Finishing of wall surfaces with laminate, its characteristics and types, features of the material and its choice, methods of installation and arrangement of panels, preparation for work and its technology. The classification of the laminate is carried out according to EN 13329 - a European standard that involves testing a material for eighteen of its parameters. The concept of "class" has indicators from 21 to 34, characterizes the permissible load on the slab and demonstrates its density. The wear resistance of the upper layer of the product is determined by the AC indicator.
Laminated boards are divided into four main classes:
- For home use, products of classes 21-23 are used.
- For the same use, but under increased load or for commercial purposes, but with low - class 32 (AC3).
- For heavy duty commercial applications - class 33 (AC5-AC6).
- For industrial or sports use - Grade 34, the most durable of the above.
The last three classes of laminated boards are more characteristic of floor coverings that need abrasion resistance. For wall decoration with laminate, class 21 slabs are quite suitable.
According to the method of fastening products to each other, the laminate is divided into three types:
- Glue … Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the connection of the plates to each other and their fastening to the wall is done only with the help of glue. Laying the material is simple, but dismantling it is quite difficult, especially if you want to keep the slabs intact.
- Sheet piling … It is distinguished by the presence of special locks in its design, which form tongue-and-groove tongue-and-groove joints when the plates are mounted. Such panels are fastened to the base with clamps or small nails, which are hammered into the grooves of the lock.
- Click … It has a special mount that looks like a grooved one, but much more convenient. The panels are fastened to each other when installed on the wall at an angle of about 20 degrees. In this case, the grooves of the locks are joined, and the whole structure snaps onto them. Such a covering requires a crate.
Advantages and disadvantages of laminated boards
Not so long ago, MDF panels were very popular for wall decoration. But compared to the price of laminated boards, their cost is much higher, although these materials look equally stylish and respectable.
In addition to its cost, the laminated coating has a number of other advantages:
- Durability is an important factor that is relevant if the cladding is properly used and maintained.
- A rich selection of colors and textures - it gives designers ample opportunity to translate their ideas into interior design.
- Ease of installation of the laminate on the walls - allows you to carry out the whole range of work yourself.
- The practicality of the material. Laminated panels tolerate wet cleaning quite well, do not accumulate a lot of dust, and do not absorb odors.
However, laminated panels have some disadvantages that limit the use of this material:
- Plates are not resistant to excess moisture. When the base gets wet, they can swell and crack. Therefore, their use is highly undesirable for wall cladding in kitchens and bathrooms.
- The material does not tolerate temperature changes in air. In the cold, the lining can crack, and in the heat it can burn out or swell. Hence the conclusion: do not use laminated panels in an open area or balcony.
- Another disadvantage of such boards is the presence of melamine resin in the top layer of their coating. Some experts claim that it has negative health effects. Listening to their opinion, the use of laminated cladding in bedrooms and children's rooms should be limited.
Features of choosing a laminate for walls
There are many circumstances to consider when buying it. The main one: the laminate chosen for wall mounting must have a formaldehyde emission index of the Super E class. In this case, the environmental safety of the material will be at a sufficient level. If there are animals in the house that can scratch the walls with claws, you should not purchase expensive cladding.
When choosing laminated adhesive boards, it is important to know that the walls must be absolutely flat, otherwise the panels will not hold onto them. If there is no desire, time or opportunity to level the walls that have significant differences, you can make a crate and buy the appropriate material for it.
The color of the walls after installing the panels must match the interior details. For small rooms, a light cladding is suitable, but too bright drawings are inappropriate in them.
The choice of the type of laminated boards affects the way they are installed and vice versa. This should be taken into account based on your financial capabilities and time availability. For example, leveling and pasting walls with slabs can be more time-consuming and laborious than the same lining along the sheathing.
Preparation for the installation of laminated panels on the walls
Before fixing the laminate on the wall, you should stock up on the necessary tools. The composition of the kit can be different, it depends on the installation method of laminated boards. But in any case, you need a pencil, tape measure, hammer, square and electric jigsaw.
With the glue method of fixing the plates, special tools are not required. In other options, installation will not be superfluous, for example, a mallet. For a tight fit of the panels, they will have to be knocked out with something. A hammer is not suitable for this purpose, since blows with it can damage the stove and cause cracks on it. The rubber mallet gently acts on the material, keeping its surface intact.
In addition, you will need a special hook, with which you can easily pull the slabs for installation in the corners. To provide a gap around the perimeter of the room between the cladding and the floor, it is necessary to acquire spacer wedges.
Laminate panels are sensitive to high humidity, so the gap from the floor and the corners of the room to the ends of the slabs should be approximately 2 cm. A wooden strip should be placed on the floor, and wedges should be placed only on the sides of the panel, since it is not light in weight. When using the adhesive installation method, it is advisable to wrap the rail with plastic wrap. This will prevent the board from sticking to the support.
In the process of preparing for wall cladding with laminate, the required number of panels should be calculated. When calculating, you need to multiply the values of the height and length of the wall, and then add 10% to the resulting number, taking into account the fit of the material to the desired dimensions.
Laminate wall fixing technology
There are two fundamentally different ways of attaching laminate to walls. The first involves fastening the material with glue or liquid nails. Using this method, you can easily carry out the color design of the cladding and combine its texture. However, at the same time, the walls need high-quality preparation, after which their surface should be perfectly flat.
The second method consists in mounting the slabs on a batten, which is made of wooden battens and fixed to the walls. The advantage of such an attachment is the ability to create a soundproofing layer under the panels. However, many people often refuse this installation method, since it involves a certain reduction in the volume of the room.
The arrangement of laminated panels on the walls can be horizontal, vertical and diagonal. In order to choose any option, it is necessary to take into account several factors, including interior features, the complexity of installation work and personal preferences. When installing the plates, do not forget to leave the necessary gaps, which were mentioned above. From below they are closed with plinths, which create additional fastening for the panels.
In order to increase the strength of the cladding, often the fastening of the slabs is carried out with a "comb". Its essence is as follows. You need to take a certain number of slabs and cut half of them in half lengthwise. First, a whole strip is attached, then two halves are mounted to it, then the whole strip is installed again, and so on. The process is repeated until the end of all the work. Such fastening evenly distributes the load on the fasteners in pairs of slab halves and creates an interesting pattern on the walls.
The horizontal arrangement of the plates is also interesting. It is especially good when using two colors at the same time, giving the cladding a special beauty.
Fastening the laminated cladding should be started from the left side of the wall opposite to the entrance, and in the process of work move to the right side. Such an organization of work will provide a convenient joining of panels. There is an exception: if the performer is left-handed, you can start work from the other side of the wall.
The step-by-step process of cladding looks like this:
- Surface preparation. The adhesive version of the installation of the plates provides for the preliminary cleaning of the walls from the old coating and their leveling with plaster mortar or gypsum putty. The rest of the options require the manufacture of lathing.
- To work on the frame, you will need wooden slats or a galvanized metal profile. The width of these elements should be 20-40 mm. Their fastening to the wall is carried out using dowels and self-tapping screws, the step of fastening is not more than 40 cm. The installation of the lathing elements should be carried out in a perpendicular direction relative to the future placement of laminated plates. When fixing the laminate horizontally to the wall, the profiles or battens of the battens must be positioned perpendicular to the floor. Installation control is carried out at the building level.
- Selecting the starting point for editing. If a complete cladding of the entire wall or only its upper part is planned, the fixing of the slabs should start from the ceiling from top to bottom. With the planned sheathing of the lower part of the wall, work begins from the bottom. It is necessary to immediately measure the gaps of 2 cm from the ceiling to the panels, as well as from each corner to the slabs.
- Installation of grooved slabs with fastening to the crate should be carried out using clamps, which must fix the panel from below and from above. In order to qualitatively sheathe the walls with laminate, it can be additionally glued.
- When installing adhesive panels, glue should be applied to their back side, and then the material should be firmly pressed against the wall. You need to hold the stove in this position for about a minute, and then you can continue further work. The rest of the plates are fastened in the same way.
The most reliable cladding can be obtained if plywood sheets are previously fixed on the walls, laminated panels are glued to them with liquid nails and additionally fixed with clamps.
How to fix the laminate on the walls - watch the video:
After finishing the wall cladding, decorative skirting boards should be glued in the corners, at the joints of the ceiling and floor, which will give the coating a finished look. Good luck!
