Installation Guide

VC Fit-Out's Akupanels are incredibly versatile and can be used for a number of different applications. (Walls, ceilings, doors, under counters etc.) The following information is a general guideline for the various installation methods.

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Spread the recommended glue evenly in an S Motion across the back of the panel. Press the panel against the wall and apply pressure until the glue has cured. 1 x 300mm Tube of glue for every 2 panels. Note that gluing can cause damage to the walls and paint once panels are removed.

Give us a call if you get stuck!

Panels can be fixed directly to the sub surface by using standard black coated screws when fixing into timber or drywall, or nail in anchors when fixing into masonry walls.

44 x 44mm Pine battens fixed to wall with either nail in anchors or timber/ drywall screws depending on wall composition. Battens spaced at roughly 400mm. Fixing screws at roughly 500-600mm. When drilling into wall, ensure that you do not drill to close to the edges of the wall. When making use of the Oak Finishing Strips, make sure you stop your batten and panels 22 mm short of where you want the feature to end.

Install 40mm mineral wool between batten structure to increase acoustic performance.

Akupanel dimensions are: 2400 x 600 x 25mm Panels are designed to be installed in continuous order. Panel slats are 27mm wide and start flush on one side with 13mm gaps between slats ending with a 13mmm gap where the next panel will butt up to. 4x Black Screws spaced as per the image below from left to right and from top to bottom. Colour coordinate the fixing screw to match the colour of the backing felt.

22 x 69mm (Lengths available : 650mm, 1250mm, 1850mm, 2450mm) 22 x 25mm (Lengths available : 650mm, 1250mm, 1850mm, 2450mm) The Oak finishing strips comes in the following sizes and should be ordered to fit your needs. You will find these items under the DIY-Essentials tab on our website. Finishing strips can be used to close off the sides of your feature wall and or to frame the entire feature wall.

The Acoustic backing felt should be cut flush with the end slat. Cut the finishing strips to the length required and use Sikaflex 11 FC to glue them to the sides or top where needed. Apply the glue to the sides of the timber structure and end slat, place the finishing strip onto the sides and apply pressure until the glue is cured.

Pan head screws can also be used to fix the finishing strips by pre-drilling 4-5mm holes through the strips in line with the timber slat or 44mm substructure +- every 400mm. Line up the finishing strip to where its end position will be, pilot drill 2-3mm into the end slat or substructure and then insert screw. Use screw caps to hide screws.

Should there be a requirement to cut the panels we can provide you with this service off site in our factory. You will need to give us the measurement and we will cut the panels to the exact measurement. Lead time for panel cutting 2-3days. This service option can be found under the DIY-Essentials tab on our website www.akupanel.co.za

For those inner Carpenter Ninjas who would like to ninja chop these panels themselves we wood recommend following the below steps.   

• Make sure you have the correct tools for the job as indicated on pg.1(if you need any additional tools you might find them under our add-ons tab)
• Make sure your tools are in good working order.
• Wear the correct personal protective equipment when working with power tools. (gloves, safety glasses, dust mask etc.)  
• When cutting with a handsaw your cutting strokes will be in a downward motion which means that you would want to mark and cut your panels with the slat side facing up to get the cleanest possible cut.
• When cutting with a Circular Saw or Jigsaw you will not that the cutting motion of the blade is upward. Therefor you would want to mark your panel and do the cut with the felt side facing up to get the cleanest possible cut.
• To reduce chip out when cutting you can also place a strip of masking tape over the cut line and cut through the masking tape.
• Once the cut has been made, depending on where the cut was made you will need to re-fix the slats with a 20mm black screw provided.     

Good luck Ninjas