Plastic panels in bathroom decoration

The use of plastic panels is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to ennoble your bathroom. Our advice site will tell you what plastic panels exist, highlight in detail all their advantages and disadvantages, give examples of use in bathroom decoration.

Let’s start with the fact that the characteristics of PVC panels are regulated by GOST 19111-2001. It allows the use of such products in the decoration of residential premises, including wet ones. Plastic panels are recognized by GOST as non-toxic materials that can perform decorative functions.

According to SNiP, plastic panels must have the following characteristics:

Panel thickness in millimeters	50	80	one hundred	120	150	200	250
Specific weight, kg / m2	14.1	17.4	19.6	21.8	25.1	30.6	36.1
Sound insulation, dB	thirty	31	32	33	35	38	43
Thermal resistance R, m2* ° C / W	1.04	1.67	2.08	2.5	3.13	4.17	5.21
Thermal conductivity of insulation, W / mK	0.048
Fire resistance limit as per GOST 30247-94	EI15	EI30	EI45	EI60	EI90	EI90	EI90
Flammability of insulation	NG
Width in millimeters	Wall panels – 1190, ceiling panels – 1150
Length in millimeters	From 2 to 12 thousand

The thickness of the surface film, according to SNiP, should be from 0.085 to 1 centimeter. The thinner the surface film of PVC panels, the more easily they can be damaged..

Important! Thin panels can be used only for finishing the ceiling, thicker options are selected for walls.

The advantages of using PVC panels in bathroom decoration include:

• Affordable price. This factor attracts most of the owners of a house or apartment. Plastic panels are significantly cheaper than tiles, the most popular finishing material for bathrooms;
• Installation is quite simple, and most importantly – fast. Laying tiles longer, more work;
• It is easy to care for plastic panels, they are simply washed with soapy water, no complications;
• There is a large selection of colors, sizes, types, imitations of ceramics, stone, wood. You can even find PVC panels with a 3-D effect;
• You do not need to carefully level, prepare the walls and ceiling, the panels will hide all the irregularities;
• Under the panels, you can hide a layer of sound and heat insulation, which will improve these indicators of the room;
• PVC is not afraid of moisture and does not absorb odors;
• Does not burn, melts due to the flame, but does not support combustion itself, which is important in the event of a short circuit, for example.

The disadvantages of plastic panels, of course, also exist:

• Whatever one may say, even the most beautiful PVC panels do not compare in aesthetics with tiles. Finishing will still look, if not cheap, but not elite;
• Plastic panels are thin and can be damaged by shock or even strong pressure. Dents and chips easily remain on them. True, it is not difficult to repair, replace the damaged area, but still an unpleasant moment;
• Difficulties with finishing may arise if the plumbing is adjacent to the wall;
• The frame on which the panels are attached will “eat” part of the usable space of the room, but our bathrooms are usually small anyway;
• If there are gaps at the joints of the panels, condensation will accumulate under them, and this is an excellent environment for the development of mold, which you will not immediately see under the plastic.

In terms of size and shape, plastic panels are divided into the following types:

1. Leafy. The largest, the coating can be almost seamless. But they are thin, no more than 6 millimeters, which makes them vulnerable. And changing the entire sheet is troublesome and costly;
2. Rack. They are sometimes referred to as plastic clapboard. The width varies from 150 to 300 mm, the length can reach 3 m, and the maximum thickness is 10 mm. They are mounted both vertically and horizontally;
3. Tiled. They imitate ceramic tiles, they can be rectangular and square. The maximum size of one side is one meter. You can mount it in different ways, even diagonally relative to the floor, even with an offset.

As for the installation of plastic panels in the bathroom, we will give a video to clearly show the process.