Filling window gaps

[Jimbly Wotsits]

Hello,

First time post here. Have trawled through and got some great advice from other posts for other areas of the redecoration.

We are redecorating our small box room in our new 1920s house. After stripping back three layers of wallpaper we found bits of blown plaster and cracks in the corners. The walls are mostly traditional lath and plaster and have been filled with bonding and finish layer in the larger holes.

The issue we have now is around the window frame. There are large, irregular gaps between the frame and brick. It seems that when the windows were fitted they just put as much silicone/sealant in as required to fill the gap between brick and upvc frame. This wasn't noticeable when papered, but now it's all stripped back it looks horrendous.

IMG_20200229_120910

• Jimbly Wotsits
• 29 Feb 2020

IMG_20200229_120924

• Jimbly Wotsits
• 29 Feb 2020

IMG_20200229_120937

• Jimbly Wotsits
• 29 Feb 2020

The eventual plan is to paper line and paint the whole room, once all the gaps are filled. How should I tackle the huge gaps around the frame? My initial thoughts are to cut away the old silicone back to the upvc, and then fill the gaps and reskim the edges.

What would you recommend as the best method? Some foam filler, sand down, reskim? Some bonding jammed in to fill the bulk and then reskim? Or something else?

What kind of gap should I leave? Can I plaster right up to the frame and then caulk, or should I fill with something more flexible then just reskim to allow for temperature changes?

Thanks for any help, there seems to be an infinite range of products out there.

Cheers
Jimbly

 

[plastic_peanut]

Expanding foam, let it set then cut it back

 

[opps]

I'd go with the foam and then rip it back slightly so that it is about 1mm under the surface and then fill with something like Toupret RedLite and sand back when dried.

I would then line the walls.

You might want to use tape to prevent the foam from making a mess of the frames. You can cut through it after the foam has cured.

Some brands sell minimal expanding foam- well worth the extra money.

 

[Jimbly Wotsits]

Thank you. I ended up going for the foam, then, as you say, some filler. Will be lining the lot with wallrock as some of the walls have seen better days.

Oh, and you're right about the foam... It's a bugger! Wish I'd masked off the frames/windows. Mostly came off but a nice blob dropped onto the glass pane... Any tips for getting it off? Thinking some swarfega/white spirit and a scraper might cut through it?

 

[opps]

One of those window scrapers with a stanley blade in the end will scrape it off glass without any issues (so long as you hold the scraper at the correct angle).