Many building materials in the past few decades are not designed to withstand high humidity. As a result, businesses that deal with a lot of cleaning, moisture, or water in general have to repair their structure from water-damaged areas every few years continuously. There hasn’t been a long-term one-time solution until now: Vinyl wall panels. Vinyl wall panels are uniquely designed for applications such as car washes, food processors, indoor growing, commercial kitchens, and so on. In this article, we will talk about a specific case that used Duramax PVC panels for its car wash wall panels. If you have another project with a different application, please call us at 323-991-7507 to see if you fit.

This project was a ceiling renovation for a car wash that had water damage in the ceiling. They used a walling material unsuitable for a car wash’s high moisture environment and, in the end, had to invest more into a long-term solution. Using vinyl for the car wash wall panels is easier to install, saving on short-term labor costs, and its durability saves on long-term maintenance.

Many materials claim to be good solutions for wet environments, but what they don’t mention is that most require non-resistant material to install. Examples like FRP, a plastic sheathing, require wooden backers to glue each panel onto. This creates a problem because water vapor can eventually seep through the plastic and into the wood area. This is where the damage occurs underneath the water-resistant solution.

Vinyl is the closest solution to waterproof wall paneling because of its Class A fire rating. This means that Duramax Vinyl panels can be installed directly to studs without any backer needed. The ½-inch thick panels provide a 1-hour fire rating and are approved by all Los Angeles County Buildings and Safety Codes, saving material costs for a backer.

Overall, don’t discount vinyl panels due to initial pricing compared to the other materials that provide incomplete solutions. The bigger picture shows that vinyl is a complete solution. At the same time, other materials, such as tile, FRP, or metal, have a multi-step installation process and require additional backer/adhesive material, which adds to the initial cost. Contact Duramax PVC Panels to have your project measured out and custom quoted at 323-991-7507!