Removable tiled panel in bathroom

[Mr Fizzion]

I want to create a tiled box in the bathroom fixed in the corner of the room. It will be one tile deep, 2.5 m high and around 800mm wide. Behind it will run a few pipes and fixed to it will be a Grohe wall mounted shower mixer.

Obviously the water pipes need to be connected to the shower behind the tiled panel. If I ever need to replace the shower I will need access to the fittings behind the panel.

I can't think of the best way to create a removable panel so that I can have access to the shower connections. Obviously the seal round any panel will need to be waterproof.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Mr F.

[news]

aquapanel, covered in tiles, fixed with velcro and sealed with a very thin bead of silicone sealant ?

just a thunk ...

[Lobster]

You posted about this same project a few days ago, right? If this is the same scenario, why can't the access panel be in the side of the boxing, which wouldn't need to be waterproof? I'm assuming by "1 tile deep" they are biggish tiles, not tiny ones?

In my setup (described in the response to your previous post) I tiled the front (on an Aquapanel base) and nailed 6mm WBP ply down the side, leaving one section removable (at shower gubbins height) and fixed with domed mirror screws. The cavity is just big enough to get my arm in.

David

[Mr Fizzion]

Thanks - the mirror screws sound like quite a good idea though I like the velcro idea too! :-)

Mr F.

[David Lang]

Magnets? You can get really strong magnetic catches.

Dave

[John Rumm]

Or an extension of that idea... make the boxed in section about a foot deep and build a small airing cupboard into it with a door at the edge.

[Phil Addison]

If the shower is on a dividing wall between two rooms you could make the access panel in the adjacent room. I'm about to do this in our bathroom where the guts of the shower will be embedded in the partition wall and accessed from a panel in from the 'landing' side of the wall.

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Google uk.d-i-y archive is at NOSPAM from address to email me

[The Natural Philosopher]

The cost of implementing such will probably exceed the cost of ripping a few tiles off if you ever need to access the stuff.

Buy about 30-40 extra tiles, and then simply plaster over everythuing and tile.

Retile if it ever needs attention.

[Lobster]

But it's not just about cost though, it's convenience: at the construction stage it's a trivial matter to implement an access panel (in the side or back rather than in the spray-facing surface); compared with ripping down and renewing tiles (and maybe damaging the substrate, which could need replacing/repairing too?)? All just to replace a seal maybe? No way!

David