper, artificial brick, various panels and reflective film, which is mounted on a flat surface.
However, this method has one significant drawback: it is a time-consuming and dirty way to trim the doorway of the front door. A novice can do this job, but first you need to buy painting beacons and corners, stucco mixes and construction tools. In addition, it is recommended to pre-insulate the door slope (for example, with mineral wool), since this type of finish will not provide the premises with high thermal insulation properties.
Plastering the doorway: step-by-step instructions
It is advisable to carry out these works during the repair of the whole house, when the final decoration is not yet completed. Before you finish the plaster doorway with your own hands, you need to prepare the following tools:
- putty knife;
- building level;
- Master OK;
- masking tape;
- fiberglass mesh;
- beacons (flat wooden battens or metal profiles);
- fine sandpaper or abrasive mesh;
- drill mixer.
Of the building materials, a stucco mixture, finishing putty, acrylic primer, alabaster will be required, and water-based paint is often used for decorative finishes. The plastering process consists of the following steps:
- Clean the surface and remove the old coating.
- Prime prepared slope.
- Wait approximately 5 hours for the surface to dry.
- Fasten guide beacons to alabaster.
- Before finishing the doorway of the entrance wooden or metal door with plaster, the duct and the walls around the slope must be pasted over with masking tape, and the canvas covered with a film.
- Fasten the fiberglass mesh to the prepared surface.
- Make a solution.
- Plaster the gaps between the lighthouses and the walls with a spatula.
- Seal the resulting cracks, if any.
- Wait until the solution solidifies.
- Smooth the surface with putty.
- To clean the obtained slope with fine-grained emery paper or abrasive mesh.
As a result, the surface is decorated with any facing material. Usually, facade paint is used for these purposes.
Slopes from MDF panels
Covering the doorway with this material is a simple task. Such panels are cheap, but at the same time they look good and have high technical qualities. In addition, MDF panels normally tolerate moisture and do not deteriorate due to sudden changes in temperature. Nevertheless, the material has one drawback: it is flammable, therefore, it is mounted only on the frame.
To make slopes from MDF panels, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:
- wooden blocks, each should be about 30 mm wide;
- platbands;
- decorative slats and mounting brackets;
- guide strips;
- self-tapping screws;
- dowels or anchor bolts;
- liquid nails and foam;
- a chisel;
- stationery knife;
- tape measure or laser level;
- perforator and drill for concrete;
- screwdriver.
Before you finish the doorway of the front door with MDF panels, you need to study the following rules:
- The material should be fixed 15–20 mm below the level of the box.
- The distance between the internal slopes should be less than the distance between the external slopes.
Installation of MDF panels on door slopes
Facing the opening with this material should be in the following sequence:
- To clear a surface and to fill up large cracks with polyurethane foam.
- Drill holes for fasteners along the perimeter of the slope.
- Install guides (rails are recommended to be treated with an antiseptic).
- Take measurements.
- Fit the panels to the required dimensions.
- Cut out the details.
- Fix the first prepared MDF panel with screws to the guides.
- In the same way, install the part in the next section. Repeat these steps until the entire doorway is closed. The main thing is that gaps do not form in the process.
- Fix decorative corners with liquid nails to external corners. As a result, the caps of the screws and bumps will be hidden.
- Paste internal corners with slats.
- Set platbands.
The essence of the described installation work is simple: first the frame is built, and then MDF panels of the right size are attached to it.
Laminate slopes: advantages and installation
The advantages of doorways sheathed with this material are as follows:
- high strength:
- wear resistance;
- service life is 10-15 years;
- refined design;
- protection of the room from a draft;
- easy cleaning of the surface from dust;
- the ability to fasten various decorative ornaments to the slopes with glue or screws.
The masters came up with the best method, which is recommended to use if you need to trim the doorway of the entrance door with laminate. To do this, you need to perform these simple steps:
- Carefully measure the slope.
- To prepare strips of the right size according to the indicators obtained. You should know: it is better to cut the laminate with a hacksaw for metal or a jigsaw.
- Fasten the received parts from the back with thin aluminum strips.
- Fix vertical slats to the walls.
- Screw the finished panels with the inner side to the resulting structure.
If it is necessary to revetment the plastered aperture, the laminate in this case can be fixed on a flat surface with liquid nails.
Slopes from plastic panels
This is a cheap finishing material that is easy to assemble. The indisputable advantage of plastic panels is the color and texture variety. A good option for decorating a doorway is a material with an imitation of wood texture.
Before decorating the doorway of the front door with panels, it is necessary to arrange a wooden or metal crate. However, on a flat surface, the material can simply be attached with special glue. But plastic panels have one significant drawback: they are easily deformed if accidentally damaged.
Plasterboard slopes: installation
The doorway lined with this material will look spectacular. With proper installation, such a slope will last several decades, and its advantage is that the free space between the wall and the material can be filled with insulation (for example, foam). There is a good way how to finish a doorway with doors that will subsequently be varnished. To veneer the slope with drywall sheets (GCR), you must perform the following steps:
- Remove dust, dirt and excess foam from the surface.
- Drill holes around the perimeter of the opening at a distance of 20 cm.
- Measure the height and width of the slope with a tape measure.
- Cut guides.
- Measure the opening and according to the data obtained, prepare the necessary pieces from the moisture-proof drywall.
- Apply glue to the obtained GCR parts.
- Insert each individual sheet into the guides.
- Check the construction level for horizontal and vertical slope.
- Wait 6 hours until the glue dries (remove excess with a damp cloth).
- Putty the resulting slope.
- Apply a coat of varnish to the wooden door to renew its appearance.
The final step is to decorate the doorway with paint, tile, wallpaper or artificial stone.
Slopes from a wooden lining
This expensive material is made of natural wood. The slopes lined with lining will look beautiful, however, this method also has its own characteristics. You need to fasten the material to the crate, and to organize this design, you need a lot of space. You should know: to trim a small doorway with this material is a bad idea.
Another advantage of the lining is that it can be finished with a doorway and an entrance door without buying additional parts, since this sheathing board is sometimes attached to the walls with dowels, and to the canvas (if you need to “refresh” its appearance) with self-tapping screws. In addition, it is recommended that the material is first treated with special antiseptic compounds, flame retardants and other protective solutions.
Slopes made of stone
This finishing material is artificial and natural. The first option is cheaper than the second. Nevertheless, stone in any form has a high price when compared with other materials for decorating a doorway. It is used both for sheathing internal slopes, and external. To independently decorate the opening with a stone, it is necessary to perform the following sequential operations:
- Create a template this way: lay out the material on any surface.
- Grind and cut individual pieces.
- Clean the doorway from dirt, debris, dust, grease stains.
- Coat irregularities with plaster.
- Putty the surface.
- Treat the slope with an antifungal primer.
- Fix the stone with liquid nails, glue or gypsum mortar.
- Fill the gaps with sealant.
If you have all the necessary materials and tools, you can quickly finish the doorway. In the photo, the slopes lined with decorative stone look simply magnificent (the picture is shown below).
Conclusion
The article examined in detail the popular materials for facing slopes. However, there are still good options to trim the doorway of the front door. So, you can apply decorative plaster, sandwich panels, clinker tiles, mosaics, stucco moldings or polyurethane linings. Everyone will choose the finishing method they like.
The cheapest is the use of conventional plaster, but this method is rarely used now. Nevertheless, a smooth surface can be decorated with different materials: paint, wallpaper or panels.