Top 7 FRP Installation Mistakes We Fix Most Often in GTA Restaurant Kitchens

Why This List Exists

About a third of the FRP work Corevance does in the GTA is fixing someone else's installation. The mistakes are not random. The same seven things go wrong on almost every failed job, whether it was a general contractor who took on FRP for the first time or an owner who tried to save money with a weekend DIY. Here is the list in the order we see them most often, with what should have happened and what it costs to fix.

1. Wrong Adhesive (The Silicone Mistake)

What we see: Clear or white silicone caulking used to glue panels to the wall, often in big squeeze-bottle beads.

What went wrong: Silicone is not a structural adhesive. It does not bond to the gel-coat face of FRP reliably, and it does not bond to drywall paper well either. Within 6 to 18 months the panels start to separate, especially at the top where they hang the heaviest. In a CFIA-regulated kitchen, any gap between the panel and the wall is a harborage failure.

What should have happened: A panel-rated, food-safe construction adhesive (Titebond Fast Set FRP, Liquid Nails FRP, or equivalent) applied with a notched trowel for full-coverage transfer to the back of the panel, then back-rolled or pressed for contact.

Cost to fix: $2,500–$5,000 for an average kitchen. Every panel comes down, substrate gets cleaned, and the work re-does properly. The old silicone is the worst part — it has to be scraped off the wall before new adhesive can bond.

2. Missing PVC Mouldings at Joints

What we see: Two FRP panels butted edge-to-edge with no divider bar between them. Sometimes a bead of silicone in the joint, sometimes nothing at all.

What went wrong: CFIA-accepted FRP installations require a sealed joint detail. The standard detail is a PVC divider bar (an “H” channel) that captures the edges of both panels and gives a clean sealable line. Without the divider bar, the joint opens within months as the panels expand and contract with temperature and humidity. An open joint is a CFIA inspection failure — full stop.

What should have happened: Every vertical joint between two panels gets a PVC divider bar, set in adhesive, rivetted through the bar into the substrate, and bead-sealed where the panel meets the bar.

Cost to fix: $1,500–$3,500 depending on linear footage. The good news is you can sometimes do this without removing all panels — cut a relief, slide a divider in, re-seal. The bad news is when the joints failed because the panels also moved, you are usually replacing panels too.

3. Panel Installed Over Wet or Unprepared Substrate

What we see: Panels glued directly over old painted drywall that was never washed, or over a wall that had a slow plumbing leak the installer did not catch.

What went wrong: Adhesive needs a clean, sound, dry substrate. Old grease film on a restaurant wall (which is everywhere even when you cannot see it) prevents the adhesive from bonding. A wet substrate means the adhesive will never fully cure and the panel will release.

What should have happened: Substrate gets degreased with a TSP or commercial degreaser, rinsed, dried fully, and any soft or damaged drywall replaced before any adhesive goes on.

Cost to fix: $3,000–$8,000 depending on what is behind the panels. If the substrate was wet because of an active leak, that leak has to be repaired first and any damaged structure replaced.

4. Wrong Fastener (Steel Rivets in a Wet Kitchen)

What we see: Standard steel pop rivets used to fasten divider bars and corner mouldings instead of nylon or stainless rivets.

What went wrong: Steel rivets in a commercial kitchen rust. Within 3 to 6 months you have visible rust streaks running down the panels from every rivet. CFIA inspectors do not like rust in a food prep area, and customers definitely notice it in an open kitchen.

What should have happened: Nylon rivets are the standard for FRP installations in food facilities. They are non-corroding, easy to install, and CFIA-friendly. Stainless rivets are acceptable but cost more without a real benefit indoors.

Cost to fix: $800–$2,000. Old rivets get drilled out, holes get re-drilled if needed, new nylon rivets go in, rust streaks on panel face get cleaned (and sometimes the panel needs replacement if the stain has set in).

5. No Expansion Gap at Floor and Ceiling

What we see: FRP panels installed tight to the floor and tight to the ceiling, no gap left for thermal movement.

What went wrong: FRP expands and contracts with temperature. In a kitchen with no expansion gap, the panels can buckle outward in summer and pull at the divider bars in winter. We have seen panels actually pop loose from the wall in a hot pizza kitchen because there was nowhere for the expansion to go.

What should have happened: A minimum 1/4" gap at the floor (covered by base trim or cove base) and 1/4" gap at the ceiling (covered by ceiling cap moulding). The gap lets the panel breathe.

Cost to fix: $1,200–$3,000. Panels need to come down, get re-cut to the right height, and go back up with the right gap and trim.

6. Butt Joints With No Divider Bar (The Gap Forms in 6 Months)

What we see: Similar to #2 but specifically the failure mode where two panels were caulk-jointed instead of divider-bar jointed. The caulk looks fine on day 1.

What went wrong: The caulk bead cannot accommodate the seasonal movement of the FRP panels on either side. Within 6 months a hairline gap opens up. Within 12 months it is wide enough to insert a fingernail into. By month 18, food residue is wedged in there and you have a CFIA inspection problem.

What should have happened: Every joint gets a real divider bar. Caulk alone is never the joint detail in a CFIA-accepted system.

Cost to fix: $1,500–$3,500. Often combined with #2 — the same fix.

7. Skipped Corner Trim (The Open Inside Corner)

What we see: Two FRP panels meeting at an inside corner with no corner moulding — just a bead of caulk in the corner.

What went wrong: An inside corner is where two panels meet at 90 degrees. Without a PVC inside-corner moulding to receive both panel edges, the corner is structurally an open joint. The caulk fails the same way the butt-joint caulk fails. The corner becomes a bacterial harborage point — exactly what CFIA does not want in a food facility.

What should have happened: A PVC inside-corner moulding installed first, then both panels slide into the moulding's receiver channels. Sealant bead in the receiver before the panel goes in. Sealant bead at the top and bottom of the corner moulding.

Cost to fix: $1,000–$2,500. Cleaner than some of the others because the panels usually come off intact and the corner trim can be retrofit in.

The Pattern

Look at the seven mistakes together. Six of them come from one root cause: the installer treated FRP as if it were a finish material like wainscoting or tile board. It is not. FRP is a sealed wall system. The panel, the divider bars, the corner mouldings, the adhesive, the rivets, and the sealant are all parts of one system. Leave any of them out, and the system fails.

If you have an FRP installation in a GTA commercial kitchen that you are not sure about, we will come out and inspect it for free. If it is sound, we will tell you. If it has one of these seven problems, we will tell you that too — with a written quote to fix it. For the full CFIA system spec every correct installation must meet, see our CFIA compliance guide or call 437-849-3781.