Shower Wall Panels - Before or after shower tray?

[Ben B]

I'm about to fit a quadrant shower, to replace a dated unit on tiled walls, and I'm going to be using shower wall panels.

I've seen one shower tray listed for sale that showed a diagram of the fitting - with the wall panel fitted to the room first - all the way to the floor and the shower tray fitted up against it after. I've always (When tiling) fitted the tray and tiled after. Is this different for wall panels?

I've got edge trims and the centre join trim ordered, to maintain the guarantee of the wall panel product, but no bottom trims required.

What's the best practice here? It's my first time fitting wall panels. I'm guessing fitting to the bare wall would be easier (The house has some uneven walls)...

Also, I'm expecting the old wall to come apart when I remove the old tiles. Would I be OK replacing with plasterboard and sticking the board to that directly, or priming it first, or using ply?

Thanks

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Tiles, tile adhesive etc are not waterproof- they are a bit porous which is why you set them on top of the tray usually with a trim so water eventually descends into the tray.
Those boards are waterproof so silicon seal to the tray edge will be fine (long as you get the joints right).
What does the manufacturer say about fixing the wall panels?

 

[Mr.B]

An interesting question that I've not seen asked here before. (if it HAS been asked - and answered - then maybe someone can link to it).

Can I ask Ben B what product he bought .... are there good and bad shower panels in the same way that there are good and bad in most other products?

Is there a reason why they don't make panels wide enough so that they don't need a vertical join?

(by the way, no relation to Ben B)

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Re the 'wide enough'- how big is the door to your bathroom/shower room? I'll be using 8' x 4' panels when I eventually get round to doing the ensuite so will only need corner and end trims- the panels look expensive but cost/sq m including labour they're probably cheaper than tiling

 

[Mr.B]

I don't want to hijack this topic . So, with apologies, I'll just say that I didnt realise the panels came in a 4 feet wide size - so I guess this would cover most conventional shower cubicles given that my understanding is that the standard common sizes for shower cubicles are 750mm and 900mm.

Ta.

 

[Aunsh]

I would suggest you check out shower trays with built-in tiling upstands. The shower tray is recessed into the walls, so that the inner face of the upstand is flush with the wall. The panels are then fitted with the bottom edge inside the upstands, to keep the water inside the shower tray. Use good quality silicon to finish the seal.

 

[lostinthelight]

Just reading this and having plasterboarded smaller rooms with 8x4 sheets, one needs a fair bit of room to get sheets of that size through a door and turned to get them up so with tight fitting decorative sheets??

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Just reading this and having plasterboarded smaller rooms with 8x4 sheets, one needs a fair bit of room to get sheets of that size through a door and turned to get them up so with tight fitting decorative sheets??

Indeed. The cheap shower panels are t & g plastic 150mm wide, install is basically vertical laminate with a bit of silicon. The dearer ones are some sort of mdf core with waterproof face, diy sheds sell them as 2' strips, builders merchants run to 8' x 4'.

 

[Madrab]

I'd always run the panels like tiles, where they will overlap the tray and then seal. If they're panelled to the floor and the seal to the tray goes then you'll have water running down the sides and onto the floor.

Whether it's tiles, wet board or anything else then the rules stay the same IMO.