How to decorate a balcony with plastic panels

For most people, the balcony is an important place in the home. Many owners keep on the balcony conservation, as well as many other things that will definitely be useful in the farm. It should be borne in mind that to date the balcony is also often a continuation of the main rooms. In this room, people often spend a full repair

It is also interesting that a balcony can make a fulla room in which you can live without any problems. Of course, in this scenario, a table, a bed is set up on the balcony, a full working space is created.

However, the first thing to take care of in such conditions is the decoration of the room. The balcony itself, in its original state, looks very modest: brick walls, lack of glazing. Most often for the upgrading of the balcony, plastic panels are used. They will not only make the appearance of the room attractive, but also create ideal conditions for living. On the market there is a huge selection of plastic panels, which can be chosen not only based on the appearance of products, but also based on the necessary characteristics.

In this material we will consider the main advantages and disadvantages of plastic panels for the balcony, and also consider the technology of the balcony paneling with this product.

The main characteristics of plastic panels

The main feature of plastic panels for the balcony is the practicality of their application. The technology of panel surface arrangement is designed in such a way that the entire amount of work can be done very quickly. At the same time, one must take into account the fact that all other options for finishing are not enough that they are designed for a longer workload, so they also have many problematic sides.

The plastic panels themselves are incredibly reliable in terms of operation. Even after tens of years they will have the original appearance. However, this applies only to those dwellings that are located in areas of cool climatic conditions. The most interesting thing is that you can choose the most suitable type of plastic products for specific conditions. For example, to increase sound insulation, you need to look at plastic panels, which have an impressive thickness. A similar situation with other parameters of this product.

When buying plastic panels, you need to take into account even the most insignificant factor, which at first glance may not seem very important.

Advantages and disadvantages of plastic panels for the balcony

It should be noted in advance that plastic panels have much more positive sides than negative ones. However, it is worthwhile to understand that even one of the shortcomings can become a ban for the use of plastic products under certain conditions. For example, if we are talking about fire safety, then in this issue many kinds of plastic panels are outspoken outsiders.

Advantages of the material are as follows:

• Decorative component. Unlike many other finishing materials, plastic panels can have different patterns and texture. This allows us to realize a unique design idea, which has no analogues. Many manufacturers offer a huge range of plastic products, and some even produce panels on request( the buyers themselves offer the picture they like).These design moves can look gorgeous along with other objects in the dwelling, and this is definitely a plus.
• Installation on different types of surfaces. As you know, for most finishing materials you need to pre-prepare the surface. Accordingly, it is a waste of time and money. At the same time, plastic panels can be placed almost everywhere. A kind of skeleton is created, and on its basis a plastic surface is arranged. There are no strict limitations in this regard. This positive side once again speeds up the process of surface finishing with plastic material.
• Soundproofing. Surprisingly, the plastic panels perfectly isolate the external noise. Of course, this material is still far from specialized building resources, but you should not minimize the merit of plastic. Isolation of sound occurs due to the emptiness inside the panels, where there are thin partitions. Moreover, if we make a choice in favor of large plastic panels, then we can be sure of a sufficiently high soundproofing of the room. If we use special soundproof materials and plastic panels at the same time, we will get a very high quality result.
• Use at low temperatures. Many industrial premises are characterized by a low temperature regime, which is especially noticeable in the winter. Most of the finishing materials in such conditions very quickly deteriorates. But not plastic panels. They do not lose their initial properties at all, even if the interior temperature is below zero. Accordingly, in many industrial shops you can find huge walls covered with plastic panels. If we are talking about a balcony, then there is also the effect of low temperatures, but the plastic material will always show itself perfectly throughout the entire period of operation.
• Flameproof. Unfortunately, this does not apply to all plastic panels, but most of the products on the market are not flammable. Unequivocally, this is a very important factor, before you purchase the material you need to be sure that the panels do not constitute a threat during a fire. Even if the fireproof material costs a little more than usual, it makes sense to overpay. First and foremost, these are products that will be used for interior plating.
• Environmentally friendly. Again, as in the past case, most modern plastic products can be used without any restrictions. The environmental friendliness of the material means that it can be used not only in ordinary rooms, but also in hospitals, children's rooms.
• Ease of care. Yes indeed, plastic panels are very easy to clean, just just walk through a damp rag to remove dust and small dirt. Moreover, on the plastic panels the dust practically does not settle, so you can forget about the permanent procedures for cleaning the surfaces. Often plastic panels are used in medical institutions, as they correspond to hygiene standards.

Plastic panels also have drawbacks:

• Friability. Many plastic panels are actually very easy to damage. It is enough just to stumble and touch the material with your shoulder. Accordingly, simply so to restore a surface it does not turn out. It is necessary to make a complete replacement of the damaged plastic strip. However, there are on sale and especially strong materials, which are definitely worth paying attention to.
• Reducing space. It so happened that the plastic panels are placed on a special frame. Accordingly, there is a small reduction in the useful space in the dwelling. If there is a wall decoration in a small room, such changes will be noticeable. However, in the case of a balcony, such problems should not be.

The process of preparation of a balcony for finishing with plastic panels

First you need to prepare, which will take care of all important aspects of the process.

First of all you need to understand that for the use of plastic panels the balcony must be glazed, otherwise under the influence of precipitation the material will quickly become unusable. Often in this case use PVC double-glazed windows, which are ideal for specific conditions. It should be understood that for the balcony we need double-glazed windows without sources of ventilation.

The next step is the insulation and sealing of the balcony. Warming will help to avoid the negative influence of low temperatures. The plastic material itself does not suffer from the cold at all, but the tenants themselves can freely enter the balcony during the winter. Before the insulation, it is necessary to seal all the cracks. To do this, often used mounting foam or silicone or other sealants.

With regard to insulation, in most cases the foam plastic is the best as a basic insulation. The sheets of material are located behind the metal rods in the fence of the balcony. In some cases, it makes sense also to insulate the visor of the balcony room. To do this, use the ceiling profiles of the U-shaped section, which will become a crate for insulation.

In addition, you need to create a similar crate and on the balcony fencing. In this there is nothing difficult, since here we will need all the same building profiles. Thus, on the bars of the fence, holes are created in which the thread is made. Further along the perimeter are located CD-profiles, on which the plastic panels will be fixed. It is also worth mentioning that under the crate created, another layer of insulation materials can be placed. It is important to do everything in such a way that the material ideally fits the created space. The profiles themselves need to be attached to the screws so that in case of what you can simply twist them.

Barred walls of the balcony

For internal walls of the balcony you need to use wooden slats, which will become part of the main crate. However, this is only if the house has no problems with high humidity. Otherwise, it is better to look at metal CD-profiles. After all the profiles are located on the walls, you need to start calculating the required volume of panels. In the process of this analysis, it becomes clear that we need different profiles, including straight, angular dihedral and trihedral.

Straight profile is a U-shaped box that is attached to the base through a sidewall or cross member. The dihedral angle profile is a simple connection in a place where there is a right angle. Accordingly, here we have a connection at most angles, while it is worth noting that in some cases it is possible to restrict oneself to direct profiles. The triangular corner profile is used when we are dealing with triangular corners. And you need to take into account that for external and internal angles you need to use different profiles.

Fastening panels

Now comes the most crucial moment - fixing the plastic guide rail. Such panels are attached to the base using self-tapping screws with a flat bonnet. Accordingly, it's so easy to remove the panels any more. At the same time, you need to frame the doors and windows to create a kind of fencing from the use of plastic material.

Further everything happens much easier. It is only necessary to place the plastic panels in the groove, which is located at the floor level. Of course, one should also take into account the fact that the panels should ideally match each other, since they all have a unique lock design.

The most responsible in this process is the installation of the finish panel. It must be borne in mind that this stage of work can go far not as planned. In this case, we need to immediately connect the last and the penultimate panel with the help of grooves. Next, you need to trim the part of the last panel( along).Accordingly, a small emptiness should be formed, which will need to be filled with building silicone. For this case, only a few drops are enough, which will spread throughout the height of the panel. After installing the last panel, you need to fit the penultimate into the corresponding groove. The process can go a bit tight, so you will have to use force. After placing the panels in the necessary places, you need some time not to touch the finish( to freeze the silicone, and strengthened connections).

After this, there is a shelling of the openings, which need special attention. In this case, it is necessary to trim the panels and join them qualitatively, using different types of plastic products.