With a range of neutral, subtle and bright colours available there is something for every scheme.  Check out these acrylic splashback options.

Acrylic splashbacks can be delivered ready to screw to your wall.

You’ll need to measure up the area of wall you’d like to cover with a splashback.  Next, buy some acrylic – in the colour of your choice -  cut to the size of your measurements.  If you’d like your cut to size acrylic delivered, come to theplasticpeople and put your measurements in our handy cut to size tool.  We’ll get your splashback to you.

Watch our video to see how we installed a (small) splashback.

We used Simson ISR-70-03 – Polymer Gunnable Adhesive .  If you like we can cut holes ready into your splashback and send screws so you can screw it in place.

Check out this splashback one of our customers now has in place. Thanks for sending us the photo – much appreciated!

Here’s what to do:

1. Measure the table / sideboard surface you want to protect – make a note of the diameter or length and width
2. Visit us at theplasticpeople and  enter your measurements into our handy cut to size tool or if you need a circular cover, look at our acrylic discs. You’ll need to choose  how thick you want your acrylic cover to be – we recommend 3mm, no need to pay for anything more.  We’ll give you a price for the exact size you need. If you like we can polish it so it is lovely and shiny. And spills will simply wipe off. Easy as that.

Let us know how you get on – we love pictures if you have any! Thanks.

In a nutshell, polycarbonate is 200x stronger than glass and only half the weight.  So, safer and easier to work with.  And, it won’t break anytime soon.  Take a look at us hammering our polycarbonate greenhouse pane with our hammer in our video – you’ll see what we mean !

Polycarbonate panes cut to the size you need for your greenhouse can be delivered to your door. Simply enter the measurements of the panes you require online at our site here.

Or, you can cut acrylic or perspex yourself using saws which would normally be used on wood.   Here are our 5 suggestions on how to do it the easiest way:

1. leave your acrylic covered in its protective film until you have completely finished cutting
2. put on gloves and safety glasses
3. use a jigsaw with metal cutting blades for curvy lines or if you are cutting straight lines choose a circular saw with a coarse blade with a negative rake
4. clamp your acrylic sheet to your work surface and use a length of 1×3 wood to distribute the clamping pressure and act as a guide for your saw
5. when you are finished cutting, remove the protective film to reveal your acrylic

Supply wise, you can buy dedicated acrylic cutting blades for jigsaws and circular saws. Note of caution to hand saw users:  It is difficult to get a good finish using a hand saw!

Let us know how you get on! We enjoy seeing your pictures / project ideas.

Installing a second window (secondary glazing) may seem like a complicated task but check out Magnetglaze Quickfit which makes it very easy and quick for you to do yourself at home.  It is also very quick and easy to remove if you wish.

Here’s how to go about installing your second window with Magnetglaze Quickfit:

1. Choose the windows you want to add a window pane to – measure up inside these window panes
2. Take your measurements to www.theplasticpeople.co.uk/magnetglaze-double-glazing-kit-p-110.html and order Magnetglaze Quickfit entering your window sizes.   Everything you need for your windows will be sent to you – a correctly sized second window (made from clear as glass acrylic which is 10x stronger than glass and much lighter so all round easier and safer to work with) and black and white magnetic strips which you use to connect the glazing pane to your window.
3. Cut the white magnetic strip so it fits around the edges of your window frame – then stick it to your window frame.
4. Cut the black magnetic strip so it can be stuck to around the edges of your new  acrylic window.
5. Pick up your new acrylic window and connect it onto your existing window – the magnetic strips will hold it in place.

Let us know how it works for you!  If you’d like to read what other users have said you can see their feedback here.

There seem to be quite a few people out there with broken picture / photograph frames, fridge shelves, cat and dog flaps, windows and greenhouses to name a few so we’ll dedicate this space to writing about how you can use plastic to fix these problems.

Plastic is a very versatile material –  and the various types of plastic come with their own  price, strength, durability, maintenance, and aesthetic considerations.    Our quick guide below shows which plastic is best suited for which repairs.

Broken picture / photograph frames

Clear acrylic or PETG is a great choice as a replacement for the broken glass in a picture or photograph frame.  Clear acrylic is 10x stronger than glass and PETG is even stronger than acrylic and stands more knocks and bumps so you can be sure it will be a safer, longer lasting option than glass

Fridge Shelves

If you’ve broken your fridge shelf, replacing it is quick, easy and inexpensive PETG plastic.   PETG is the plastic to choose because it is FDA approved meaning it is safe to use with food.  PETG can be delivered cut to the size you need to go into your fridge.  You’ll find it’s most likely atleast half or a third of the price of buying a replacement.

Windows & Greenhouses

Plastic is an ideal replacement for glass glazing because it is much lighter and stronger.  Choose acrylic which is 17x stronger than glass and just as clear or polycarbonate which is 200x stronger than glass and is excellent for withstanding heavy impacts.  Both acrylic and polycarbonate are suitable as a replacements for internal and external glass.  If you are looking to replace greenhouse panels our preference is for polycarbonate because it is stronger than acrylic and overall makes your greenhouse virtually unbreakable.

Cat and Dog Flaps

Polypropylene and polycarbonate are good choices for replacing cat and dog flaps. If you want a clear flap go for polycarbonate – it is clear like glass but much lighter and yet 270x stronger.  It also  withstands impacts and bumping!  If don’t want a clear flap, go for a solid white (or natural / black) polypropylene.   Polypropylene is an extremely tough, durable plastic with excellent impact resistance and is almost unbreakable.

Polycarbonate lasts much longer because it is virtually indestructible !  And this means it’s safer too  – no shards of broken glass to remove or be left lying around when the inevitable breaks happen.    And cheaper – because you don’t have to replace it!  Polycarbonate is an incredible 290 times stronger than glass!   Even the most headstrong, fast flying birds will bounce back off it rather than through it.  Footballs, tennis balls and other stray toys can crash into it and it’s very unlikely to break.

We’re not experts in gardening but we do know our plastic and polycarbonate offers good insulation properties too.  We’ve read up on some facts The Sunday Telegraph published about ‘Why Polycarbonate Beats Glass’ (we’re not the only ones who think polycarbonate is better!) and here are the ones we think will interest you.  Horticultural glass is usually 3mm thick and a single layer has a thermal insulation value of 0.93 while clear, single-layer polycarbonate retains slightly less heat with a value of 0.83.   Bubble wrap or fleece can be used to tender plants in colder weather or, choose 4mm twin-wall polycarbonate and the thermal insulation value value rises considerably to 1.42.

Then there is the advantage of light.  Twinwall polycarbonate lets light through to areas that glass does not.   3mm polycarbonate has around 96% light transmission compared to 3mm glass which offers 98%; 4mm polycarbonate has around 84%.    However, because the light is scattered as it passes through the twin wall, it becomes more diffuse, meaning it penetrates into areas that light coming through glass does not, so this can be quite an advantage.

Last but not least,  polycarbonate filters out nearly all harmful UV rays.

If you’re converting your greenhouse or cold frame to polycarbonate www.theplasticpeople.co.uk can deliver panels ready cut to the sizes you need – check it out here.

If you’re a gardener, let us know what you think about using polycarbonate or glass. We’d love to hear from you.

1.      Acrylic is 17 x stronger than glass and shatter –proof.   It won’t shatter into thousands of pieces if you drop it. Glass will break easily if dropped.

2.      Acrylic is much lighter than glass – so carrying and hanging it is easier. And shipping / delivery should be cheaper too if you are having it cut to size and sent to you. Shipping glass is tricky not just because it is heavier but because even with fantastic  packaging it cannot be reliably protected from breaks en route in to you.

3.      Acrylic is much safer to use than glass.  Aside from it being shatter proof, acrylic can be polished around the edges making them completely smooth.  Often, the edges of glass will not be smooth making it more dangerous to handle.  Bandages and sticking plasters at the ready!

4.      Acrylic lets in more light than standard glass (92% vs. around 80%)  -  making it clearer and giving better light

5.      Acrylic comes with UV protection as standard and has a 10 year guarantee

The flip sides ?

Acrylic can scratch more easily than glass. This means you need to avoid using abrasive cleaning products on acrylic – in fact cleaning with a micro fibre cloth or  acrylic cleaning cloth would minimise the risk.  (We think this easier clean is a good upside !)   And, light scratches can be rubbed out (see our earlier blog about how to do this).

If you’re not shipping or handling your own glass, it is also a great choice.  And you can clean it without as much care.

1. Measure up inside the window panes that you want to double glaze.
2. Go to www.theplasticpeople.co.uk and order Magnetglaze Quickfit with your window sizes.   You’ll get everything you need for your windows – a correctly sized acrylic glazing pane and black and white magnetic strips which you use to connect the glazing pane to your window.
3. Cut the white magnetic strip so it fits around the edges of your window frame – then stick it to the window frame.
4. Cut the black magnetic strip so it can be stuck to around the edges of the acrylic pane.
5. Pick up your new acrylic glazing pane and connect it onto your window – the magnetic strips will hold it in place.  Important note:  if you order from www.theplastic people.co.uk your acrylic will have a film on which you can now remove.  (We pop the film on your plastic to make sure it doesn’t get scratched while it is on its way to you!)