Before you go to purchase plastic panels for decorating your balcony, prepare all the necessary tools and materials. It depends on such little things how quickly you will cope with the repair and how much money you will spend.
So, in order to make the planned repairs on the balcony, you cannot do without the following tools and devices:
- a hacksaw or a clerical construction knife;
- level, square and ruler;
- drills with a drill;
- construction stapler, screwdriver or screwdriver with self-tapping screws;
- an electrical tester (to check the voltage in the network).
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There is a great variety of building materials on the market today: this is a wooden lining, and PVC panels, and sandwich panels, and MDF panels, and moisture-resistant drywall, and a number of other materials, but most often it is not easy to install most of them correctly. and only experienced professionals can do it.
And the cost of building materials, as a rule, is quite high. If you give advice for the majority of ordinary owners who know how to handle the tool and carefully spend money, then PVC panels will be the most correct choice for the interior decoration of the balcony.
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Features of the
Simply put, this material is called plastic. For a loggia or balcony, such a finish can become a real decoration, and this is all the more important if, at the expense of the balcony, it is decided to increase the area of the room. A beautiful and high-quality plastic balcony finish is a very common phenomenon, and a number of factors contribute to this.
Advantages of the material
- Availability. First of all, finishing the balcony with plastic panels will be quite affordable for the average family.
- Ease of installation. The second factor, which is of no less importance, is the relatively affordable and uncomplicated installation of panels, which can be done independently. Moreover, when installing with your own hands, you have the opportunity in the future of easy dismantling, if such a need arises, or performing fragmentary repairs of one of the sections of the coating.
- Durability. Plastic panels have a long service life, they are guaranteed to be used for 25 or even 50 years. Plastic panels are environmentally neutral materials, are not subject to decay, are not afraid of exposure to any aggressive detergents or accidental contact with a chemical substance on their surface.
- Quality. Plastic belongs to high quality materials: it will not fade if it is exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, which means that the material that remains in your stock can always be restored to some part of the finish, and there is no difference in tone when this will not be observed.
- Practicality. Despite the fact that the wall covering looks like a monolithic material, there are gaps for ventilation in it, and this fact does not make it possible for fungus or mold to start under it.
- Cellularity of the structure. Due to the cellular structure of the panels, increased sound insulation and thermal insulation are provided. In addition, the product is antistatic and therefore does not attract dust to its surface.
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Another great advantage of plastic panels is that they have the widest range of colors, tones and patterns.
Cons of material
A material that would have only advantages, and not a single disadvantage, has not yet been invented (if at all possible). So PVC panels for finishing a balcony are also not a universal option.
- Mechanical damage. The instability to mechanical stress is the main and indisputable minus of the plastic coating. If the panel is accidentally hit with something hard or sharp, it will easily break. In addition to this, it will not withstand even a relatively small, but point pressure - in this place the material on the outside is deformed. In such cases, the situation can only be corrected by a complete replacement of the damaged panel.
- Toxic. If a fire breaks out inside a room decorated with this material, then the molten plastic will fill the room with toxic substances, although the vast majority of materials have this particular drawback today.
- From a psychological point of view. Human psychology is arranged in such a way that it is generally accepted that since the material is so inexpensive, it will not be prestigious to use it when it comes to elite renovation in a room.
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How to choose the right one?
- Cost. You can often come across statements like that good is not cheap, but this does not mean at all that the material for finishing should be chosen the most expensive. The choice must always be smart.
- Quality. Unfortunately, there are manufacturers who are dishonest about their work. They can, for example, overdo it in a composition with chalk content in it, and then the panel will turn out to be rigid, and if you try to do this, it will simply burst.
- Elasticity. Try to apply pressure to the plastic surface with your finger. The dent is easily formed and does not pass - the material is too thin and is not suitable for finishing the balcony. The plastic of the required quality in this case must be hard and elastic, only in this case its service life will be long enough.
- Stiffening rib. Pay attention to the ribs of the internal stiffness. You need to take the bar and squeeze it from the end with your fingers. In the event that, under the influence of your fingers, the inner edges of the panel broke, and the bar pressed in, then this is a real marriage. If the product is made with high quality, then this will not happen, only a slight deformation of the edges is allowed.
- Dimensions. The slats are different in length and width, and this also affects the cost of the product. A thicker bar can be much cheaper because it is narrower and shorter than a thinner bar.
- Front side. If the manufacturers in the manufacture of panels were busy not with quality, but with economy, and the front side turned out to be too thin, then when you examine the plank at an angle, you will see protruding stiffening ribs, and this is also an obvious defect.
Color. PVC panels come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. The most practical are panels of light shades, as they visually increase the cramped space of a loggia or balcony. Transparent panels are not suitable for interior decoration, but sometimes they are used instead of window glass
It is better to refuse colorful and dark strips, but a panel with any image will look attractive, creating an amazing design on the balcony that will suit any setting.
You should be alerted by the grayish material - this happens if plastic is cast using recyclable materials.
In addition, if you decide to purchase a lot of plastic panels, you need to make sure that they all belong to the same batch. If the parties turn out to be different, your balcony may not turn out to be monochromatic.
About mounting technology
Finishing a balcony using PVC panels is quite simple. Guided by this step-by-step instruction and having a desire, such work can become available to any owner. All work is divided into certain stages:
Fastening with glue… This method of finishing, when the plastic panel is mounted directly on the balcony wall, is resorted to if they want to save usable space. Yes, some do just that, but this method has a lot of disadvantages, and therefore experts will never advise you. There are many reasons for this: there is no need to talk about warming the premises in this case; panels can only be glued onto an absolutely flat wall, which means that preliminary preparation will be required; after the entire panel is glued, as provided for with this installation method, it will not be possible to repair any fragment of the surface in the future
We carry out the installation step by step
Preparing the walls
We carefully examine the balcony walls over their entire surface. We are looking for visible cracks and defects, which we can safely get rid of. It is best in this case to use a grinder - we expand the crack and completely clean it, and then we close it with a waterproof putty.
The next step is to prime the surface using a protective compound with sealing and antiseptic qualities. Such solutions are now on sale in a large assortment, but if we talk about the budget option, then you should use PVA putty. It has an affordable price, a little less often than glue, and the quality is acceptable.
We mount the crate
For lathing, as a rule, wooden slats are always used. If the room is damp, a metal profile is recommended, but its installation requires certain skills, and at a price it is more expensive than wood.
It is very important to make the installation of a good lathing, because this gives you the opportunity to get rid of plastic at any time, if, for example, you have the opportunity to replace it with a more expensive material. Moreover, the thickness of the new cladding can be any.
Before mounting, the rails should be processed. For this, a protective compound is used - you can take the same PVA putty, or you can treat the slats with engine oil. The strips should be attached using dowels or long self-tapping screws with plastic sleeves.
Immediately, do not fully pull the rail to the wall, because it has yet to be adjusted using a level vertically, and it may well be that a gasket will still need to be placed under the rail.
According to the classics, the slats are stuffed every 40-50 centimeters, but there is one subtlety here: it must be stuffed without fail at knee level, at waist level and at shoulder level. This trick is dictated empirically, because it is in these places that plastic can most often be squeezed through if you lean on it.
Fasteners
When the guides are attached, the dowel must be immersed into the wall by 3-4 centimeters (not taking into account the layer of plaster). The thickness of the slats is selected in accordance with the type and thickness of the insulation.
About insulation
Thermal insulation immediately before finishing makes sense when you have plastic glass units installed (or you plan to do so). Therefore, the insulation is mounted immediately, otherwise then you will have to dismantle the entire structure
The most popular insulation for a balcony is made of polystyrene. It is inexpensive, moisture is not afraid of it, and in terms of density it is quite acceptable. You can, of course, use extruded polystyrene foam as insulation in this case, but at a price it is more expensive, but in terms of density and technical data, it is getting better.
Such a popular insulation as mineral wool is not suitable here for the reason that in this case additional waterproofing is indispensable. If this is not done, then as soon as moisture gets on the cotton, it will lose its insulating property.
Installation of polystyrene is a simple matter: the foam should be placed tightly between the guides, and the foam should be blown out in the gap. There is no need to attach the foam sheet itself to the wall, because we will subsequently mount the plastic directly on top of it.
For regions with a warm climate, it is advisable to use foil foam as insulation, but it is mounted on the wall and on the ceiling before installing the crate.
We mount panels
To finish the inner surface of the balcony with PVC panels, we start by installing the guides. They differ in their purpose and are U-shaped (this is the initial profile), H-shaped (used to build up a short bar), F-shaped (help to hide the cavity formed by the plastic bar and surface), L-shaped, as well as angular, ceiling and floor (plinth) - they are all fastened in their places.
It is most convenient to fix the guides, of course, with a construction stapler, but self-tapping screws with a sealing washer are also suitable for this purpose. As a last resort, you can use nails, but this is the most inconvenient option
Installation begins from the most remote and most inconvenient corner in the room. The first bar is inserted into the profile and leveled vertically. After that, the plank can already be attached to each of the battens.
Then things will go more fun - just insert the next bar into the grooves and tightly dock it with the first one (a click should occur).
The panels should be fixed on the crate in a checkerboard pattern, one after another. The extreme plank must be cut to size and then inserted into the row.
There is good advice for cutting the plank across: a hacksaw for metal is best for this, and along it you can quickly and easily use a construction knife.
Installation of plastic panels on the wall is usually carried out in a vertical position, and it is more convenient to lay the ceiling with panels in a transverse position. There is also diagonal styling, but this is not a method for beginners, but for craftsmen with experience. In addition to the special skills that are necessary for such installation, in this case, much more waste is obtained.
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Separately about the cladding of openings
This stage requires special responsibility. First of all, the rest of the surface is sheathed with solid wall panels, and the one that remains (above the opening and under the opening) is upholstered last. Before cutting the last panel, measure and control how tightly the rest of the panels docked one to the other (all the strips must fit tightly into the grooves).
If during the installation work, such troubles as cracks are formed, they should be masked with PVC skirting board planted with installation glue.
To ensure air exchange between the balcony and the living room, the balcony door is drilled at the very bottom with holes of 15-20 millimeters, located in several rows. If desired, the holes can be closed with a beautiful grill. In the summer, all the windows - both in the room and the balcony - can be thrown open, and in cold weather there will be enough air flow from the standard vent located on the balcony window.
In conclusion, you will have to "conjure" over the joint seams in the corners, for which you need to choose a sealant, the color of which would not be transparent, but coincide with the tone of the profile, and mask them.
Thus, you will not experience any special difficulties while decorating the balcony with plastic. It is enough to be able to handle the tool and carve out one day for repairs - and that's it, your balcony will be sheathed with plastic.
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