To make repairs in the bathroom is not an easy task, as this room has high humidity. Wallpapering is often short-lived due to constant dampness. One option is ceramic tiles, but the option of installing plastic panels is considered more economical and no less practical. They are completely hygienic and easy to clean.
Material advantages
Finishing the bathtub with plastic panels, in comparison with other materials, has the following advantages:
- cheap material (compared to wood and ceramic tiles);
- easy installation and maintenance;
- unaffected by moisture, steam and water;
- Create designs to suit all tastes due to the wide range of colors and patterns available.
Purchasing Tips
In our time, the market is saturated with a wide variety of building materials,but, unfortunately, not all manufacturers are honest people, some seek to save money and use low-quality raw materials. In order for the purchase not to bring disappointment, and plastic bathroom panels last for a long time, when buying, you should be guided by simple rules:
- It is better to take panels with the largest number of stiffeners, this will ensure the strength of the future structure.
- Stiffening ribs should not have external damage and deformation, the front side should be evenly colored or have a pattern, this will create an interior.
- The appearance of the panels themselves must also be free of external damage and irregularities.
Ribs on the face are not allowed.
Preparing for installation
Before buying panels, you should decide on the option of their installation: horizontal or vertical. There are subtleties here that must be taken into account in advance. If the bathroom has a solid size, then you are absolutely free in your actions. But many cannot boast of such parameters. In this case, plastic panels for the bathroom must be installed vertically, while the colors should be light colors. Such actions, of course, are not able to physically increase the volume of the room, but visually the dimensions will become larger, and the bathroom itself will look lighter.
Materials delivered to the accommodation should be left alone for at least a couple of hours to acclimatize. Finishing the bathroom with plastic panelsallowed only after this time has elapsed, otherwise, due to temperature changes and expansion, deformation of the structure is possible. In some cases, even high-quality materials may become unusable due to non-compliance with this rule. Under no circumstances should work be started in a cold room. If the temperature inside the dwelling is less than 10 degrees Celsius, plastic bathroom panels will most likely become unusable due to the subsequent expansion in heat.
Calculate the amount of material needed
To buy a product in a hardware store or on the market, you should know its quantity. Sometimes a very unpleasant situation happens when there is a shortage of some little thing, on the other hand, and no one wants to overpay. Therefore, before purchasing plastic panels for the bathroom, you should make simple calculations.
First, determine the total surface area of the walls in the bathroom. The next step is to calculate the area of the places where the panels will definitely not be installed. Such places include doors, bath installation sites, other areas at the discretion of the owner of the premises. Then a simple subtraction from the first number of the second is carried out. In further calculations, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the surface area of a standard panel is 0.75 m2. The difference obtained above should be divided by this area. As a result, you will get the required amount of material. Keep in mind that no one in the store or on the market will cut plastic bathroom panels for you becausethat the result of the count will almost certainly be a fraction. Therefore, the result of the division should be increased to the next whole number.
Tricks to get you started
So, your goal is to decorate the room in which there is a brand new modern bath. Do-it-yourself plastic panels can decorate a room in the highest class. Before starting work, some subtleties should be taken into account, and in the end everything will pay off handsomely:
- Don't remove the tape right away, it's better to do it after all the work is done, so you keep the panels clean.
- If plastic panels are mounted near hot radiators, then a heat reflector should be installed. This will protect the plastic from subsequent deformations.
- Panels cannot be installed close to the ceiling. The minimum distance must be at least 5 millimeters. This is due to possible thermal expansion.
- Installation should start from the most visible place in the bathroom. This way you can avoid joining panels in prominent places.
- When cutting plastic, you need to be guided by the rule "measure seven times - cut once." Measurements should be carried out very carefully, because there may not be a second attempt.
Installation of plastic panels
This work has two fundamentally different options: either direct gluing, or installation using crates. The first option is much simpler, the second is considered somewhat more reliable, as it helps to deal with uneven walls. You can see in the photo below the bath withplastic panels.
Installation with glue
If the option associated with glue was chosen, then first you should make sure that the surface of the walls is perfectly flat. The panels are not wallpaper, so you can't peel them back. The surface of the wall is cleaned of dirt and degreased with special means. A reliable composition is needed as an adhesive, so it is recommended to use the so-called "liquid nails". After cleaning and degreasing the walls, apply a primer to them.
We smear the first strip with glue, glue it to the wall, after which it must be immediately peeled off. This is done so that the "liquid nails" can soak into the wall and into the panel itself. After 5 minutes of exposure, the product is glued to the prepared place. We proceed in exactly the same way with the rest of the panels. The corners in the bathroom are finished with ordinary plastic corners that easily sit on silicone.
Mounting on the crate
Installation on the crate slightly reduces the size of the bathroom, but it avoids the problems associated with roughness and unevenness. The crate can be metal or wooden, the choice of material depends on the owner, but in the bathroom the first option is still preferable.
First of all, we clean the surface. Wet walls should be dried with a heater. After drying, we treat the walls with an antiseptic to prevent the appearance of fungus. We install the crate horizontally if the panels areto be mounted vertically, and vertically - for horizontal installation of panels. The elements of the crate themselves should be located along the edges of the wall surface.
Fastening of plastic panels is carried out using self-tapping screws: self-tapping screws are screwed into a wide mounting shelf, the narrow side is inserted into the mounting groove. The installation of each subsequent part is carried out in the same way. Pay attention to the decoration of the bathroom with plastic panels in the photo below.
Installing the ceiling
After the walls are completed, you can take on the ceiling in the bathroom of plastic panels. First, it is required to determine to what height the ceiling surface will fall, while it should be taken into account that a minimum of 7 centimeters is required to insert the lamp. Places for lamps are indicated in advance.
The next step is to clean and treat the ceiling with an antiseptic, similar to doing a similar job for the walls. In this case, it is necessary to remove all finishing materials that were previously installed, regardless of their composition. Then, using a tape measure, markings are made, according to which the crate is installed. The wooden crate should be fastened to the walls and ceiling with self-tapping screws, we strengthen the metal with dowels. Fasteners should start from the walls, and only then is the transition to the ceiling made.
First of all, the starting PVC profile is installed, then the rest of the panels are sequentially attached to it. Mounting on the crate is carried out with self-tapping screws. After installing all the necessary panels is attachedfinish profile.
Ennobling a bathroom with plastic panels is a business that does not require much investment and effort. Such repairs are within the power of even novice builders who sincerely wish to bring beauty to the house. Strive, try and you will succeed!
