shower board instead of tiles?

guineapig

I am not sure what this stuff is called so please help! I have seen it in the USA & Canada and more recently in a holiday cottage in the UK, instead of tiles in the shower or around the bath, they have this sort of white plasticy perspex(?) stuff in large sheets.

Can anyone tell me what it's called and where I could get some please?

Would a tiler be able to install it at the same time as doing a bit of tile work?

It appeals to me for a couple of reasons:

Our bathroom has two layers of tiles and they need to come off:eek: I want to retile around the toilet and sink, but thought that it might be nice to put some of this waterproof board stuff around the bath as then there are fewer "joints" to let in water and no grout to clean;)

I am not talking about the waterproof plasterboard stuff here, this is the decorative, next to the water source stuff.

Please can any one tell me what it's called and does anyone have any first hand experience with it in their own home?
Thanks guys.....................

andrew-b

Google on "shower panel" or "showerwall" or similar.

There are some here to get you started:
http://www.boundarybathrooms.co.uk/WebShop.aspx?Category=29 (cant comment on whether that shop is good or not as not used them).

You can get all sorts of patterns of it. As we have begun renovating our bathroom i have been wondering about using this too. Seems like it will be far quicker than tiling but you'll need a decent flat surface to begin with. I believe you just bed it down with the recommended adhesive. You'll still have to make a decent seal around the edges and around cut-outs for pipes/fittings but it shouldn't take multiple days like tiling will. Should be able to use standard woodworking tools to cut and make pipe holes etc - but double/triple check before making any cuts as it'll be expensive if you mess up!
Only downside seems to be the cost as far as i can see but perhaps others who have installed it can tell us more.

Anyway let us know how you get on with finding a supplier as i haven't got round to looking into it properly yet.

Andy

WageSlave_3

Guineapig,

There's two types I know of (might be others). Respotex and Multiboard. I went for Multiboard for my shower, bath and basin surrounds and am pleased with the result.

Can't really help on installation of these as they were installed by a fitter but I would think they are a lot easier to do than tiles. I recall that the fitter used an adhesive straight onto the plasterboard and walls.

WS

Not sure how easy it would be to find on the web (not tried a google on either name) but I'd suggest a trip to MFI or similar and tell them you're considering a new bathroom and can you see samples. Note what you're after and buy elsewhere! That's how I chose mine.

superdon

We have some in our ensuite. We used Mermaid Panels. Pretty expensive stuff, but looks great. Should be quicker and easier to fit that tiles, so you will save on the labour costs.

gabyjane

We had this is our old house and even though we never chose it as we rented all i would say is make sure it is cleaned often. the people before us obviously didnt a lot and it was pretty marked..very hard to clean imo.

moonrakerz

I used Mermaid panels in my shower. Got a 1200 X 900 corner kit, gave an absolutely super finish, it should last for years.
I got a plumber in to fit it, I did some "labouring" for him - the panels are large and heavy to fit.

It certainly isn't cheap but is well worth it. !

burnsguitarman

'Wetwall' (available from plumbers merchants or bathroom shops) is another variant of what you are looking for. It costs around £90 for 1.2m x 2.4m, it looks really good and gives a great finish!

andyhop

take a look on the web for grant westfields multipanel

guineapig

Thanks guys, :T I appreciate all your input, I had no idea that it was so "mainstream"! I have been wondering about it for years and given that the walls might not be too good after removing two layers of tiles I thought, well if I have to have them replastered, then I would love to have some of this stuff put up afterwards:D

I wonder how many people out there have this stuff? so I just have to decide what colour now:cool:

Thanks a million!

burnsguitarman

Hi, When we used the 'wetwall' to create a shower cubicle, we placed it striaght onto a bare brick wall! I don't think there is any need to make the wall 'good' beforehand. Ours is like a white ice effect and has been in place for over 5 years with daily use, It still looks as good as new, and I would definately use it again. Hope this helps!

maryjane01

Hi, we just had 'wetwall' installed. It is so new we haven't even had a shower yet so I cannot comment on performance. From my research I can comment that 'multipanel' seemed to be one of the cheaper ranges in price (didn't seem lower in quality). We went with 'wetwall' because of one particular design from their 'boutique' range called 'white pixels'. Mermaid panels seemed to be more expesive. Also, when I was in B&Q about 2 weeks ago I saw that they are stocking a range of shower panels. It was a large store so I am not sure if you will find it in every B&Q.

For purchasing, there are stockists of multipanel on ebay, the best price I found for wetwall was on a website cube bathrooms. google Cube and wetwall and it comes near the top of the page.