Attaching MDF cladding to a concrete wall

johndaman66

Hi DIY'ers,

Could someone advise me of the easiest way to fix 9mm thick MDF tongue and groove cladding/ panelling to a less than perfect concrete wall please? Guides on Youtube seem to generally be for attaching it to hardwall type surfaces with a nail gun. If I mount on "2 by 1" battens to the wall first and then attach to that all will be coming out considerably from the archritrave and there will be 1 inch gap between the wall and the dado rail capping I have.

I have glue but that alone wont suffice for the most part, especially as I mention that the walls are less than perfect. Glue and masonary nails seem the obvious choice but don't seem right all the same. The smallest ones I see in screwfix are 25mm and the heads are big. I'm not sure if you would be able to get them below the surface with a punch to cover over with wood filler? Thinking I'd be inclined to damage the surface of the cladding too, hitting it by accident as they won't go in easy like panel pins. Don't have a nail gun but guessing one can be hired out. Would a nail gun work for masonary nails into concrete?

Any tips/ advice appreciated.

grassylawn

You can get concrete wall anchors and big screws/bolts for attaching things to concrete. They are pretty strong. You'd use screws rather than bolts for this obviously so they wouldn't protrude.

Would it not be better to attach plasterboard, or even plywood? Not a fan of mdf personally, and it is a health hazard to various extents, especially when sawn/drilled.

johndaman66

Thanks grassylawn. Would you per chance be able to give me a link to them, maybe on screwfix, so I can see the specific fixings you mention. I think I might know the fixings you mention but the one's I'm thinking off are pretty heavy duty as in really heavy duty. Maybe there is a lighter version of them.

I agree with regards the MDF, wouldn't be my first choice in material but sister has it bought now, bought online so don't think there is any turning back on that one. Thanks again.

Fine Cheers

So is there is existing architrave and dado rail ? Can these come off and then re-fit on top of the mdf ? Can you share a link or photo of the cladding you are using ? A photo of the existing wall would help. Are you just going up a certain height and then finishing with dado ?

colm_mcm

Some sort of adhesive like Tec7, No more nails etc?

houseyhouse

Following this with interest because I’m considering doing something similar. Do you mind me asking where she bought the tongue and groove panels?

cheif kaiser

Gorilla Heavy Duty Grab Adhesive would work on its own with just panel pins to hold in position until glue sets.

Any decent grab adhesive would work, I installed paneling on my stairs years ago just using glue and a few pins and it's still there but recently I've been using Gorilla glue and it's great stuff.

Also get one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spring-Tools-Snapper-Center-32R02-1/dp/B0006Q4I60/ref=asc_df_B0006Q4I60/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=344153295811&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5589127182586163254&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-304499633982&psc=1 or similar (you can find cheaper versions) and you'll have no issue sinking the pins below the surface.

johndaman66

Many thanks to all for replies. They are appreciated. The real problem is that while the wall is upright its less than perfectly flat so hence why I was looking for the best option to attach the paneling to the wall as adhesive by itself may not form a great bond on all panels if there was a low level of surface to surface contact.

Pins would simply fold when they hit the concrete and masonry nails seemed somewhat overkill to me and difficult to bury the heads below the paneling without damaging it.

I was in my local hardware store today and they advised on Sealocrete - Sealofoam, an expanding foam adhesive. Picked up a tube of it and will try.

Fine Cheers wrote: »

So is there is existing architrave and dado rail ? Can these come off and then re-fit on top of the mdf ? Can you share a link or photo of the cladding you are using ? A photo of the existing wall would help. Are you just going up a certain height and then finishing with dado ?

There is existing architrave around the doors Fine cheers. Paneling and dado rail itself is new and dado rail that came with it mates up the paneling to go in flush with the wall (paneling is to go half way up the wall). Wouldn't make sense to pull architrave off door jambs and reatttach on top of paneling as there would be a gap between door jambs and architrave the thickness of the paneling.

johndaman66

houseyhouse wrote: »

Following this with interest because I’m considering doing something similar. Do you mind me asking where she bought the tongue and groove panels?

Hi houseyhouse, I believe she bought the panels from the Panel Shack but open to correction. I'll ask her when I meet her and will up date you, aiming to post a link.

cuppa

johndaman66 wrote: »

I was in my local hardware store today and they advised on Sealocrete - Sealofoam, an expanding foam adhesive. Picked up a tube of it and will try.

Just want to say, people in hardware/builders providers will recommend you anything, they are just trying to sell you stuff, they have no clue about a product.

Fine Cheers

cuppa wrote: »

Just want to say, people in hardware/builders providers will recommend you anything, they are just trying to sell you stuff, they have no clue about a product.

Couldn't disagree more about the lads at my local hardware. I doubt they are on commission so certainly not pushing sales for sake of it in my experience.

K.Flyer

Just how uneven is the wall?
You are going to have to be very careful how you fix the panels. If you start at a low spot you will have huge problems when you hit a high spot and your panels will end up being uneven.
Before doing anything identify the highest point, or where the wall bulges into the room most using a long spirit level. Then start there and use the long spirit level to fix the first panel using a good bonding agent to get it level each way. I'd recommend Gunoprene. If used correctly it works like a dream. Then work out from there.
If the wall is that bad you might have to redo the dado rail in order to get everything even and symmetrical for a clean finish.
But check out Gunoprene, it's been around a long time, used by builders etc for decades.

grassylawn

I don't have any particular plugs to recommend. Even normal rawlplugs would probably be fine if the screws are big/long enough. Just use an sds drill.

I think you would be better off screwing them in than gluing because it will be easy to take them off again. This is definitely something to consider if you think it might be hard to get them right on your first go.

tritriagain

I had a similar issue and I battened 2*1 and pinned to that. Had to get creative with moldings at the top but there are so many available now it was quite easy to fill in