Plastic corners to protect wall corners: types, installation methods

Wall-papered and puttied outer corners need protection. Wallpaper from frequent contact is rubbed off, the putty is destroyed. You can solve the problem with the help of decorative corners. Corners to protect the corners of the walls can be made of different materials. 

Corners for protecting wall corners: selection options

This technique for decorating wall corners – protective corners – is not liked by everyone, but there are no special alternatives. In any case, on walls covered with wallpaper, a corner is still better than protruding and torn canvases.

There is only one solution to the integrity of the wallpaper without the use of decorative corners – to make not an acute slope angle, but a rounded one. In this case, there will be no problem with its decoration. It will be possible to simply wrap the wallpaper canvas without cutting it. But you need to bring the corner out perfectly, otherwise you will have to cut it again, which means that the question of protecting the joint of the wallpaper at the corner will again arise.

It is important to choose the right decorative corner so that it does not look alien. There are special tricks for this.

It is necessary to choose corners to protect the corners of the walls based on the overall design of the room. There are several standard solutions:

• In tone with wall decoration. A complete color match is desirable, and even better if the texture is similar.
  

  

• To match the doors. It is better to choose the same material – wood, MDF. And choose the color one by one. This technique is often used in hallways and corridors where there are many doors. In rooms, it is more appropriate to match the tone of the walls.
• In that with plinths.
  

  

• Use one of the additional colors (read about the combination of colors in the interior here), which will be not only on the corners, but also in the frame of pictures or in the upholstery of panels, decorative medallions, etc.
• One color and texture with flooring.

In general, choosing corners to protect the corners of the walls should be tied to the design of the room. This can be done after the furniture is arranged and the textiles are hung. In this case, it is easier to imagine the end result. Because the picture in our head can be very different from reality.

If you can’t find an acceptable color in any way, and you need to protect the corners in the apartment, pay attention to the transparent plastic corners. They are of different types – rigid, flexible, with different wall thicknesses.

Types of protective corners: what materials

According to the scope of application, the corners are for external (on the street) and internal use. For now, let’s talk about how to protect the corners in the apartment and the house – indoors. Let’s start with materials. Corners to protect the corners of the walls can be:

• Made of plastic (PVC). Different colors, textures, there are even transparent ones.
• From metal. Brass, aluminum (polished and not), stainless steel, painted or not.
• Wooden. From different types of wood, smooth, with relief.
  

  

• MDF. With imitation of different types of wood, one-colored, with various patterns.
• From cork. It can be an interesting move if you add cork trim not only on the corners.
  

  

• Rubber. Usually used in hospitals or kindergartens. Perfectly protect the corners in the garage.
• Foamed rubber. Same as rubber but softer. Suitable for protecting overly active children from injury.
• Decorative – with carvings, rhinestones, patterns, etc.

The most popular are plastic corners to protect the corners of the walls. Do not think that such protection looks poor. In any case, no worse than frayed corners. It’s just that plastic is different in appearance – polished, with a metallized effect, with a satin (matte) surface, with a different relief. It is clear that in order to find something specific or special, you will have to run around hardware stores and markets. But there are many types of design. If the corners to protect the corners of the walls are chosen correctly, they organically fit into the design, absolutely not attracting attention. At the same time, the joints are protected and decorated very reliably.

Shapes and sizes

Finished corners have, as a rule, an angle of 90 °. The angle itself is not always sharp, there are options with a rounded one. By appearance, the corners for protecting the corners of the walls are divided into:

• tough
  • external;
  • internal;
• flexible (plastic, rubber)
• universal.

Questions can only be universal. These are two strips of plastic or MDF connected by a thin strip of flexible material of the same color. Thanks to this connection, you can make an obtuse or acute angle, internal or external – without much difference. But in terms of reliability of protection, it is inferior to rigid ones – after all, the flexible part is rather thin.

It is also worth knowing that the corners can be with shelves of the same and different widths. They are more often found with the same ones, but it is quite possible to find those in which one is wider, the other narrower.

The width of the shelf varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Plastic, for example, can have shelves from 10 mm to 50 mm. MDF corners are minimally made with a shelf width of 20 mm, metal – from 10 mm, but the maximum shelf length is 90 mm (aluminum). So there are plenty to choose from.

What to mount

The choice of the method of attaching the corners to protect the corners of the walls depends on the material of the corner, on which surface they will be attached to. The most commonly used glue. And the leaders are “liquid nails”. This is a universal compound, but before buying, check that a particular brand can glue the materials you need.

You can put a corner on the glue if it is even, without big flaws. If there are holes / depressions, it is unlikely that you will glue it. In this case, you can use silicone. If you glue white corners, silicone can be taken white. Under color it is better to take transparent. Not everywhere it is desirable to use acid. Although it is cheaper, it can damage metals or paint.

In both cases, the wall and corner must be clean and dry. The composition is applied to the corner, it is pressed against the corner, fixed with strips of masking tape. We grab after 40-60 cm. If everything is even, it is possible after 60 cm, if you need to repeat the shape, after 40 cm or even more often.

Leave in this state until the glue dries or the silicone hardens. See the packaging for the exact time. The masking tape can then be removed. It differs from ordinary adhesive tape in that it peels off even from paper wallpaper without damaging the surface. But to be sure, try gluing and peeling off in an inconspicuous place.

There is another option for how you can glue the corners on the wall with wallpaper, painting. You can use double sided tape. Glue it first to the corner, then, having removed the protective coating, press it to the corner. There are corners to which the adhesive tape is already glued. Some types of foam rubber or plastic (usually flexible or versatile).

Arch decoration

Arch design often becomes a problem. In general, there are not so many outer corners in the apartment, but they must be on the arch. And in the aisle they very often hurt. Either furniture, or other cargo, or simply a resident who did not fit into the opening. And there are no questions with the straight part, then the rounded part can be a problem.

In general, universal corners can be used for the arch. They are flexible which is very comfortable. There are flexible non-universal ones – plastic, made of a special polymer of increased elasticity.

But in general, corners with different widths of shelves are used to decorate arches. They are even called arched. They have one shelf 10 mm (external), the second – internal – 30 mm or more. They bend easily. Do not twist into a donut, but it is not difficult to get an arc of any curvature. It will only be necessary to use a reliable fixation while the glue dries.

If you want to bend a regular corner, you can do this by heating the plastic. For this work you need a building hair dryer. Ordinary – for hair – will not work, because its temperature is too low. We also need a template according to which we will bend the plastic corner. Take a piece of fiberboard, screw in screws or drive in nails, forming the profile that you require.

Start bending from the middle. Warm up the area, constantly pressing on the middle, and with a hairdryer moving from the center to the edges. So it is necessary to bring the corner to the desired curvature and leave it in this position to cool. So that it does not straighten up, holes are made for the second row in parallel with a row of self-tapping screws. The distance between the rows is equal to the width of the corner shelf. After the plastic is bent, insert and slightly twist the screws. After the plastic has cooled, remove them.

How to cut finishing corners

Almost always, the corners to protect the corners of the walls have to be cut. They are sold in strips with a length of 2 to 3 meters. The cutting tool is selected depending on the type of material. For wood and metal, thick plastic, you will need a hacksaw, but the blade is different – for wood, and with a small tooth for metal or thick-walled plastic.

Thin plastic can be cut with a construction or clerical knife, sharp scissors. If you need to cut perpendicularly, it is easier to use scissors. We cut them to the corner on both sides, bend the corner, cut the remaining millimeters with a clerical knife. If there are flaws, they can be easily corrected with the same knife or sandpaper with a very fine grain (polishing).

If the plastic corner needs to be cut along the fold, we cut it along the inner corner with a clerical knife. Cutting through the entire thickness does not make sense. You just need to leave a noticeable strip. Then we bend the piece that needs to be removed. It comes off at the cut. Irregularities are removed with a knife or sandpaper.