Wall panels for the bathroom - installation

If you decide to finish your bathroom with PVC panels, it is preliminary recommended to do all the necessary preparatory work. This will make it possible to plan everything correctly in advance and will not turn your repair into a long and tedious task. The use of panels will allow you to turn your bathroom into a modern and beautiful room without significant costs, in addition, their use is a rather successful alternative to such expensive finishing materials as tile or marble. PVC panels can be sheathed both walls and ceiling. PVC is such a material that resists moisture well, therefore, choosing panels from this material, you will only win. In addition, wall panels for the bathroom, the installation of which does not take much time, can be purchased at any store selling building materials, in that particular design that interests you.

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Benefits of PVC Panels

The material from which the panels are made is a special plastic, and as you know, it does not deteriorate from constant contact with moisture. Still, the other finishing sheets, although they have a certain level of moisture resistance, however, in comparison with PVC, they lose much in terms of these indicators. The ability to quickly install them and high profitability also add to the popularity. We will consider further details further:

1. Panels made of PVC can cover any roughness, cracks and bumps, turning the old and shabby surface of the wall into a new and beautiful one.
2. These products can very easily fit together, and no special preparation for the walls or ceiling is even required.
3. Existing special channels in the panels can reliably hide any electrical wiring.
4. There are also quite a lot of partitions with a cross section, which gives additional strength to the entire assembled structure.
5. They also have many separate and completely isolated cell elements, which is why this material also has enhanced soundproofing characteristics.
6. All panels have a layer made on the basis of a special varnish that completely protects them from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays, as well as from any mechanical stress.
7. They have just excellent thermal insulation performance, in addition, non-combustible and non-flammable.
8. You will not see constant dust and dirt on them, since they simply do not linger on the panels for a long time, and any of their remaining quantities can simply be brushed off with an ordinary rag.
9. In addition to the well-known moisture resistance, this material is calmly related to frequent and large temperature differences, and this is very important in relation to any bathrooms.
10. The range of colors is also very large and varied and includes several hundred colors.
11. When mounting the panels are attached very close to each other, which creates a complete picture and a view of complete completeness.
12. The affordable cost of this finishing material along with high quality characteristics makes it one of the most popular for use in various repair work.

Such a huge set of various advantages does not leave other options, except how to install panels in the bathroom in your apartment.

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How to choose wall panels?

In order to do this, you first need to consider their classification and possible color schemes.

Rack and pinion

The so-called rack panels in their appearance are very similar to the same lining. They are found with the following mounting systems:

• tenon into tenon;
• spike in the groove;
• groove in the groove.

The sizes of these panels usually range from 1 to 3 meters, the thickness is 10-12 mm, and the width can be 14-30 cm. The most popular sizes today are the following: lengths from 1.20 to 2.40 m and thicknesses from 3 up to 5 mm. Due to its rather large size, the installation of the material is done very quickly, and the finish is done with the use of flashing or additional sealing of the working seams is done.

Important! With their horizontal installation, it is possible to easily achieve such a visual effect when it seems that the room has become much more spacious and wider. And if you install vertically, you will get the effect of high walls, even if in reality your bathroom has very low ceilings.

In their appearance, PVC panels are very similar to ordinary plywood, because often the front surface is made of natural wood, wild stone or expensive leather. It is very convenient and creates additional comfort, and for little money.

Tiled

In addition to the usual wall, for the bathroom you can use the so-called tile panels, which are available in the form of small squares with sizes 90x90 or 30x30. They usually create something that looks like a beautiful mosaic.

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Installation Prep and Tools

To perform the installation of panels for the bathroom you will need tools such as:

• reliable ladder;
• electric drill;
• regular roulette;
• hacksaw for metal;
• building level;
• sharp knife.

Before you start directly installing the panels, you will need to make all the basic measurements. This approach will allow you to correctly calculate the amount of required material. After this, you can begin to prepare the work surface. Here we note that:

• In principle, for plastic there is no need to make any serious preparations before installing it, since it will cover all the problem areas with itself. The only thing that needs to be done is to clean the walls of old materials so that then mold does not start inside.
• From the point of view of aesthetics, working with clean walls is always a pleasure, therefore it is also recommended to remove all accumulated dirt and dust from them.
• It is not worth starting the installation of the material immediately after its delivery, due to the threat of deformation. This is especially true in the winter. It will be enough to withstand it at room temperature for about an hour, and then you can start the installation.

Important! To preserve the appearance, the protective film may remain on the material until installation.

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How to fix wall panels in the bathroom? - Methods

In order to understand how to do this correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with several installation options and choose the most suitable one:

1. The use of screws. This method of fastening is considered the most convenient, therefore it is used most often.
2. Fasteners with nails. If you are thinking about using this particular option, then you need to remember that re-applying this method will be practically impossible.
3. Using a stapler. This option is considered successful and convenient, therefore it is very popular due to the fact that all the work can be completed quite quickly.
4. Fasteners with kleimers. These are metal plates that are well suited for fixing plastic on a work surface.
5. With the use of glue. You can glue directly on the crate or directly on the wall.If you decide to glue on the crate, then glue must be applied to all its elements. This is done only so that it is systematically distributed over its entire surface. However, this option is possible only in the case of a frame made of wood.

Important! Remember that in the case of using a stapler, wall panels will not be fixed as securely as in the case of using self-tapping screws or even ordinary nails.

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Panel Installation

Wall panels can be installed even by a person who does not have any experience in this field. It will be enough to read this article to understand how to fix the PVC panels in the bathroom, and then choose the method of fastening you like and finish the installation. In more detail, the progress of work can be followed in a step-by-step instruction:

• First of all, you will need to fix the guide profiles, which are mounted on a crate made of metal or wood using nails or screws.

Important! In this process, it is imperative to use the building level for the correct installation of profiles.

• Immediately after the completion of work related to the installation of guide profiles, you will need to start preparing the material for decoration. These materials must be correctly measured with a tape measure and cut off according to the height of the walls of your bathroom.
• The next step is to insert all the elements into the grooves of the profiles. All actions are carried out on that side of the panel where the lock is located. The opposite side is fastened with a self-tapping screw. The fastener element itself should be on the side that protrudes above the surface of the product and then simply covers itself with the next panel element.

Important! Due to the fact that the panels have locks, you do not need any adjustment of each decoration element. Therefore, the assembly of the entire structure will take very little time. And in order for the resulting design to come out absolutely even, you will need to use a plumb line to check each fastener before installing it.

Successful decisions

As a rule, during operation, approaching one of the corners, you see that the panel that you should install the very latest does not fit in its width. To solve this problem, it will be enough to first draw a cut line with a pencil, with the necessary consideration of the distance between the last profile and the previous panel, and then simply cut off the resulting difference with a sharp knife.

If your bathroom needs to be sealed, then at the joints of each sheet you will need a certain amount of silicone-based sealant. This will prevent the appearance of unnecessary condensation, as a result - the formation of dangerous mold and fungus.

Features of the installation process that you should pay attention to

Recently, many have been trying to find the answer to the question of how to fix panels in a bathroom without a crate? However, the use of a frame made of wood material or metal parts becomes a more popular method. This is due to the fact that the bathroom is used most of the day for its intended purpose and the moisture level there is almost always high. Also, due to constant temperature changes, the plastic can expand slightly, so when trimming it, always leave a small margin in height.

Important! If a material such as a bar was used in the manufacture of the crate, then in this case, it is possible to insert thermal insulation into the formed space. After that, do not forget to close all joints with a sealant.

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Useful Tips

Despite its simplicity, when installing wall panels, you must follow these useful recommendations:

1. Watch for safety during work, be sure to use special glasses to protect your eyes, which will help you go through the whole process without unnecessary injuries.
2. When drilling and cutting the panels, keep their outer side facing up to avoid ugly burrs on the material.One negligence, and all the work will go down the drain.
3. If you make fasteners using nails, then use the hammer carefully, as this material is fragile enough, it can easily get mechanical damage.
4. If glue is used as fasteners, then it must be applied with symmetrical lines, it should only be of the highest quality.

Important! A solution based on ordinary soap perfectly cleans any plastic surfaces without any damage to them. Any abrasive substances, like coarse sponges for cleaning, are not recommended, in order to avoid chips and scratches.

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Stock footage

Having decided to finish your bathroom with wall panels, you can reproduce any popular interior design, and without the help of expensive specialists. For your project, you can choose such plastic products that can successfully repeat the structure of wild stone or natural wood, which means that these technologies can be used in almost every house or apartment.