Bath panel and toilet cistern concealed behind tiles - Worth the hassle?

ahfh1

Hi,

I'm thinking of tiling the bath side panels to cover up the white plastic back and side panels.

Also thinking of a Grohe hidden toilet cistern, so it's hidden behind tiles.

Are these worth doing for a sleeker look? My fear is that I may need access to the pipes under the bath and toilet cistern if anything goes wrong, and I would have to hack off the tiles to get access to them.

Thanks

keystone

ahfh1 wrote: »

My fear is that I may need access to the pipes under the bath and toilet cistern if anything goes wrong, and I would have to hack off the tiles to get access to them.

You are supposed to provide access. Its not difficult to do.

Cheers

ahfh1

Sorry for sounding dumb, but how is access provided?

Thanks

DirectDebacle

Simplest way is to tile the bath panel and attach it to a timber frame using mirror screws. For a neater result use magnetic catches instead of screws. Same for the cistern though some Grohe cisterns have a large rectangular (chrome effect) panel which houses the push buttons. The housing can be removed to provide access to the cistern.

27col

I can't believe that people are still proposing to install baths and toilets without providing access for use in an emergency. If you don't provide access you deserve everything you get, when a leak develops or you need to do maintenance. It just requires a bit of thought and common sense to come up with a solution.

diable

You board around the bath but have a section that is removable and held in place by mastic, if you use Mapei grout the you can buy the matching colour mastic.

Hidden toilet cistern is well worth the hassle especially if you go with a wall hung pan.

27col

Very nice to look at but how do you get to the cistern for maintenance purposes.

Plumberman

27col wrote: »

I can't believe that people are still proposing to install baths and toilets without providing access for use in an emergency. If you don't provide access you deserve everything you get, when a leak develops or you need to do maintenance. It just requires a bit of thought and common sense to come up with a solution.

If only everybody thought like this.

redlee

27col wrote: »

Very nice to look at but how do you get to the cistern for maintenance purposes.

Access is through the flushplate.

27col

Right. thanks for that.

bobthedambuilder

I've made a removable shelf above the cistern (see the first picture in diable's post - imagine a shelf where the horizontal tiles are). There's plenty of room to access the cistern if you need to. Mine is a painted timber shelf - if you want a tiled finish, tile onto a piece of ply or MDF with a recessed front edge so it fits to the vertical tiles on the boxout hiding the cistern, or overlap the vertical face with a drop edging tile on the shelf - a bit of imagination will give you an acceptable end result.