Today, polyurethane foam has become an indispensable assistant in all ranges of construction work, including finishing in apartments. Using it, you can install new doors with high quality. The main thing is that the foam you choose has good performance characteristics, since the quality of installation, service life and fastening strength depend on them.
Household or professional foam. What to choose?
Household foam has a low price, although its parameters may be no different from professional foam. For household foam, a regular gun is suitable, but for professional foam you need to purchase a special one. Despite the extra costs, there are some advantages. When using a mounting gun, foam consumption is saved by almost 2 times. It's up to you to decide what savings will be for you. If you plan to use foam to install all interior doors, metal-plastic windows and other interior elements, a set of professional polyurethane foam and a special gun will justify the cost.
When choosing any of the two types of foam, an inexperienced buyer is faced with the problem of the weight of the cylinder. On the one hand, more weight means more foam. But on the other hand, less weight means cheaper price. In the first case, there is a high probability of a minimum amount of compressed air, which means that little foam will come out. In the second case, the amount of foam is initially small, so it may not be enough for installation work. Everything needs a balance (750 ml of foam: 250 ml of gas), which is followed by the brands Penoseal, Cyclon, KimTec, Makroflex.
If your main criterion is the degree of expansion, then it is worth knowing that for household foam this figure reaches 60%, while professional polyurethane foam increases up to 300%. When reading the characteristics on the cylinder, remember that manufacturers indicate the maximum value.
Advice from DoorExpo: if you carry out installation work in cold weather, you need to buy winter polyurethane foam, which does not lose its properties in the range of -18°C/+35°C. Remember, the lower the air temperature, the lower the air temperature.
How foam works
Aerosol foam for installation is a sealant. When interacting with air, the substance instantly forms polyurethane foam. Coming out of the container, it fills holes, seams and joints due to its increase in size (up to 20-40 times). It is because of this property that foam is used to fill cavities in the most difficult to reach places. Before use, it is important to take into account the secondary expansion of the foam, so you should not fill the cracks completely, as the door will be under strong pressure. This can lead to deformation of the door leaf and, as a result, disruption of the door movement. Some polyurethane foams (for example, Macroflex) have a long-term secondary expansion, so just a few days after installation the door will need adjustment.
The resulting foam mass freezes and hardens within 24 hours. This is facilitated by the moisture content in the air. That is why it is recommended to moisten the installation sites to speed up this process. Henkel Makroflex Rapido, llbruck 2K, Soudal lSoudafoam 2K have fast-acting properties. When using this foam, after 10 minutes you can cut off unnecessary parts from the outside.
You can avoid the difficulties of choosing foam and installation problems by ordering door installation from our company.
Nowadays it is impossible to imagine installing doors or window frames without the use of construction foam. This is the same yellow porous substance that crunches when you squeeze it and is difficult to wash off.
Thanks to the foam, it is much easier to fix the doors, and the installation process takes 20-30 minutes. But not all foam is the same and not all types are suitable for installing doors. Let's take a closer look at how different types of foam differ, how to foam a door correctly, and how a special foam gun is useful.
Insert the door leaf into the frame
- Hang the door leaf on the frame, inserting it into the hinges.
- Close the door and check the operation of the locks and handles. If problems arise, you need to immediately adjust the lock post of the box in relation to the bolts of the locks or handles using shims.
- Drill holes into the wall through the remaining holes.
- Secure the anchors, but do not tighten them all the way.
- Close the door, check vertically and horizontally to see if the door leaf is level relative to the frame.
In the open middle (30-150°) position, the blade should remain motionless.
The principle of operation of polyurethane foam
Foam consists of quickly hardening elements, which after hardening turn into a dense substance. To harden the foam, you need access to oxygen and a static temperature.
Polyurethane spray foam is a type of insulation that is used inside a home to insulate walls, ceilings, and the underside of roof decks. It is more effective than traditional insulation because it expands to reach hard-to-reach areas, ensuring a complete seal.
It retains heat, dampens sound to some extent, and strengthens the connection.
Polyurethane spray foam insulation is a two-part solution: a mixture of isocyanate and a resin, which is the adhesive (sticking agent) that distinguishes one manufacturer's product from another.
Installation of Granite entrance doors to an apartment
As a rule, the installation of entrance doors takes place already at the initial stage of apartment renovation. This is due to the fact that work is required with the space around the door. It is not rational to do this after repairs. Also, the procedure is always carried out upon entering a new home. In order for the door to be easy to open and close throughout its entire service life, it is very important to avoid those mistakes that very often occur if the work is performed by an incompetent specialist.
Installation of entrance doors consists of the following stages:
Removing the old front door
Installation of the entrance door cannot be carried out until the doorway is freed from the old door. First you need to separate the old door leaf from the door frame. If the front door was attached to dismountable hinges, then the door leaf is simply removed from the hinges. If one-piece hinges were used, then the blade must be unscrewed using a screwdriver.
So, before installing new durable doors, you need to get rid of the old ones. You need to carefully remove the door frame from the opening and take measurements. You need to make sure that there is enough space for the new product. This is where the first mistake is often made: there should be a gap of at least 1 cm wide between the walls and the sides of the frame. If it is smaller, it must be increased in order to securely fasten the door and seal the opening.
How to choose foam
We have examined in detail the principle of operation of foam, now let’s look at how they differ.
Compound
As mentioned above, all foams are made on the basis of isocyanate and resin with an adhesive component (construction adhesive, viscous primer). The composition may be one-component, but such types are not popular.
When purchasing foam, you need to ask the seller about a specific situation, describe to him the door or window, wall material, and finishing. He will offer the desired option (usually the most expensive - universal).
Areas of application
Foam is used for:
- thermal insulation. It has a porous structure, so it retains heat and dissipates it more slowly;
- soundproofing. Due to its porosity, it transmits less sound in both directions. Since foam is not a professional soundproofing unidirectional material, the audibility between the wall treated with foam will be poor;
- protection from dust and debris. Here the foam works as it should, because dust cannot penetrate through a continuous layer;
- strengthening Some types of foam provide sufficient strength comparable to some building materials (gypsum, crab reinforcement).
Flammability degree
As a rule, all one-component foams burn well and ignite quickly. Two-component mixtures burn more slowly due to heterogeneity. There are non-flammable foams, but they are extremely difficult to find. To prevent the foam from catching fire, you need to treat it with a special solution.
Application temperature
This is a factor that affects the final strength and hardening time. If you take summer foam and use it in winter, it will harden, however, the characteristics will be far from the declared ones.
Depending on the time of use, the foam can be:
All-season foam is a universal solution that has average strength characteristics.
Properties
Main foam parameters:
- porosity;
- density;
- hardening speed;
- spray and expansion speed;
- texture;
- fluidity.
All these characteristics are different for each manufacturer, so two foams with the same composition can behave differently under the same conditions, since in addition to the main components there are auxiliary ones that are not indicated in the composition.
How to properly foam the gap between the box and the wall
- First, you will need to seal the installation site with masking tape if the finishing has already been done.
- Wedge the door, checking the levels. If the door frame is tilted, the doors will open on their own and swing due to the tilt.
- When everything is insulated and the box is in place, you need to fill everything with foam.
- It hardens in 20 minutes to an hour. Do not use a hair dryer for drying, because oxygen must penetrate inside so that the foam fills all porosities and “inflates from the inside.” Foam components draw air inside and high temperatures will interfere with the process.
- When the foam has hardened, you need to cut off the remains using a stationery or construction knife and remove the masking tape.
- Done, now you can remove the wedges, and fill the space that has formed with foam, if desired.
Do-it-yourself insulation of a metal entrance door
Insulation of the door frame
Insulation of a metal entrance door should begin with the elements of the frame. If the box is made from a corner, then insulation is possible only in the places where the box adjoins the doorway. In this case, the gaps are filled with foam, and the excess insulation is cut off with a construction knife. If the box is made of a rectangular or square pipe, the insulation is placed inside the profile.
The better to insulate
To insulate the door frame, use foam or bulk insulation (sawdust, expanded clay).
Polyurethane foam is used to eliminate gaps between the frame and the doorway, as well as to fill the cavities of frame elements made from profiles.
Bulk insulation is used only for profiled frames. The profile is filled through a technological hole drilled in the upper part of the box. The diameter of the hole should allow the largest fractions of filler to pass through.
This method has a significant drawback: it is impossible to ensure that the entire internal space of the box is filled with bulk materials. As a result of uneven filling, voids are formed that freeze. Therefore, the use of bulk insulation is possible only in production conditions, when assembling the box in the workshop.
Materials and tools
To insulate the box you will need the following tools and materials:
- electric drill;
- metal drills with a diameter equal to the diameter of the nozzle of a cylinder with polyurethane foam;
- polyurethane foam;
- construction knife.
Insulation instructions
To fill the door frame with foam, you will need to prepare technological holes with a pitch of 500 mm. Through these holes, the internal space of the profile is filled with polyurethane foam. Excess foam coming out through the holes must be removed with a construction knife.
The gaps between the door frame and the doorway are cleaned of old insulation, moistened and filled with polyurethane foam. Excess foam is removed using a construction knife, after which the contact point between the box and the wall is masked with putty.
Insulation of the door leaf
Cheap Chinese doors are usually made without internal insulation, so the owners have to modify the design themselves.
The better to insulate
Before insulating the entrance metal door of an apartment, you need to decide on the type of filler in the interior space of the door leaf. Depending on the internal structure of the door, use:
- polystyrene foam boards or polystyrene foam;
- bulk materials (sawdust, expanded clay);
- polyurethane foam;
- thermal insulating mineral boards.
Polyurethane foam is considered more reliable and durable, but due to its high cost it is not used often; polystyrene foam and mineral wool insulation are much more popular.
Insulation with mineral wool slabs.
Materials and tools
Before insulating an iron door from the inside, you will need to purchase material and prepare the necessary tools:
- material selected as insulation;
- polyethylene film;
- wooden blocks with a cross-section corresponding to the thickness of the internal space of the door leaf;
- self-tapping screws;
- metal reinforcements for wooden frames (corners, profile);
- electric drill;
- construction knife;
- liquid Nails;
- hacksaw;
- Screwdriver Set.
Before insulating the iron entrance door from the outside, you will additionally have to purchase:
- dermantin or eco-leather;
- felt material.
Insulation instructions
Work on insulating the inner and outer parts of the canvas is different. Most often, internal insulation of the door is carried out, because... in this case it has to be disassembled.
Inside
To place insulation inside a metal door you will need to perform the following steps:
- the door is removed from its hinges and installed on a hill;
- dismantle handles, locks and latches;
- dismantle the fiberboard sheet from the inside of the door;
- take measurements of the internal space to prepare the wooden frame;
- individual elements for the frame are cut from the block;
- an adhesive composition is applied inside the door leaf and a plastic film is laid;
- assemble the frame (when assembling, you should take into account the locations of the locks and through handles);
Results
Polyurethane foam is a convenient and lightweight tool for installing window doors and other critical structures. Main important points:
- it may consist of one or two components. Its properties, price, and operating parameters directly depend on this;
- To install the door, you need to fix it correctly, check the angles and levels;
- It is not necessary to use a gun, however, it will help to easily dose the foam and make the connection more accurate;
- Commercial all-purpose foams should be avoided as they will not provide the desired effect. If you perform the installation in the summer, use summer foam, in the winter, winter foam.
They installed an iron door - the jambs freeze. Can they be foamed inside?
IMHODom › Forums › urgent question › We installed an iron door - the jambs are freezing. Can they be foamed inside?
This topic has 76 replies, 40 voices, last updated Max 2 years/years, 3 months. back.
- Berlinka
They installed a street door, a sandwich, everything was fine. The door stands on foam.
Two shortcomings - no quarters were made in the wall for the door
and the iron jamb turned out to be empty (it didn’t even occur to me to look, I kept staring at the door - and now I looked into the lockbox - it’s empty)
There were no major frosts yet, but frost formed along the bottom of the jambs. I am seriously afraid that the door may simply freeze and I won’t open it.
- drill holes every 40-50 cm - and foam all the internal cavities through the tube?
- make wooden trim inside and outside...??
- do some work on the vestibule so that the door is not so much on the street.
Please advise what to do first...
And like other iron doors, the jambs are also empty. I just never thought about it before......
Air conditioners for baths.
- Dewdrop
They installed the door for me, when they arrived the frame was already pre-foamed. It is easier to remove the door along with the frame, foam the frame around the perimeter from the inside and put it in place
- Owner of the Establishment
It is good to insulate iron jambs with felt. In different configurations)
- Rainbow
A heating cable is also laid around the perimeter inside the box. The thing, I think, is not cheap to operate, it actually heats the street, but there is a 100% guarantee against freezing. door stores offer a cable with a control unit. funny - you open the door, and her rib is warm
— no quarters were made in the wall for the door.
don’t be upset: for hardware in its pure form they are not needed. Although I don’t know the design of your door. Take a photo. I don’t really know them anymore, because an iron door, in my understanding, is literally not associated with the concept of “warm”.
You can, of course, foam the box, but the bridge of cold will not go away from it.
IMHO. Insulate the outside of all iron parts (box and sheet) in contact with the atmosphere. Think about how. Possible materials: isolon, EPS. And you can already snuggle up a little under the “quarter”...
It is good to insulate iron jambs with felt.
)))))))))))))))))) Tough. Felt in such places died long ago as a class.
A heating cable is laid around the perimeter inside the box. The thing, I think, is not cheap to operate, it actually heats the street, but there is a 100% guarantee against freezing.
This option is also possible. The better you insulate, the more practical the operation will be.
- Berlinka
I'll try to take pictures tomorrow
Air conditioners for baths.
- Stepanovka
There is also such a problem.
There are several areas near a metal entrance door where condensation or frost appears more often than others. These include door handles, cylinders, peepholes, and the flap part of a metal door (the so-called cold bridges, where increased heat transfer occurs). This is due, first of all, to the concept of thermal conductivity of the materials from which the metal entrance door is made.
For example, consider part of the door - the vestibule. For solid doors it is made of wood, for plastic doors it is made of plastic, and for metal doors it is made of metal. Wood, plastic and metal have different thermal conductivities, and in order for a metal door in its hinged part to have the thermal conductivity of the hinged part of a “solid” door, it must be 200 times thicker than a wooden one! Instead of 4 centimeters, the thickness of the vestibule should be 8 meters
