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Products such as plastic wall cladding have many advantages, such as hygiene, great looks, ease of installation, freedom from maintenance and tailor-made properties. Plastic wall claddings, soffits and fascias are also very popular and the construction industry is a major consumer of plastic.

However, plastic has a reputation as a non-recyclable and environment unfriendly material. It is in this context that the campaign to recycle plastic and produce construction products from recycled plastic assumes great significance.

Wall claddings, soffits and fascias can be made from recycled plastic. Other construction products being made from recycled plastic include damp proof membranes, water drainage, pipes and ducting, kerbstones, roofing materials, piling and ground stabilization, scaffolding planks, decking and flooring products and fencing.

Sources for Recycled Plastic Raw Materials

Post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste is the main source of recycled plastic. Sometimes, this recycled plastic is blended with recycled wood to make a wood-polymer composite.

Plastic bottles, bags and wrapping film provide recyclable polyethylene. CD cases, vending cups and food packaging yield polystyrene for recycling. Recyclable PVC is obtained from windows and industrial products.

Why Use Recycled Plastic Products?

Definite business benefits can be obtained from using recycled plastic products.

COST: Recycled plastic products are durable and long-lived, do not need much maintenance and do not suffer from such problems as rot. Hence, the lifetime costs of recycled plastic products will be lower and they will be excellent value for money.

STRENGTH AND VERSATILITY: Plastic has high strength-to-weight ratio. Light products mean easier handling, often eliminating mechanical handling aids and still complying with Health & Safety regulations. Plastic is versatile with a wide range of construction products being made with recycled plastic. You could get much of your requirements in the form of recycled plastic construction products.

The products also typically meet standards specifications.

PREFERENCE IN TENDERS: Public sector contracts are easier to win if you can show that you are using environmentally sustainable products. Even private sector organizations are beginning to give preference to contractors with a reputation for using recycled products.

CONTRIBUTION TO ENVIRONMENT: By using recycled plastic products, you are telling the world that you care for the environment. This can go a long way in generating goodwill that can benefit your business.

Recycled plastic products require little maintenance and upkeep, are inert and do not pollute water bodies or soil, and can be fully recycled at the end of their lives.

By using recycled plastic products, you are creating a demand for more recycled plastic raw materials, removing them from polluting places.

Conclusion

Recycling used plastic consumer and industrial products is a reality now. Many plastic product manufacturers use recycled plastic as raw material, sourcing their requirements from plastic waste such as bottles, CD cases and discarded industrial plastic products.

Many recycled plastic products are used by the construction industry. These include wall claddings, soffits and fascias as well as fencing, drainage, kerbstones and roofing products.

You can get concrete business benefits by creating a reputation for using recycled products. These include preferences in tenders and business goodwill.

You can make fixing wall cladding and ceiling cladding easier and do work of better quality by following certain standard procedures. We look at certain key procedures in the following sections. There is no attempt to include all the finer points. Instead the aim is to give an overview and indicate some key points that need attention.

The first step is to fix the bottom and top edge pieces, by screwing them to the wall. Next comes the task of sliding the cladding sheets into these pieces. Once the sheet is in place, the horizontal joints are attached to the vertical ends of the sheets and screwed into the wall. Next comes fixing internal and external angles at corners, and around doors and windows.

We look at these fixing steps in a little more detail below.

Top and Bottom Edges

All four edges of all sheets must be secured to the wall. In most cases, J edges, H joints and internal/external angles can do the job. Where necessary, Maxbash Skirting can be used at the bottom instead of a J edge. For very uneven walls, two-piece joints can be used between sheets.

Where only wall cladding is being installed, the top edges can also be secured using a J edge. If ceiling cladding is also being installed, you might prefer trapping the top of the wall cladding sheets with the ceiling. Alternatively, a 2-piece internal corner is used as a coving.

Good quality silicone beading is used between the wall and J edge/Maxbash skirting to seal them permanently to the wall and floor.

Fixing Cladding Sheets

Flex a cladding sheet into the top and bottom J edges and fit a one-piece H joint to the vertical edge of the sheet, leaving necessary space for any expansion in the sheet. Secure the joint to the wall.

Now flex in a second sheet into the J edges and H joint and fix a joint on the other vertical edge of the sheet. Continue the procedure till the walls are fully covered.

Silicone sealant is used between sheets and J edges/H joints to seal the sheets.

Corners

Corners are typically fixed using internal and external angles. If the corners are not square, a universal angle is used. This type of angle has a flexible center that can be bent to a desired degree.

General

The above outline is intended only to give a general idea. There could be finer points that need to be mastered to solve specific problems in actual working. For these, you can refer to the instruction manual that comes with the sheets. Do take the trouble to go through the manual carefully. It could mean the difference between quality work and less-than-perfect work.

Conclusion

This article outlined how cladding sheets are fixed to walls. The typical procedure is to screw the bottom and top J edges first, flex a sheet into them, fix an H joint to the vertical edge of the sheet, add the next sheet into this joint as well the its own J edges, and so on.

Corners are fixed using internal and external angles.

Good quality silicone sealant is used to ensure waterproof sealing of the entire surface.