Aluminium Corner Strip WP 05/07/11: covering a panelled corner

A corner is where a panelled wall is most likely to look unfinished. Two panel edges meet at an angle, the sawn edge of one sits against the face of the other, and no amount of care with the blade hides that join. The Aluminium Corner Strip for WP 05/07/11 is the part that covers it.

What the listing actually gives you

Ten lengths at 300cm comes to thirty linear metres of corner in one pack, which is far more corner than most rooms contain. Panelling a single chimney breast will leave you with trim spare. Taking a whole room round several returns will usually still come out of the one pack.

Three finishes, and the panel numbers beside them

Black, gold and silver are each listed as fitting panels 05, 07 and 11, and the description adds that the aluminium strips suit any of the PVC wall panels in the range. So the finish is a question of how you want the edge to read, not of whether it will fit. Gold against a dark marble-effect panel draws a deliberate line down the corner. Silver recedes into a grey panel. Black holds the edge against almost anything and is the sensible pick when you are not matching a metal elsewhere in the room.

Measuring a corner before you order

• Measure floor to ceiling at both ends of the corner rather than once in the middle. Ceilings in older properties are rarely dead level, and it is the longer of the two figures that decides your cut.
• At 300cm the trim clears a wall height most homes do not reach, so plan to cut it down rather than join two pieces. A corner run in one length looks better than two meeting halfway up.
• Count external and internal corners separately. They are different problems, and the listing does not say which of the two this profile is shaped for, so tell the shop what your corner does and have them confirm it.
• Where the panelling simply stops rather than turning, you have an edge and not a corner. The Aluminium End Strip is the profile for that.

What the listing does not say

No profile width or depth is published for this trim, so how far it laps onto the panel face is not something you can read off the page. The fixing method is not stated either, and nor is the recommended way to cut aluminium to length. If the corner has to look right at the first attempt, ring the shop and get those three answers before you buy rather than working them out from a photograph.

Ordering it with the rest of the system

Panels held with the bracket for PVC wall panels and joined with the Aluminium I Strip use the same panel numbering, so fixings, joins and corners can go in one order. The rest of the edge parts sit in Trims & Fittings and the panels themselves in Wall Panelling. Delivery is free within 50 miles of the Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

Choose your finish on the Aluminium Corner Strip page and put it on the same order as the panels, so the corner is covered the day they go up.