How To Choose MDF Wall Panels for Your Home?

During the primary decoration or repair of premises in a house, apartment, or office, the question arises of wall decoration. On the one hand, the coating must be strong, durable, and beautiful. On the other hand, the cost of the material, considering the installation, should not exceed reasonable limits. These criteria are suitable for MDF panels that have a tongue and groove lock (like lining), that is, the coating is obtained by connecting individual strips.

Uberture Panels

To create an idea for the MDF board, let’s consider different collections of one manufacturer – the Uberture company and their properties. In terms of cost, the wall coverings of this company are in the middle price segment.

The main comparative characteristics of the collections

The manufacturing technology is the same for all presented collections: Favorite, Premiere, President, Prestige, LORD. The filling and binding composition, and the mode of pressing, drying, and cutting into sheets with the formation of a lock (thorn groove) are the same.

The differences between the collections are in the width of the canvas, color solutions, and the protective properties of the outer coating. The thickness of the panel is 6 mm, sufficient for a quality finish.

The panels are mounted on a crate – wooden bars and the panels do not adhere to the wall itself. Therefore, you need to think in advance and prepare places for installing a TV bracket or for mounting pictures and mirrors.

Additional information about panels of different collections

Favorite – the basic collection, designs, mainly “under the tree” and “under the painting”.
Premier – designs with high print quality are selected for decoration.
Prestige – a wide variety of patterns, even there are “under the stone”.
President – additional impregnation increases the resistance of panels to ultraviolet.
Lord – moisture resistant, but when installed in a kitchen or bathroom, they should not sheathe areas of direct water ingress; fastening on liquid nails is possible

How to calculate the cost of MDF panels?

To start calculating the cost, you need to find out how many strips of MDF will be required. This can be approached from the point of view of a mathematician or from the point of view of a practitioner. The necessary measurements are made by both, fixing the values: P – the perimeter of the room (the total length of the panel); h – ceiling height; the width and height of each of the door and window openings (a and b, if there are several openings, a1, b1; a2, b2, etc.).

According to the mathematician:

First determines the area of the walls: S = Phh.
Then it determines the area of the openings S1 = a1xb1, S2 = a2xb2, etc. and sums them Sn = S1 + S2 +….
The total area of the MDF panels that you need to buy is simply calculated: So \u003d S – Sn
It remains to divide the resulting value by the area of \u200b\u200bone strip of MDF or packaging (this value is available in the product description).

According to the practitioner

The practitioner does not consider the area, he deals exclusively with linear dimensions. The algorithm of its actions:

Measure the length of the walls where the panels will be installed to their full height.
Divide the total wall length by the panel width.
Add 2-3 strips to the resulting amount for wall decoration above the openings and under the windowsill (you still have to cut it).

Who is closer to the truth: a mathematician or a practitioner?

The mathematician will get the perfect calculation: all the purchased material will go into action, but for some room configurations it may turn out that when working with “not full height” zones, the panel will be made up of scraps, that is, you will have to suffer with fastening and come to terms with the appearance. But if you add one panel to the calculation, everything will work out perfectly.

Before order

Before you finally choose MDF panels, be sure to do three things: imagine the design in the interior; calculate the number of strips (for a width of 240 mm and 301 mm separately); determine the approximate amount of expenses (in two or more options, if you equally liked samples from different collections). Compare. Preliminary thoughts and calculations will not make a mistake. Good luck choosing!