A wooden board is becoming more expensive every year. Already, not everyone can afford the decoration and furnishings of the premises from natural material. The choice, most often, falls on an inexpensive practical substitute.
MDF wall panels in the market of building materials appeared long ago and quickly gained popularity. Wall decoration with MDF boards in Russia has been going on for several decades. You do not need to be a master of the highest level to quickly and inexpensively give the room a new ennobled look. You only need accuracy, accuracy and the initial skills of a home craftsman.
What are MDFs?
This building material is produced by hot pressing of dry ground waste from woodworking enterprises. Under the influence of steam, sawdust becomes soft and supple. The smallest fibers, twisting, are connected to each other even without the intervention of adhesive components. As a result, the structure of the panel becomes similar to felt, but sealed with huge pressure. What do MDF panels look like? The photos used in the article will make it possible to get an idea about them.
MDF boards do not differ in any super-strong characteristics, but due to the absence of gluing substances in the composition, they are completely harmless. Installation of panels can be done with any glue for wood.
Used tool
Of course, it’s impossible to foresee everything, but the main tool, which cannot be done without, should be at hand:
- Roulette. It is better to use a 5-meter instance.
- Building level. It can be made from a regular tow with a nut tied to the end.
- Nozzle for a drill. Perfectly replace the screwdriver.
- Metal lock square with various legs. It is useful for cutting slopes.
- Electric jigsaw or any hacksaw with small teeth. It is advisable to have two hacksaws - with transverse and longitudinal gash.
- A grinder for cutting metal profiles, if the frame is assembled from them. The tool must have a protective cover.
- The usual tools that every owner should have: a knife, screwdriver, pencil or marker, a set of drills, a hammer, small nails (boots).
Preparatory work
Before attaching the MDF panel, you will have to carry out a lot of preparatory work. It is necessary for the reliability of fasteners. With wooden surfaces, everything is clear - here the installation process is much easier. Difficulties arise with brick walls.
First of all, you need to remove the skirting board. It is better to remove the expanded or crumbling plaster completely, to the base. Hidden defects of the main walls will immediately be visible, which must be eliminated.
It is recommended to cover cracks and cracks with a building mixture. After the putty has hardened, it is necessary to cover the wall with a primer and allow it to dry for several hours.
Installation process
Finishing with MDF panels is carried out in two ways:
1) with glue;
2) installation of a rigid frame.
The frame is assembled wooden or from special MDF metal profiles (this is a steel channel made of thin metal).
The lathing made of wooden blocks is easier and cheaper. Although the entire frame will subsequently need to be treated with a fire fighting compound. This will also take some time. Wall panels are fastened to slats using kleimers (another name is clips). The slats themselves are perpendicular to the wall panels.
Wireframe method
So, we will consider how to fix MDF panels. Depending on the size of the boards, the number of rows of rails will be different. In a standard room, where the ceiling height does not exceed 2.5 m, 4-5 runs along the entire wall are enough. The main thing is that after installation the panels stand tight, and not “play” after any touch.
The upper bracket of the frame is mounted 15-20 cm below the ceiling. At the same distance from the floor, the lower bar is fixed. The middle frame rails are placed in equal proportions between the extreme bars. It is advisable that the distance between the slats does not exceed 50-60 cm. Also, one should not forget about the fastening of the frame around the perimeter around windows and doors.
Where a groove is located at the panel, a kleimer is attached. Having tried the upper and lower elements and making sure that the wall board is level, the extreme clips are fixed on the strips with self-tapping screws. After that, the remaining fasteners are added - by the number of frame runs. The subsequent board with its spike is inserted into the groove of the first panel and is also fixed with clips on all the planks.
Do not forget that the very first panel is rigidly fixed on all rails to the screws from the side of the stud. The extreme board, which is rarely whole, is also tightly attached. All traces of installation are usually hidden behind decorative corners. An excellent option in this case is the MDF profile. It will organically fit the overall design of the room.
Glue method
Another way to fix MDF panels requires a perfectly smooth and clean wall. The bearing surface can be any - plywood, concrete, brick or plasterboard. Panels are glued more often to "liquid nails." This glue is suitable for any surface.
This installation method has serious drawbacks. Dismantling the premises is difficult. The board is constantly breaking. To level the wall, it is necessary to clean the remains of hardened glue, and this is quite difficult.
Replacing several wallboards with new ones will also entail a lot of problems. The entire remaining wall can rise, lose all harmony, and, accordingly, an attractive appearance.
In addition, the inner part of the MDF boards is not treated with a water-repellent composition, and if the load-bearing wall gets wet, the panel will swell over time and it will begin to warp.
Which way is better?
If the height of the walls is large or the installation of MDF panels was decided to be done horizontally, along the length of the room, the frame option is better. This method also provides for the insulation of walls, however, this will slightly decrease the volume of the room. A similar method is useful in the case when there is a large surface roughness.
A room with low ceilings and even walls is faster and cheaper to “glue” with glue. Here the loss of room size will be minimal.
It is worth deciding with the performers of the upcoming work. Installation of MDF panels consists not only of the direct installation of the boards themselves. Before starting work, you need to determine the amount of purchased material and fasteners. We must remember the existence of certain nuances that the average person, the layman, may not be aware. In the future, wall decoration with MDF panels will take time in proportion to your experience.
Pre-treatment and repair of the main walls also require some knowledge and skills. The solution suggests itself - it is better to entrust the repair to professionals.
Now you have an idea of how to fix MDF panels. There is nothing cunning and arch-complicated in such work, but the master, of course, will make it both better and faster. However, it all depends on the thickness of the wallet and the size of your experience in carrying out such work. The choice is yours.