Plastic Bathroom Finishes: Installation Features
One of the common ways to decorate a bathroom is with plastic trims and panels. There is no doubt whether it is possible to finish the bathroom with plastic.
After all, this material is one of the cheapest and most affordable today, it is so easy to install that every owner can cope without masters.
The content of the article
Plastic finish
Plastic has excellent moisture resistance, which is very important for the bathroom. This is one of the main advantages of this material.
The workflow for decorating a bathroom is fairly simple, but requires some skills. First you need to correctly measure the size of the room and calculate the amount of necessary materials.
Plastic coatings have a number of important qualities, namely:
- ease of transportation, light weight makes it easy to carry;
- a huge selection of different shades and patterns makes it possible to find exactly what suits the general interior of the house;
- Installation does not require much time;
- many people like the ability to do it yourself, that is, you can save on calling wizards;
- aesthetic appearance, pipes of communications are not visible behind the panels;
- if any panel is accidentally damaged, it can be easily replaced, it is not necessary to completely change the finish;
- panels are easily washed off, they do not absorb dirt;
- relatively affordable price of plastic.
Attention. Plastic must be protected from point impacts, as cracks or dents may appear.
How to choose plastic materials
When choosing panels, it is necessary to consider several recommendations:
- It is important to ensure that all the packaging of the panels are from the same set, otherwise there may be mismatches in the colors;
- When buying, you need to remember that the panels can be accidentally damaged. And in order to replace this part, panels of the same set will be needed.
Therefore, it is better to buy spare several panels, since sometimes it is impossible to find the same model with the same shade, because of which you have to re-trim the bathtub with plastic.
When choosing the color of plastic panels, you should take into account the lighting of the room, its size. With the help of shades, you can make the room lighter or darker.
Adding vertical patterns visually increases the height of the ceiling, horizontal lines on the panels visually increase the length and width of the room.
Bathroom finishing progress and necessary details
Repair consists of several stages: preparation of tools and materials, preparation of the base (wall), installation of panels. The panels themselves are required, wooden slats, screws are needed.
From the tools you will need:
- drill, hammer drill;
- hacksaw, sharp knife;
- roulette;
- level;
- screwdriver.
Wall preparation
If the walls are plastered, it is possible to simplify the finish with liquid nails. For this, the walls need to be primed, the protruding protrusions should be leveled using grinding.
There is another option for finishing with plastic. It is necessary to strengthen the crate on the wall.
That is, wooden bars are installed to the brick wall. They should lie flat, so using a level is important.
On the horizontal bars (perpendicular to the panels), the crate (slats) is nailed.In this case, it is not necessary to level the wall, but the slats should be installed in level.
So between the plastic panels and the brick wall there will be a small gap. The panels will lie on the grill.
On the wall of logs, you also need to lay a crate in order to level the area under the panel.
Important! Treat the wall with an antifungal solution. This will help to avoid unpleasant odors, the growth of germs and mold under the panels.
Wooden materials (beams, slats, log wall) are also recommended to be coated with special water-repellent impregnation.
Installing Plastic Panels - Rules
If you plan to install the panels yourself, then it is better to familiarize yourself with the video lessons presented on the thematic site. Plastic is laid on the finished crate.
In this case, the master must remember the following rules:
- You need to start installing plastic from a dark corner in the direction of the windows (lighting);
- For starters, a start profile is attached in the corner. Can be brackets or screws;
- A fixing shelf is installed in the lower corner of the profile, the wide side of the shelf should be directed to the side where the installation of the next panel is expected.
- The shelf is fixed with brackets;
- The same shelf is installed in the upper part of the profile.
The panels are connected to each other very carefully.
Advice! When connecting the panels, it is necessary to ensure that the joints are even so that there are no gaps between the panels.
Installation of panels with liquid nails is a little different. You should also start from a dark corner.
We continue:
- The glue is applied to the plastic evenly, on the wall an ideally straight and straight line is drawn vertically (using the level). A plastic panel is attached along this line, but before gluing to it, the next panel is coupled.
Panels should be applied to the wall one after another, applying liquid nails in advance. - It is not necessary to press the strips against the wall. Let the plastic stick directly without bending (this often happens with a curved wall).
The curved line will complicate the further process of connecting the panels to each other. - It can be very difficult to attach the panel to its place, as it may first slide off the intended place. But it is imperative to ensure that the first panel is installed clearly along the drawn line.
Each missed millimeter will then create problems.
Recommendations! To facilitate your work, so as not to look for helpers, you can prepare a kind of support for the panels. You can make a tool similar to a rake.
Install this device perpendicular to the wall opposite. That is, it turns out that one wall holds another.
Everyone decides for himself how to finish the bathroom with plastic. Someone likes to work with glue, someone with a crate, someone can choose special installation beacons for this purpose.
How to be in the areas of windows, near doorways
In these places, installation is carried out using the corners. Starting corners are sold in different types, have different angles (you can study the varieties from the photo on the site).
When buying, you should consult with specialists or people who are versed in such a matter.. The principle of adhesion of panels in the corners is the same as previously described.
Advice! When joining panels in the corners, you can use silicone, which will hide all the irregularities of the joints.
Joining panels with ceiling and floor
Both the top and bottom of the panel must be connected with the starting corners. The corners are simply worn on the panels, connecting them in one straight line, then attached to the crate.
This mechanism will give a complete look to the walls, mask small bumps and gaps between the edges of the panels.
Important! The requirement for corners is one - so that their width of the recess (recess) corresponds to the thickness of the panels.
Final stage
After the completion of the main work on the installation of plastic panels, corners at the edges, it is time for cleaning.
There also exists its own order:
- The first step is to remove all working tools,
- When removing residues, trimmed panels, you can pay attention to their condition, you need to save whole pieces that can come in handy in cases of damage to the panels;
- Lastly, the remaining garbage is removed. All that remains is to wipe the dust and dirt off the walls with a damp cloth.
Panel Wall Care
Such a wall does not require special care. You just need to regularly wash the walls with warm water.
The secret of the walls without streaks is that you can use a soft rag when cleaning. It is not recommended to use coarse washcloths, especially iron, as there may be scratches.
Also, in no case should you use various abrasive powders when washing.
