Aqua Panels wall to floor or above bath?

[JayL81]

Hi there, I have paid for a plumber who had great reviews to fit my bathroom and he has fitted the aqua panels floor to ceiling with bath put in afterwards. I said that the panels should sit on top of the bath as has most other workman I have spoke to. The panels are stuck on the wall and now that the bath has been added there is a bigger gap at one side (1 inch) due to possibly uneven walls and flush the other side of same wall.

He says he can just put silicon to fill this gap about an inch thick, but this will look terrible as it should just be a thin bit of silicon consistent all way round. Surely this is a botch job?

He seems so confident that what he is doing is correct.

Can someone advise on this?

Thanks in advance

 

[mogget]

That'll look nice in a few years when it's gone mouldy!

Silicon an inch thick is a total bodge imo.

That said I'll have a great deal of difficulty when I want to change my bath as both aquapanels and tiles are sat on the edges of three sides of it.

 

[JayL81]

Gap

• JayL81
• 26 May 2015
• 1

 

[mogget]

 

[45yearsagasman]

Your plumber has great reviews eh? He must have written them himself!
That is unacceptable work.

 

[longdogs]

Hi there, I have paid for a plumber who had great reviews to fit my bathroom and he has fitted the aqua panels floor to ceiling with bath put in afterwards. I said that the panels should sit on top of the bath as has most other workman I have spoke to. The panels are stuck on the wall and now that the bath has been added there is a bigger gap at one side (1 inch) due to possibly uneven walls and flush the other side of same wall.

He says he can just put silicon to fill this gap about an inch thick, but this will look terrible as it should just be a thin bit of silicon consistent all way round. Surely this is a botch job?

He seems so confident that what he is doing is correct.

Can someone advise on this?

Thanks in advance

Is that an inch thick after tiling?


What I would have done is fitted the aqua panels floor to ceiling, then 'cut in' the bath because of the uneven walls. Sealed the gaps, tiled, then sealed again.

 

[JayL81]

The gap is actually about 3/4 inch thick and he sealed it earlier today before I phoned him to halt it. That means it is going to be very difficult to repair this now. I am going to get a couple of expert opinions to assess the damage.

He even mentioned the walls were a bit uneven and that is why there is a larger gap at one side. If he just put panels on top of the bath, I wouldnt have this issue.

That silconed gap wont hold all the water in. He says has lots of layers of silicon to hold it tight, but I know that stuff comes away slowly over time.

Gutted that he has made this mess and now I need to try and sort it. He has not been paid yet, so I need to decide my next steps.

 

[Madrab]

There are 2 schools of thought in my experience.

That paneling/tiles should be fitted after bath is in, the other, that floor to ceiling is fine. In my experience it all comes down to the prep and ensuring the wall or corner is square.

If the panels were fitted floor to ceiling he should have ensured that the wall/corner was going to be square afterwards, if it was then floor to ceiling would have been fine.
Unfortunately looks like he didn't make perform a dry fit with the bath before fixing, so IMO it's his fault.

In this case I'd be getting him to sort it, pull bath out and groove the panels at bath rim height and refit.

 

[JayL81]

You can see the seal at one side is massive and it thins as it goes to the other. I dont think that is acceptable, considering he has put the panels wall to celing leaving that gap. He should have checked the walls were square at least.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWeNk2Kav4s

 

[Madrab]

Oh didn't realise it was the final fix - ouch, no that aint right, I would be tempted to put a bath seal along that to at least make it a bit more uniform. re the bath panel, is the bath level, along both edges or is the floor not level either? Run a level along the long and short ends.

Whilst not exactly wrong, I see the bath taps are at the top end of the bath? I assume that was agreed to?

 

[JayL81]

Ye I wish I caught him before he sealed it, will that be a nightmare now? Thanks so much for helping me out. It just confirmed to me what I have been told by others.

 

[Madrab]

Depends what you consider to be a nightmare

As mentioned, a seal may make it look a bit more uniform on the top edge. If the floor is level then the panel is a different story as the bath would normally need to be lowered at the high spot (right hand side). A plinth could be fitted on the floor to support the panel and then fitted correctly into the top clips and then use a bit of moulding to hide the gap at the bottom.

These are really botches though but that would probably be the least amount of hassle.

Really that bath should be out and refitted properly but that would be the nightmare.

 

[longdogs]

sorry. When you said aquapanel, I was thinking backerboard, not the finished surface. I think I would have fitted the panels on top of the bath in that case.

Removing the sealant with a view to moving the bath is not really a problem but the re-positioning of the bath is more of a problem and the shower screen could possibly have to be moved. And, of course the vanity unit is now fitted which would mean getting under the bath at that end will be difficult.

You probably could get away with fitting a bath sealing strip although I am not normally a fan of these.

 

[muggles]

It's not right, but to put it right will probably mean taking absolutely everything out and starting again I'm afraid

 

[flameport]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWeNk2Kav4s

Wall not square, panels should be over the bath, nothing to support the edge of the bath or the panel, taps at the wrong end, and the vertical joint between the panels looks to be on the fat side as well.