Bathroom! profesional opinion please

[dartagnan]

Hia All,

Some professional advice wanted.

Im going to have my bathroom overhauled/replaced shortly, bath out, shower cubicle in, electric shower and towel rad etc etc.

At the moment it is fully tiled but I know that the walls behind are very uneven ( I tiled it 15 years ago and used loads of adhesive to pack the tiles level)

This time I am having it professionally done and would like to use those large wall panels Ive seen in hotel bathrooms etc.

What your opinion on these verses tiles, Is this likely to be a problem for the installer. also there isn't much workspace and roughly, how would the cost compare against re-tiling.
Thanks

 

[bobasd]

thers all kinds of wall panels for bath surrounds.diff thicknesses diff materials an diff fixes.
thers also one piece or three piece bath surrounds.
hotels etc use hem because they are a better waterproofer than tile an can be cleaned easy.no mould no leaks

but problems can come from seepage where they sit on the bath rim an havinenough room behind the taps

 

[Diver Fred]

I've done 5 bathrooms with shower panels - to date all with Plywood cored shower panels.

Firstly I'll admit I hate tiles in or around showers - personal reasons, a girlfriend nearly had her legs shredded when her tiled shower wall collapsed whilst she was showering.

So my experience of Shower panelling:-
there is several types available, Melamine faced WBP or marine ply; Melamine faced faced rigid foam core, 8 or 10mm hollow section PVC or just 3 or 4mm solid PVC. The PVC sheets are likely to be UV sensitive, therefore have finite life time, also they are more flexible so will not hide imperfections in wall 'straightness'.
The Melamine faced boards do not have the UV degradation problems. All I've used are 11mm thick. Come in either 8'x4' sheets with either square edge or tongue & grove to join or 250mm wide tongue & grove. The square edge stuff uses joining sections - plastic or extruded Ally.

The wide sheets can be glued to the wall or the joining sections can be screwed to the wall and then the panels sealed in place.
The original boards I used were made by (or for) Formica, used Silicon to seal and bond. The recent WBP cored sheets I've used was made by Rearo who supply both square edge or T&G. They also supply they preferred adhesives and sealers - order 2 tubes of each for every 3 sheets. When using the joining extrusions put sufficient sealer into the extrusion so when the panel is pushed into the slot it is squeezed out onto the face. Leave a 2-3mm gap between panel and shower tray/bath when installing and then fill with with sealer - smaller gap and you will not get an effective seal, larger and you will use lots of sealer. They do supply good quality instructions with the panels.

Foam cored panels are made by various companies, Bush Board amongst many. Again square edged or T&G. As the core is plastic they are inherently waterproof. Do use the recommended sealer adhesive.

All panels are worked with normal woodworking tools.

The better quality panels are not particularly cheap but you do save on installation costs.

 

[dartagnan]

Thanks for the replys, lots of info there.
I like the t and g ones they look a neater job. I suppose they can be joined once cut with joining extrusions.
Wgt52. The bathroom doesn't get direct sunlight and is about 8t by 10ft.
So to get the neatest waterproof job what would be your personal choice for quality and ease of job.
Also plumbing seems to be going towards plastic pipes and joints. Do they last as obviously they are hidden.

 

[Diver Fred]

Sorry for the slow response.

I see your location is Yorkshire. I'd suggest that you visit IPSL (Interior Panel Systems Ltd) in Sheffield to see what is available. They also have a website with details on the panels.

What you may find is the foam filled (cored) panels are to flexible for walls that aren't straight.

I'll supply more detail later.

 

[Diver Fred]

So a belated follow on reply as I've been gaining experience with foam cored panels. I've been fitting a bathroom out with Aquaboard wall panels this week. The walls I bonded (glued) the panels directly onto the walls having removed the tiles. For the bath panel I've had to construct a supporting frame.

I can now report the foam cored panels are more flexible than the plywood cored panels so will not be as effective at disguising a wall that is not straight.
From the description you gave of your bathroom I suggest you level the wall with battens and 25mm insulation and the use wood cored panels to face that. Because the panels are waterproof installing them provides a vapour barrier when sealed at the edges.