How to install acoustic wall panels
There are three ways to mount Woven Image PET panels: direct-fix with adhesive, on 20mm battens for a small air gap, or on a 50mm stud frame for maximum acoustic performance. Each method trades cost and room depth against absorption — here's how to do all three, properly.
Panels cut with a sharp knife, fix with standard hardware, and require no specialist trade. Most DIYers can complete a home office in a day. For large commercial fit-outs or ceiling-tile systems, book professional installation.
Plan the job before you buy adhesive
A half-hour of layout planning saves hours of cut-and-curse on the wall. Confirm your method, measure the room twice, work out panel layout on graph paper, and only then order materials.
Tools you'll need
Surface prep requirements
- Walls must be clean, dry, and structurally sound. No flaking paint, damp patches, or loose plaster.
- For direct-fix, surfaces should be reasonably flat — any deviation over 3mm across a metre will telegraph through thin panels.
- On freshly painted walls, allow at least 28 days of cure time before bonding.
- Panels should acclimatise in the room for 24 hours before cutting to minimise post-install movement.
When to hire a professional
Ceiling-tile systems, commercial fit-outs over 30 m², high ceilings requiring scaffold access, projects with strict design tolerances (mitred panels, custom inlays), and any job where warranty-grade documentation is required — book professional installation. Our Perth team covers WA direct and we coordinate national installs through trusted partner fitters.
Direct fix (glued to wall)
The simplest, fastest and cheapest method. Panels bond directly to the existing wall surface using construction adhesive. Great for feature walls, home offices, retail tenancies and anywhere the wall is already flat.
Prepare the wall
Clean the wall thoroughly with a damp cloth to remove dust, grease and loose paint. Fill and sand any holes. Surface must be dry, flat, and free of flaking paint — adhesive grabs paint, not plasterboard, so poor paint means poor bond.
Measure and mark
Mark a level horizontal datum line at the top edge of your first panel row. For multiple panels, chalk-line vertical guides at panel-width intervals. Plan cuts so any trimmed panels land at the corners, not in the middle of the visible field.
Cut panels to size
PET felt cuts cleanly with a sharp utility knife against a metal straight-edge. Score firmly two or three times, then snap. Always cut from the face side for the crispest edge. Replace your blade often — a blunt blade tears the felt.
Apply adhesive
Use a high-tack construction adhesive rated for porous substrates (Sika Sikaflex-11FC, Bostik Ultraset, Selleys No More Gaps Ultra Strength or similar). Apply beads in an S-pattern across the back of the panel, staying about 30mm in from the edges to prevent squeeze-out.
Position and press
Align the panel with your datum line and press firmly and evenly across the whole face. Don't slide the panel after contact — lift and reposition if needed. Press from the centre outward to push air out.
Support while curing
Use painter's tape or temporary timber props to hold panels in place for the first 24 hours. Adhesive reaches handling strength in 2–4 hours and full cure in 24–48 hours depending on product and humidity. Don't load the panels during this window.
Choose this method when
- — The wall is already flat and in sound condition.
- — Budget is the primary constraint.
- — You're happy with αw 0.30–0.45 class D performance.
- — Room depth is tight and you can't afford to lose wall-to-wall clearance.
20mm air gap on battens
The professional standard. A simple 20mm batten cavity behind the panel captures significantly more low-mid frequency energy — roughly 50% more absorption than direct-fix, from the same panel. This is how most specified commercial installs go up.
Mark batten positions
Horizontal battens work best for most installs. Mark lines every 300–400mm up the wall. For tall rooms, stagger start heights across adjoining walls to avoid visual banding through corners.
Find and mark studs
Battens must fix into studs or solid backing. Use a stud finder and mark stud centres on each batten line before cutting any timber.
Install 20mm square battens
Use dressed pine or structural-grade battens, exactly 20mm thick for standard-rated performance. Screw into studs with 50mm timber screws. Pre-drill and countersink so screw heads sit flush.
Shim for level
Walls are rarely perfectly flat. Use plastic packers behind battens to bring everything into a single level plane before fixing panels. Check with a long straight-edge across multiple battens in both directions.
Cut and fit panels
Measure between installed battens and cut panels to suit. Pre-drill clearance holes at fixing points to avoid distorting the felt face when driving fasteners.
Fix panels to battens
Use 25–30mm brad nails through a pneumatic gun, or pan-head self-drilling screws with colour-matched caps. Fix at each batten crossing. Keep nail heads flush — over-driven heads dimple the felt surface.
Finish edges
At corners and openings, either butt-join panels with a clean knife cut or trim with a shadow-line reveal. For exposed panel edges at the end of a wall, a felt-wrapped return or a simple aluminium J-channel both look clean.
Common mistakes
- — Under-driving brad nails (proud heads) or over-driving (dimpled felt).
- — Using non-square battens — the cavity depth must be consistent for rated performance.
- — Skipping the shim step; panels on an uneven batten plane show every bump under raking light.
- — Fixing battens to plasterboard only. Always go through to studs.
50mm air gap on a stud frame
Maximum acoustic performance. A 50mm cavity behind the panel pushes absorption into Class B or A territory — αw 0.60 for a 12mm EchoPanel, 0.70 for a 24mm EchoPanel, 0.80 for a 25mm Ascent Tile. This is the spec for home theatres, recording rooms, podcast studios and critical-listening spaces.
Build a 50mm stud frame
Frame a perimeter using 50mm dressed pine and add vertical or horizontal members at 400–600mm centres. The frame sits proud of the existing wall and becomes the new visible substrate.
Fix the frame to structure
Screw the perimeter into studs, top plates and bottom plates using structural screws. The frame takes the weight of every panel, so it must be solidly anchored — skim-fix into plasterboard alone is not enough.
Consider mineral wool (optional)
For home theatres and recording rooms, loose-laid acoustic insulation inside the 50mm cavity further improves low-frequency absorption. Use low-density rockwool or polyester batts cut to cavity size.
Install plywood backer (optional)
A 6–9mm plywood sheet over the frame gives a continuous fixing surface that handles panel layouts independent of the frame grid. Optional, but useful on large feature walls.
Fix panels to frame
As with Method 2: brad nails or pan-head screws into frame members. Pre-drill for screws. Plan panel joins to sit over frame members wherever possible.
Trim and finish
Because the frame projects 50mm from the original wall, you'll need a return detail at the edges. A mitred panel return, a timber trim, or an aluminium angle all work — decide before framing so the frame dimensions are right.
Trade-offs in your favour
- — Maximum absorption per m² of panel.
- — Room to add mineral wool for even better low-end.
- — Frame creates a flat substrate regardless of wall condition.
Trade-offs against
- — Projects 60–75mm into the room.
- — Requires carpentry skill and more materials.
- — Needs a return detail at exposed edges.
Clean cuts, tidy corners, mixed colours
Cutting. A sharp utility knife and a metal straight-edge is all you need. Score firmly two or three times rather than trying to slice through in one pass — the felt fibres shear cleanly with repeated scoring. Keep spare blades on hand and change them before they start to tear.
Edges. Cut edges on Woven Image panels look clean without any finishing — the felt doesn't fray. For exposed ends at the edge of a wall, you can butt the felt back on itself (felt-wrapped return), use an aluminium J-channel, or simply expose the clean cut.
Corners and cut-outs. For power points and switches, drill a starter hole then cut out with a knife. For external corners, mitre-cut both panels at 45° for a clean return, or butt-join with the visible panel running past.
Mixing colours. Because the felt is solid-coloured through its full thickness, you can cut shapes from different colourways and inlay them for custom patterns. This is popular on feature walls and brand signage.
Tile installation is a different process
Acoustic ceiling tiles (Ascent Tile, Dune Tile, Wave Tile) use a clip-fix or suspended-grid system rather than adhesive. They drop into a standard 1200×600 or 600×600 T-bar ceiling grid, or fix directly to soffit with proprietary clips.
Because tile installation involves ceiling work, grid layout and sometimes integration with lighting and services, we strongly recommend professional install for anything beyond a small ceiling feature. Each tile product has its own installation document — see the individual product pages for specifics.
First 48 hours
- Day 0 — initial inspection
- Walk the whole wall under raking light from a side angle. Check for lifted edges, uneven joins or surface bumps while adhesive is still repositionable.
- Day 1 — keep it undisturbed
- Leave tape or props in place for 24 hours for direct-fix installs. Don't lean furniture against panels, hang art, or knock the wall.
- Day 2 — full cure
- Adhesive is fully cured. Remove tape. Clean the panel face with a soft vacuum brush attachment to lift installation dust. Spot-clean any marks with a barely-damp cloth.
Ready to install?
Order panels direct or have our Perth-based team handle the install from measure-up through to finish. For an accurate recommendation on panel quantity, run your room through the calculator first.