The need to increase the width of the window sill often arises among gardeners and flower growers. Window sills in old houses are often extremely narrow; they cannot even accommodate a jar, not to mention flowers and pots.
Figuring out how to expand the window sill is not difficult. This is a simple action that even a novice builder can handle. The main thing is to choose the right material and carefully fix it.
Source krovlyakryshi.ru
Window sill width in a panel house
The width of the window sill in my panel house was approximately 15 cm. If you put a three-liter jar, then 1/3 of the jar just hangs outside the window sill? window sill material, can be concrete:
Window sill width in a panel house
Or a tree:
Window sill width in a panel house
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Living room
The living room is the most spacious room in the house. The whole family gathers here. The large space provides ample opportunities for highlighting thematic areas for relaxation, work, and watching TV. And one of the places that should definitely be filled with special meaning and given new life is the former window sill.
Shelves - a mini-library in the living room under the window
If you have a bay window in the hall or simply large panoramic windows that do not reach the floor, organize a French window sill with a comfortable seating area.
A soft ottoman under the window is a great place to read books, newspapers and magazines. In a cozy nook, nothing distracts you from immersing yourself in the fascinating world of adventure novels, current news or amazing scientific discoveries. Separating yourself from the rest of the space with curtains, it’s so nice to enjoy the company of your favorite characters, get acquainted with the latest fashion trends or the secrets of culinary art. It is logical that you should store your favorite books and periodicals nearby. This way you don’t have to walk around the apartment with them. A great idea is to use the window sill space to organize a mini-library. This way the books will have their own place and won’t be scattered all over the apartment. To do this, you need to build a miniature cabinet equipped with shelves into the space under the ottoman. This is where your paper “buddies” will be located, which from now on will always be at hand.
A cozy corner for your beloved pet
Animal houses take up quite a lot of space, interfere with passage, and complicate the cleaning process. They have to be moved from place to place every now and then, and this does not help maintain order in the living room. A house purchased separately looks like an alien object in the room. It brings imbalance to the style and negates the efforts of designers. A cozy shelter for a pet that is part of the interior looks much better. A special compartment in the cabinet under the window can act as a house. It occupies sufficient space and is located in the central part of the furniture structure. Place a soft mattress inside and the cozy house is ready.
What problems may you encounter when increasing the window sill?
If we increase the width of the window sill in a panel house, as shown in the photo above. We are facing some problems!
The width of the concrete vertical slab to which the end of the window sill is adjacent is too narrow, and if you want to extend it to the wall, then at point 1, you must secure the window sill thoroughly! Because this point will be the support for the window sill. And if it is not secured there, the window sill will experience heavy overloads! After all, we are enlarging the window sill so that we can put something on it!
At the second point, which is shown schematically, approximately in the area of the slope, across the entire width of the window sill, you should also think about additional support points!
And the third point... if you ignore the first two points, then at point 3, naturally, the window sill will sag over time.
What problems may you encounter when increasing the window sill?
Or, from the weight with which you want to load the window sill, the window sill may simply break. This is of course unlikely! But sometimes people manage to step on the windowsill! For various reasons! And there is no guarantee at all that the window sill will withstand such a load!
ATTACHING AN ADDITIONAL BOARD
This fastening option is convenient because the board can be taken of any width. True, it is suitable mainly for wooden structures and in the absence of a radiator under the window. In this case, the window sill board is extended using an overlay piece of the same thickness installed on brackets. For work, hardwood that is completely dried and without cracks is selected. The workpiece is adjusted to the required size with a saw or jigsaw so that it looks like a continuation of the window sill. The edges are carefully leveled and sanded. A small ridge is cut out at the end of the window sill, and a groove is cut on the workpiece itself to better fit the parts and give additional strength.
Now you should prepare brackets from a metal angle with a shoulder length that allows fastening at at least two points on the side of the window sill and three or four on the side of the wall. At the site of the future bend, two cuts are made on one side of the corner at an angle of 45° so that the metal can be bent, giving it the shape of a bracket. It is advisable to weld the joints using a welding machine. Holes are drilled in appropriate places to attach the bracket to the wall and window sill. The number of brackets must be at least two, and if the window opening is wider than the standard one, at least three.
The brackets are mounted into a concrete or brick wall using screws driven into wooden plugs. Having marked the location of the fastener, holes are made in the wall along the length of the screw. Then a wooden plug of the appropriate length is driven in there, planed not smoothly, but with edges so that it holds tighter. The cork is pierced with a nail of slightly smaller diameter than the screw. Now you can fix the brackets. When installing the board, the heads of the screws should be recessed into the wood; to do this, drill a hole with a drill of a larger diameter.
It turns out to be such a wide window sill on which you can place many pots of flowers or seedlings.
What tools might you need!?
At a minimum, this is an impact drill so that you can drill the wall for fastening and holes in the fastening material.
I don't think it can be done without a hammer either.
Knife, ax for choppers, for example for leveling a window sill.
Level.
The window sill itself is of increased width.
And materials for additional supports.
If you don’t have any of the above, then I think the most logical thing would be to pay a specialist, and it will be cheaper than buying these tools.
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What can you make from a countertop?
Almost anything can be made from tabletop scraps.
- Shelf in the hallway Convenient for those who have a landline telephone. ...
- Bathroom cabinet…
- Wall table...
- Support for flowers …
- Shelves for the bathroom and kitchen...
- Wall shelf...
- Bottom of the closet...
- Corner shelf
Interesting materials:
How many grams are 2 boiled eggs? How many grams of cooked rice are in a cup? How many grams of buckwheat with milk are in a plate? How many grams of coffee per cone? How many grams of dough for one pizza? How many grams of Oolong in a teaspoon? How many grams are in 1 ml of ice cream? How many grams are in 1 dryer? How many grams are in the measuring cup of the Redmond multicooker? How many grams are in one king date?
Personal experience of increasing the width of the window sill in a panel house.
Now I’ll tell you how I increased the width of the window sill at home in a panel house! My window sill width was also about 15 cm. And here is the result, this was done in 1998, filmed on the camera of the legendary Nokia 3250 phone
After a few years... after about 10, the window sill became shabby and looked like this: Personal experience of increasing the width of the window sill in a panel house.
Personal experience of increasing the width of the window sill in a panel house.
And during the next renovation, I removed the top part of the cladding, putty it, and glued adhesive vinyl film. + painted everything.
Personal experience of increasing the width of the window sill in a panel house.
And I decided not to paint the bottom of the shelf either, but to glue a facing film. In my opinion it turned out well.
Personal experience of increasing the width of the window sill in a panel house.
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TO DIVE OR NOT?
Yes, definitely, but only tomatoes. Look at the trunk of the tomato, it is all covered with thin “hairs” - these are potential roots. As soon as these “hairs” come into contact with moist soil, they begin to grow and provide additional nutrition to the plants. Many people plant in cups, and then add soil, and when diving, I make a depression with the body of a fountain pen (which is thicker) and lower the sprout into this depression. I twist the trunk in a spiral, it does not break, since the plant is very flexible, and it turns out that the trunk is buried in the ground up to 10 cm. I plant it on the ridge from May 20 to June 3-5, and not perpendicularly, but with an inclination, and again part of the stem I cover it with earth. I water, then mulch, and I get the following picture (Fig. 3):
1 – trunk with roots,
2 – the trunk is still without roots,
3 – upper part of the plant with leaves,
4 – layer of mulch. The plant does not grow upward for four or five days, it grows roots on the trunk, and then begins to grow rapidly. In the future, you can further hill it, which will give additional roots. In the fall, when you pull out tomato bushes, you will see that their stems are completely covered with roots. So I’ll say it again: you can only pick tomatoes; eggplants and peppers don’t have “hairs” on their trunks, so it’s useless to cover them.
Technology for making an enlarged window sill with your own hands in a panel house.
Unfortunately, at the time I was making this window sill I had no idea that I would later make money from stories about repairs! Therefore, we will talk schematically!
I nailed an ordinary chipboard that was lying around in the closet, about 10 cm, just before the fastening of the flat battery, if you know, then there are fastenings from the very top. In order to add additional strength and then to be able to attach to this strip. Using a 6mm hammer drill, we drill in 4 places and hammer in a standard dowel and a 6mm x 60mm nail.
Technology for making an enlarged window sill with your own hands in a panel house. And in the corner we had to make an mount at an angle so that it would not be visible. I had to suffer! On the left, a pipe prevented me from reaching the end of the corner
Technology for making an enlarged window sill with your own hands in a panel house.
The next step is to attach the corner. 1) in the left corner, the window sill itself will hold the corner. 2 and 3) we attach the vertical posts on which our window sill will rest. At point P I placed some kind of metal flat plate, securing the vertical and horizontal plates together. And D1 and D2, just like in point 1, we nail them flat to the wall.
Technology for making an enlarged window sill with your own hands in a panel house.
We cut out the profile of the enlarged chipboard window sill that we needed. The width is 3 cm more than the width of the vertical posts!
D1 - through the chipboard, drill a hole for dowels into the body of the window sill! We first remove the chamfer so that the cap is recessed.
U1 - where is point U1 - place one corner at a time, at the top, under the window sill, to secure the window sill. Below the window sill we attach horizontal shelves.
U2 - where is point U2 - place two corners.
Since I did not have a laminated window sill, I had to putty it completely.
And we put vinyl film on top of the window sill!
Well, the rest... in principle, is already a trifle,
Technology for making an enlarged window sill with your own hands in a panel house.
When is restoration necessary?
Plastic is a relatively practical material. Elements made from it are easy to maintain, easy to install, have a wide range of colors and are low in price. But at the same time, they are susceptible to mechanical damage and sensitive to elevated temperatures (they swell and can crack).
What to do if the following appears on the windowsill:
- Chips, cracks and scratches.
- Traces from flower pots and hot objects.
- Spots faded by sunlight.
- Damage caused by chemical surface cleaning agents.
The plastic surface of the window sill is subject to mechanical damage
In this case, repairs of plastic window sills are carried out depending on the degree of damage. There are special restorative agents for these purposes. If these are minor damages, the repair is done using putty; for multiple chips and cracks, a laminated film is used, and for serious problems, a special overlay is used.
An excellent option would be to build up a window sill. Nothing complicated to do.
Implementation instructions:
- Select material for future design. It is important to choose a board of size, with a thickness that will match the installed canvas. If you can't choose one, you can purchase MDF sheet.
- In the prepared part you need to make holes for dowels and small wooden connecting elements . The same cavities and at the same distance should be drilled at the end of the installed strip.
- Using the pins of the pins on the extension element, you need to check the reliability of the resulting fixation. For a stronger adhesion, take assembly glue and cover them with the ends of the parts to be connected, and then bring the dowels remaining on the surface to the prepared holes.
- The resulting small discrepancy between the window sill and the dashboard is neatly placed along its entire length. You need to wait until the mixture dries completely and after three days paint the stretched canvas.
Second way
You can increase the window sill to create a table. The work is done in a similar way. But before you start, you need to determine the desired shape of the tabletop, which can be arched or rectangular. It is recommended to think through several options and choose the most suitable one. The sheet must be cut from an MDF sheet, the ends must be edged. You should also consider legs for a strong and reliable stand. They must be the right height. You can buy legs that are adjustable. These are easier to use.
The working surface is attached to the window sill in the manner described. Then legs are attached to it, one or two, depending on the size of the structure. So, the work is finished. If you fix the tabletop with hinges, you get a convenient folding design.
However, in this case, you will need to think carefully about ventilation and make holes for the circulation of hot air coming from the batteries. A simple and very practical design will decorate the room and give it functionality.
Enlarged window sill result:
Unfortunately, the photo does not convey the real situation! But it was done great! And it looked great!
Enlarged window sill result:
Of course, today, more than 20 years later, I would have done it completely differently, and if so, it would have been more modern... but then, I did the best I could. In any case, you can’t jump over your head!
Check out the left corner... you can still see the plug from the corded phone...
And if you could enter that door on the right, you would end up on my balcony
Enlarged window sill result:
And in 2008 I was already doing another renovation... in my parents’ apartment!
Enlarged window sill result:
Slopes
drawers and shelves on the balcony
All repairs are here
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Peculiarities
Designers have not come up with any number of variations for altering window sills. Their area is used to create original pieces of furniture of various types. These are all kinds of tables - dining or office, various recreation areas - benches, sofas, sleeping areas, combined with different-sized storage systems. These include independent wardrobes and chests of drawers that can hold a lot of useful things, and even such unexpected elements as a built-in doghouse.
Workplace
Another way to functionally use a window sill is to create a workplace on it. The standard width of the surface allows you to easily place a laptop, lamp, notepad and stand for pencils and pens on it. The chair for such a home office needs to be selected according to the height of the window sill so that it is comfortable to work behind it. If the tabletop is high, then it would be appropriate to choose a bar stool under it.
