Trepanel® is here! With all the excitement of receiving your new wood slat wall panels, you may now be asking yourself, ‘How do I install them?’. Lucky for you, we’re here to help, with our comprehensive guide on how to install wood slat wall panels with various super-easy techniques, tips and tricks! Our Trepanel® wall panels are super lightweight and can easily be installed by just one person for a simple DIY project!
There are a couple of ways we would recommend installing Trepanel®. One being the use of our Mapei Super Grip Panel Adhesive, and the other being the use of several screws that screw into your wall.
Installing Trepanel® using Adhesive:
You will need:
- ✔ Hand saw/ Circular saw
- ✔ Stanley knife
- ✔ Tape measure
- ✔ Mapei Super Grip Panel Adhesive
- ✔ Wood wall panel
1. Prepare your Wall
Before you get started with attaching anything to your wall, make sure you give it a good clean down beforehand, removing any debris or old nails that may be hanging about. Your wall should be completely flat and even before attaching any panels to ensure the best results.
2. Measure the Wall
Measure the height and width of the area where you wish to attach your wall panels and mark on the felt of the panel where these measurements land; this is where you will cut.
3. Cut your Panels
To cut the lightweight MDF slats on your wall panels, you can simply use a handsaw or a circular saw. To keep the slats in place and ensure a clean cut, we would recommend attaching a strip of masking tape along your cut line. We recommend using a Stanley knife to cut the felt backing on your wall panels. This small tool will provide accuracy for a clean cut. Measure your cut piece against the wall with no adhesive to ensure you have cut the panel accurately and to the right size.
4. Apply the Board Fix and Attach to Wall
When you’re sure your wall panel fits into position, apply adhesive to the back of the felt piece in a snake-like format, ensuring it’s evenly spaced down the whole length of the panel. Now, lift your panel up into position (you may want an extra pair of hands for this), keeping it straight, and push against the wall. Apply a small amount of pressure to the panel to ensure the Board Fix has come into contact with the wall, and hold it in place for around 30 seconds to give the adhesive a chance to set and support the weight of the panel.
Installing Trepanel® using screws:
You will need:
- ✔ Hand saw/ Circular saw
- ✔ Stanley knife
- ✔ Tape measure
- ✔ Drill
- ✔ Screws (we recommend black screws when fitting panels with black felt backing)
- ✔ Wood Wall Panel
1. Prepare your Wall
Before you get started with attaching anything to your wall, make sure you give it a good clean down beforehand, removing any debris or old nails that may be hanging about. Your wall should be completely flat and even before attaching any panels to ensure the best results.
2. Measure the Wall
Measure the height and width of the area where you wish to attach your wall panels and mark on the felt of the panel where these measurements land; this is where you will cut.
3. Cut your Panels
To cut the lightweight MDF slats on your wall panels, you can simply use a handsaw or a circular saw. To keep the slats in place and ensure a clean cut, we would recommend attaching a strip of masking tape along your cut line. We recommend using a Stanley knife to cut the felt backing on your wall panels. This small tool will provide accuracy for a clean cut. Measure your cut piece against the wall to ensure you have cut the panel accurately and to the right size.
4. Screw your Panel Into the Wall
Place your panel up against the wall where you would like to install it, and drill rows of three screws in 60cm increments, starting around 20cm off the floor level. Drill your screws through the felt backing only, and not the wood slat itself. Ensure your screw is drilled right the way through the felt and into the wall.
When Installing Rock Wool:
For a higher sound absorption class, install fibreglass or rock wool between battens attached to the wall. This will provide a class A sound absorption, whereas without this extra layer, our panels provide a class D sound absorption.
Here’s how to account for obstacles like plugs and switches:
Ensure you measure where on your panel the obstacle will sit, and mark this on the back of the panel. Use a Stanley knife to cut the felt backing, and then a small hand saw to cut the wood slats. Sand the exposed edges down for a smoother finish. You may need to cut the panel into pieces to fit around the obstacle, but as long as they are measured and installed correctly, you will not notice this.
For Smaller Cut Pieces:
Our MDF slats are attached to the felt backing using staples in evenly spaced increments for efficiency. This does mean that if the pieces being cut are smaller than this distance, the MDF slats are at risk of detaching from the felt back. To resolve this, there are a few options. The first is to ensure that your small cut pieces are taken from an area of the panel where the staples will be in the centre of the slats. If you don’t have the spare material to do this, another option is to use a small amount of adhesive (we’d recommend Mapei Super Grip Panel Adhesive) to glue the FSC MDF slat onto the felt backing. Finally, we offer a range of sizes across our Trepanel® range, including half-height wall panels, square wall panels, and for those that may need a bigger size, a variety of 3m extra-tall panels.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve explored the different methods and expert tips on how to install wood slat wall panels, you’re ready to transform your space with ease and confidence. Whether you choose adhesive or screws, or go a step further with added sound insulation – installing Trepanel® is a simple DIY project that delivers a professional, stylish finish. With the right tools and a little preparation, you can elevate any room with this modern feature wall solution.
