Bathroom cladding with plastic clapboard

Recommendation points

• Plastic lining – a complete replacement for tiles
• Creating a solid base
• Rules for installing plastic lining

The predominant use of tiles as a decoration for bathrooms is due to its excellent sanitary and hygienic properties. However, if you have a closed shower stall, the tile can be replaced with plastic. will tell you how to finish the walls and ceiling in the bathroom with plastic clapboard.

Plastic lining – a complete replacement for tiles

There are special requirements for bathroom coatings. First of all, it is resistance to dirt, high humidity and water flows. Tile cladding copes with them due to glossy glaze, minimum joint thickness and continuity of the coating at the junctions.

Plastic lining is not prone to decay, and PVC, which is the basis of the panels, has pronounced bactericidal properties and is easy to clean. The main problem with the lining is that the junctions are not so neat, dirt accumulates at the joints of different contours of the coating. At the same time, the low cost of the material makes it very attractive for bathroom decoration..

1. Resistance to mechanical damage. It is very easy to get a through hole in the covering from the lining, which forces you to glue the finishing material to a solid base – a wall or false wall sheathing.
2. Water vapor permeability. The lining can allow water vapor to pass to the carrier layer, on which condensation will fall. In order for its formation to pass without a trace, a waterproofing device is required between the base and the glue seam..
3. Slots and gaps. Poor quality panels or errors in finishing provoke damage to the finish due to deformations or divergence of the seams. Because of this, it is required to strictly follow the technology of work..

Thus, the estimate for the coating, arranged according to all the rules, turns out to be larger, but the durability and performance also increase. In some cases, for example in frame houses, there may be no alternative to clapboarding at all due to the high deformability of the building. In addition, the use of inexpensive materials is extremely appropriate when decorating objects without pretensions to aesthetics, such as guest bathrooms or public showers..

Creating a solid base

As mentioned, when facing with clapboard, it is much better to mount it by gluing it onto a solid base, rather than fix it mechanically to the crate. So the coating will be more rigid, at the same time, preliminary alignment ensures the correct geometry, which is very critical for a bathroom..

A solid base can be created in two ways: by leveling plaster or by constructing a false wall. Both options are detailed on the website. In both cases, a number of rules should be taken into account, which directly affects the final quality of the finish..

Leveling with plaster. This method is optimal for stone and monolithic buildings, as well as walls that are made of block materials, for example, gas silicate or tongue-and-groove slabs. It is necessary to choose the correct type of plaster and the method of surface preparation. Cement plaster on concrete should be applied only after wiping under a comb with a mixture for repairing concrete structures (Ceresit CD, Mapei Mapegrout), gypsum compositions can be applied to any substrates after treatment with “Betonkontakt”.

Assembly of false walls. The simplest option is to fix moisture-resistant sheet materials on a crate that is resistant to decay and corrosion. As the latter, a galvanized profile for gypsum board or more budgetary wooden slats can be used. Sheathing material can be aquapanel, GVLV, OSB class 3 and 4, LSU and DSP. The material of the lathing should be selected taking into account the weight of the sheathing, the thickness is determined by the pitch of the slats, taking into account the permissible deflection of no more than 2 mm.

In both cases, the utmost attention should be paid to waterproofing. The formation of condensation on a cold bearing wall and lathing has a detrimental effect on both the strength properties and the reliability of the glued lining. When assembling false walls, the simplest way is to cover the room from the inside with a dense plastic film or foil, securing the hydro-barrier with vertical slats close to the wall. In this case, the contact surface should be covered with alkyd enamel and subsequently all wooden elements should be painted. The horizontal lathing, to which the sheathing will be attached, should be fastened using shims, thus leveling the walls.

It is also possible to move the waterproofing directly onto the sheathing surface, for which it is necessary to ensure reliable sealing of all joints and abutments. However, taking into account the consumption and cost of materials suitable for solving such a problem, all the savings from the use of lining come to naught. Waterproofing of a solid base, on which the lining is attached, is advisable only when preparing with plaster: penetrating compositions are quite effective, cheap and at the same time do not worsen the adhesion of the surface.

Rules for installing plastic lining

The traditional method of finishing plastic lining involves fastening with clamps or screws to the lathing from a rail or profile. This method has two main disadvantages:

• It is unusable when attached to a stone base;
• If you come across poor quality fasteners, rusty streaks may appear.

Therefore, when covering a bathroom, it is much more advisable to choose a glue mount, the consumption of which will be minimal, provided the base is well aligned. You should not use universal compounds such as “Liquid Nails”; it will be better and cheaper to find a special adhesive for PVC panels. Its average cost is 200–250 rubles per kg, consumption is approximately 1 kg for 16–18 m2 of cladding. From proven manufacturers, we can recommend Kleiberit, Titan Wild and Sika.

Work on pasting the walls with clapboard should begin by gluing the starting profiles in all corners of the room. It is better to choose corner profiles with a groove of at least 12 mm and a width of 25–30 mm. If the ceiling is not suspended and is also subject to pasting with clapboard, there is a problem with bringing three moldings together in one corner. In order to correctly perform the abutment, trim the edges in the form of a double-edged spike at an angle of 45 °.

Before gluing the lining, the base and the back surface of the plastic must be degreased by wiping with a non-aggressive solvent – gasoline “Kalosha” or White Spirit. You do not need to be zealous with degreasing; it is enough to run it once with a slightly moistened cloth. The glue should be applied to the base under a 6 mm comb in chaotic directions, then carefully attach the lining and press lightly so that the glue strips are slightly crushed.

The order of installation of the lining is standard: shoulder strap with connection in standard locks, the direction can also be chosen freely. The first shoulder strap must first be inserted into the groove of the starting profile, then pressed against the wall. To prevent the first strip from bending, the thickness of the glue seam under the profile and the clapboard should be the same. At the end of the pasting of the plane, you will need to make an extension by cutting off the excess shoulder strap along the long side. To achieve a correct adjoining in the grooves, it is better to glue the addition simultaneously with the penultimate shoulder strap: close the lock, fold the panels “house” and simultaneously bring them into both grooves.