Bath/shower area finish

danrv

Bendy_House said:

I went to a local builder's merchants a while back to have a look for ideas, and they had expensiveish shower panels, such as those 'by' Linda Barker. 

Stood inside a couple of made-up shower cubicles, and very much liked what I saw and felt (matron!). Not remotely 'cheap' in either appearance or quality - solid as a solid thing. And it just felt like quality. 

£739 for 4 panels I’ve calculated and that’s online. Builders merchants I went to could probably price match.
Don’t want to spend all that TBH although it would be a quicker job.
Narrowed it down to hard wearing 40cm wide PVC panels or traditional tiles.
Will have a look at some options at B&Q.

plumb1_2

danrv said:

£739 for 4 panels I’ve calculated and that’s online. Builders merchants I went to could probably price match.
Don’t want to spend all that TBH although it would be a quicker job.
Narrowed it down to hard wearing 40cm wide PVC panels or traditional tiles.
Will have a look at some options at B&Q.

£739 plus 2 corner and 2 end trims, plus adhesive 
Is your bath level? Is the ceiling level? You might have to trim the top and bottom of the panels, otherwise you could end up with a 0-3mm gap or whatever is out of level.
ive never  found a ceiling perfectly level.And the corners of walls can out of plum, and sometimes have to pack the corner trims out.

just my experience, 

danrv

plumb1_2 said:

danrv said:

£739 for 4 panels I’ve calculated and that’s online. Builders merchants I went to could probably price match.
Don’t want to spend all that TBH although it would be a quicker job.
Narrowed it down to hard wearing 40cm wide PVC panels or traditional tiles.
Will have a look at some options at B&Q.

£739 plus 2 corner and 2 end trims, plus adhesive 
Is your bath level? Is the ceiling level? You might have to trim the top and bottom of the panels, otherwise you could end up with a 0-3mm gap or whatever is out of level.
ive never  found a ceiling perfectly level.And the corners of walls can out of plum, and sometimes have to pack the corner trims out.

just my experience, 

Bath’s level. Ceiling not quite. I’d worry about taking a saw to a £190 panel too.
There’s plenty of decent tiles at B&Q. Some are large and heavy but the 25cm x 40cm ceramic ones are lighter.

FreeBear

danrv said: There’s plenty of decent tiles at B&Q. Some are large and heavy but the 25cm x 40cm ceramic ones are lighter.

If you are going for larger format tiles, invest in a tile leveling system. Well worth it if you want minimal lippage.

Also back butter the tiles so that you get a full bond across the entire tile, and don't use PVA as a primer under the adhesive.

danrv

FreeBear said:

danrv said: There’s plenty of decent tiles at B&Q. Some are large and heavy but the 25cm x 40cm ceramic ones are lighter.

If you are going for larger format tiles, invest in a tile leveling system. Well worth it if you want minimal lippage.

Also back butter the tiles so that you get a full bond across the entire tile, and don't use PVA as a primer under the adhesive.

Yes. The wall's not completely flat so hopefully back buttering and levelling will help.
That's where panels would work well to cover any uneveness.

plumb1_2

Will this bathroom be finished before Christmas 😊

danrv

plumb1_2 said:

Will this bathroom be finished before Christmas 😊

I do hope so.

Rosa_Damascena

plumb1_2 said:

danrv said:

£739 for 4 panels I’ve calculated and that’s online. Builders merchants I went to could probably price match.
Don’t want to spend all that TBH although it would be a quicker job.
Narrowed it down to hard wearing 40cm wide PVC panels or traditional tiles.
Will have a look at some options at B&Q.

£739 plus 2 corner and 2 end trims, plus adhesive 
Is your bath level? Is the ceiling level? You might have to trim the top and bottom of the panels, otherwise you could end up with a 0-3mm gap or whatever is out of level.
ive never  found a ceiling perfectly level.And the corners of walls can out of plum, and sometimes have to pack the corner trims out.

just my experience, 

You could get tiles for a lot less, its not a large area. Keep the size of wall and panel to hand (plus 10-25% overage, depending on the shape of the tiles) and have an idea of the colour you want because you may even stumble across an end of the range line. I have spent countless hours of my life looking for bathroom and floor tiles, and it sapped the life out of me. In the end I realised that good enough is good enough.

plumb1_2

I have spent countless hours of my life looking for bathroom and floor tiles, and it sapped the life out of me. In the end I realised that good enough is good enough.

Exactly, so crack on with it Dan. I was going to mention a feature band 🙈but best not too.

danrv

Bendy_House said:

danrv said:

Yes.
I’ve been looking more at the colours/patterns rather than the material.
The brochure I have ranges from cheap 25cm wide/2.65 long cladding to more durable, expensive panels (650mm x 375mm).

If, when, I do my bathroom, should I go for shower panels - and good chance I will - then they will be full-cubicle-width. Ie, a couple of 1m-wide panels will do my cubicle (one cut down to 780mm as limited room), with a single join in the corner.

If going for panels, then I think that significant benefit - far fewer joins - should play a big part. 

That’s what I’m thinking. 
Cascade panels were recommended on here. 1m wide and cheaper than ply or MDF core.
I think that while tiling is probably still best, it’ll take a while DIY plus the floor will have to wait too.
I offered up an old chipboard wardrobe panel to the wall and thought how easy is that.
A couple of 1m panels, trimmed down would do the 1700mm wall.