Causes of broken threads in plastic windows and step-by-step DIY repair guide
Plastic structures transmit light well, protect the room from noise and retain heat. In hot weather, the windows are opened for ventilation by installing a mesh through which insects do not fly, dust and lint do not penetrate. The product gets dirty quickly and is removed for washing. They turn to the master when it is necessary to repair plastic windows, but the mesh can be repaired by yourself, since this part does not contain complex mechanisms, there are no knots and a large amount of fasteners.
The main causes of breakage and damage to mosquito nets
The plastic frame will bend and break down if not installed properly, misused. Temperature jumps negatively affect the product. The mesh deteriorates in the cold, poorly tolerates heat. Birds, pets and the person leaning on the canvas can break it. Clips loosen with frequent frame removal and installation. If you do not take good care of the product, the handles break, the corners burst.
What materials can be replaced
When buying a window with a lattice or buying it separately, you need to check what the profile is made of, if the parts are of high quality, then next year you will not have to change the components. A defect discovered during the operation of the mesh must be immediately eliminated, otherwise it will begin to collapse. Very often the corners of the plastic frame burst.
The services of professionals in the repair of structures made of PVC profiles and individual elements are not cheap, and many try to cope with the breakdown on their own.
First you need to buy a kit, which should contain metal corners, brackets. These parts are sold in special departments of hardware stores.
Cloth
Before starting work, you need to carefully inspect the mesh. If strongly torn and stretched, the product should be removed, put on a flat surface, with a screwdriver or knife, pick up the edges, then pull the cord out of the frame, remove the mesh.
A new canvas is chosen one size larger than the surface of the frame itself and laid horizontally on the frame. Leaving a margin of at least 10 mm, a piece of mesh is cut. The cord is installed in the groove of the frame, pushing it around the perimeter in place with a screwdriver, knife, any durable, but not thick object. When changing the blade, you must check the tension. To prevent the mesh from sagging or puckering, you must support it with your left hand.
Sometimes you need to downsize the frame itself. To do this, you must first remove the fabric by pulling on the cord, clean part of the profile with a file and reassemble the structure.
After installing the trellis, checking the tension, laying the cord with sharp scissors, cut off the excess material. The product is installed in the window.
Pens
In order for the mosquito net to last as long as possible without repair, it is advisable to remove it for the winter. The canvas bends when wet snow adheres, loses its elasticity in severe frost. Handles help to insert the frame into the window opening, without them it is inconvenient to do this. Fragile plastic items break quickly.
To simplify the installation of the curtain, a hook is made of a wire about 3 mm thick, with which the mesh is pushed in order to extract the profile.
To replace a broken bracket, purchase a part of the same size:
- Unscrew the destroyed elements with a Phillips screwdriver.
- If there is a slight difference in the location of the bracket, screws with a smaller diameter will be required.
- Lifting the structure completely, fix the lower corners.
A point is marked on the bar where the upper element will pass. The bracket should move freely before lowering the blade and securing it to the frame.
Bindings
Lattice patterns are popular among customers, which are often installed together with window assembly during production. Fasten the structures from the outside with Z-ties. The door leaf dimensions are slightly larger than the door leaf space and the grillage must be positioned so that there is a recess on the outside for screwing fixings.
Self-tapping screws are installed above and below, the frame enters them, as if into grooves.
Some companies engaged in the production of window structures make Z-brackets from plastic, which is destroyed by mechanical stress, sudden temperature jumps. The mesh begins to hold badly and comes off.To solve the problem, plastic clips are unrolled, metal clips are installed instead, and even new holes do not need to be drilled.
How to replace a corner with your own hands
You can independently fix not only a new canvas, screw on the handle, but also repair the mosquito net, even if the corners have burst in its frame. Plastic elements break under uneven load resulting from improper installation of the structure. The store sells standard and reinforced corners, which are distinguished by high strength and long service life. To replace a broken part:
- Using a pointed object, pry the cord intended for sealing, remove it from the groove located in the upper part of the frame.
- By tapping on the board with a hammer, they pull out a broken bar.
- By holding with pliers and pushing with a screwdriver, the splintered parts of the corner are removed from the grooves and the new part is attached to the upper bar.
- The edges of the mesh are straightened, tightened, the sealing cord is placed in the frame, pressing firmly with scissors or a screwdriver.
You can not knock on the plastic with a hammer, but it is better to put a wooden block, then the paint will not peel off and cracks will not appear on the surface. To extend the life of the aluminum profile, it is recommended to fix a corner made of galvanized sheet steel. It does not need to be pushed into the grooves of the frame, but must be installed on plastic elements, having drilled holes on both sides and connected with rivets. The metal corner is treated with sandpaper, primed, painted white.
Strengthen the frame using not only galvanized steel, but also installing aluminum plates. If it is impossible to remove the cracked corners, then with the help of a drill they are sent into the cavity of the profile. The sealing cord fits more easily into the groove when soaked in soapy water.
Additional tips and tricks
It happens that the frame begins to wobble, the elements come off. To strengthen the profile, corners are installed. To do this, the structure is completely disassembled, the cord is removed by prying with a sharp object, the canvas is removed, the top bar is disconnected, the corners are removed. Fragments of cracked parts are removed with the tip of a screwdriver.
After dismantling, proceed with reassembly:
- New corners are installed.
- Stretch the canvas.
- The cord is laid in the groove.
It is not so difficult to independently remove the mosquito net, attach and pull a new canvas, replace broken handles, bent parts.But in order not to have to make repairs every year, you need to remove the mesh for the winter, because in the cold season midges do not fly, fluff does not stay on the window. It is advisable to install an aluminum one instead of a simple canvas, which will not be eaten away by a pet or pierced by a bird with a sharp beak.