Altro Whiterock Installers: Insights From The Team

Mark Young, Lead Altro Whiterock Installer

“Not all wall cladding is created equal,” explains Mark Young, one of Commercial Washrooms lead Altro installers, “and when it comes to a protective wall finish in any kind of environment, there’s just no beating Whiterock.” Having installed the material everywhere from school toilets, to operating theatres, Mark knows firsthand just what Altro Whiterock is capable of and the high level of finish that can be achieved.

“Through the Chameleons and Satins colour ranges, we’ve been able to install Whiterock in a way that really transforms a washroom. It’s usually the stage of a refurb that gets the biggest wow factor from clients,” continues Mark. “The colour ranges take this highly practical material, and allow you to deliver deep, solid colour that makes the room feel warm and inviting. We install Whiterock in hallways and public spaces too. When joining sheets on a flat section of wall we usually use two main techniques - cover trims and a hot air welded joint. We use the joining trim on most projects but are seeing the specification for welded joints coming in more and more. It has an edge on hygiene and leaves an almost seamless finish because you can use colour-coded weld rod to match the Whiterock.”

Altro Whiterock comes in sheets that are just 2.5mm in thickness, yet this thin, versatile sheet protects your walls with a robust, wipe-clean barrier backed by a 20-year guarantee. However, there’s a certain finesse and precise approach that’s needed when fitting Altro Whiterock. This is why, to ensure your warranty is protected, Altro advises that you only use Altro-approved and trained installers, a practice all of our installation team have been through.

Brian Robertson, Altro Project Manager

Brian Robertson is our dedicated Altro Project Manager here at Commercial Washrooms and has been working with the product for nearly twenty years. “There are just so many benefits to installing Whiterock, whether you’re talking about a shower room and wash space, or a dental surgery. Thermoforming alone poses huge hygiene benefits. The sheets are heated along an element encased by heat bricks, before being bent with precision to mould around internal and external corners. This means there are no Mastic or wet joints in the corners, which can begin to degrade after about a year.”

Brian also points out some major benefits when using Altro Whiterock in the Satins and Chameleon ranges. “Some coloured PVC sheets will leave a white mark when heated, stretched, folded or bent, but due to the integrity of the colours used in Altro Whiterock this is not an issue. It leaves you with a bright sharp finish that not only looks amazing but performs across a wide range of commercial environments.”

“We generally use an Altro W139 two-part adhesive to bond the Whiterock wall cladding in place. It gives us a much better adhesion and is easier to use across a lot of different environments and temperatures. However, most often there is a certain order that needs to be followed when installing Altro Whiterock, particularly when handling floors and ceilings. If it’s a plasterboard ceiling, then the sheets will be scribed into the plaster at the top of the room. With a ceiling tile grid, we will usually fly the sheets above where the new ceiling will be and fix the ceiling through the Whiterock.”

Installing Altro Whiterock wall cladding and vinyl safety flooring needs to be done extremely carefully. “If it’s not done properly and moisture gets behind either your floor or wall cladding, then both can blow,” warns Brian. “Altro stipulate in all shower areas that the floor should be laid first where we lap the vinyl up the wall by 150mm. The Whiterock is then installed to the walls so that the sheets overlap the top of the coved vinyl by a 50mm wall edge. This means the room can be hosed down and there is no chance of water running down the walls and getting through join lines. We use this fitting technique throughout all our washrooms for increased protection and superior longevity.”

Our professional Altro Whiterock installers have all been approved and trained by Altro and ensure you get the finest finish, protecting your washroom and your Altro 20-year warranty. If you’d like to discuss Altro Whiterock hygienic wall cladding or to find out how it can serve your washroom refurbishment project, please get in touch with one of the team: [email protected].