Wall panels or tiles for a shower?

I came across this video:

Theo

I’ve been down the tiling road many times, and I completely understand why SWMBO wants panels—scrubbing grout lines is a job nobody misses! You’re spot on with the ply-backed panels; they are much more rigid and feel far more premium than the hollow PVC ones. Just a few things to keep in mind: the seal is everything, so use a high-quality sanitary silicone and plenty of it in the corners. If you want a seamless look, go for the 'tongue and groove' edges instead of using H-join profiles. Also, make sure your walls are reasonably plumb; even though panels are more forgiving than tiles, a major twist in the wall can make getting a tight seal in the corners a real nightmare. The only real downside is that if water does get behind them due to poor sealing, it can rot the ply before you even notice, so don’t skimp on the trims. If you do it right, you'll never want to look at a bag of grout again!

The ply backedpanels are the best, I used them to cover over old tiles where the grouting had become porous.

If you use patterned ones make sure they match before fitting, the first batch i got were slightly different shades so I had them replaced.

The panels are much easier to keep clean

Nightmare. But removing that tape from the bath-panel trim pieces can't have helped. Don't blame him - it did look like transit/packing tape, and not part of the seal.

Is there a brand you can recommend?

And would they work with a 45 degree 'corner'?

I really struggle to understand that statement My tiled bathrooms are now 20+ years old and have never been 'cleaned' beyond regular use of 'daily shower shine'

I do have a water softener...

How difficult is it to seal the joints in the corners, etc. so that no water can get behind the panels?

In the past I've installed some of that twin wall plastic type panelling (on a ceiling). For a ceiling it was sold as smaller width planks. It's easily damaged as shown late on in that video. Even someone leaning on it will dent it.

I did some research when I remodelled my bathroom and the recommendation was for the more robust type with a bonded layer of plastic over something more rigid (ply?). In the end I decided on tiles. The panels were more expensive and I wanted (near) floor to ceiling fitting without a join in the vertical direction. My house has high ceilings and although it's claimed that larger sizes are readily available few stocked them and delivery prices quoted at the time for my needs would have cost an arm and leg.

If the guy in the video had problems with 90 degree corner beads how far out of 90 degrees are the corners in the room where this type of panelling is to be fitted. On my 1908 house walls are not plumb (different thickness of original plaster, thick at top and bottom of wall and thin in the middle) , corners are not 90 degrees and in some rooms the ceiling slopes by about 2 inches across the length of the room. Edwardian building skills at the best :)

I cannot see how that tape he peeld off would have performed a better seal.

I assume a daily shower cleaner used once every six months :) :)

Nope. I use it every time I use the bathroom.

it stops any limescale build up and acts as a surfactant to clean off any water borne potential deposits. Water softeners are never 'perfect'

Of course, being insulated and heated, mould has never been a problem

Corner 45 deg pvc strip mouldings are usually readily avaiable mine has them.

A comment on that video which might give some useful starting points (@oldbonesuk1139):

There are 3 types of board,

UPVC as you used, very cheap but 1) you will always see a half mill line between panels 2)they are prone to impact damage be careful with the drill chuck slamming into them ( you can use a matching grout to get rid of the line if you hate it )

Selki and Fibo sell boards that are that are solid on a marine ply back, no issues with impacts and the joints are perfect, almost invisible but cost between £150 > 300 a panel

Nuance are another supplier but they use a dense hardibaker board like substance or pure acyclic , again no issues with impacts, no joints but they can be from £300 to £800 a board

I personally hate the bottom trims you used there are multiple other ways of neatly sealing the bottom, including using 12mm tile trims reversed so the flat edge goes against the bath leaving a tiny 1mm profile line on the outside, also i detest the corner trims when they are clearly the wrong colour for the board, Selkie or fibo sell a concealed corner, or if needs be use a sprayer with enamel paint and colour match the trims

Just like tiles you get what you pay for, a middle ground would have been cheap 600x1200 tiles widely available form £35 per m" but dont forget the adhesive cost, which is a lot more than the tube per panel cost of boards </quote>

Sounds like you get what you pay for.

Looks like there are trims designed to keep things together and square:

Although I wonder how bad it would be to butt them and silicone. I suspect the trims are better at keeping the water out.

Theo

Many thanks. Saved for the time when I get tired enough of looking at the mess I made of the tiling . . .

We had a whole bathroom ‘done’ in 2018, including a ‘walk in’ shower. The shower area is panelled, the rest tiled.

We liked it so much we had the en-suite done a bit later.

The later is used daily and still looks like new.

The other one is only used when we have visitors but is also fine.

As you say, the panels have a ply backing and a waterproof finish. I didn’t fit them myself but I believe you seal the joins with silicone and glue to the wall.

The biggest mistakes I've noticed with DIY tiling (and some professional examples) is ending up at the edge of the run with very small slithers of tiles which could have been avoided witha bit of planning and if starting from a centre point just offsetting that centre position by perhaps a third of the tile dimension. You may end up using more tiles but it sure looks a lot better.

Also, not using plastic or metal edge or external corner trim which comes in different sizes to accomodate different tile thicknesses.

The mistake is in doing the above. Tiling doesn't mind part tiles and a uniform spacing is preferable. No tiling needs 'corner trims either' Even for cheap white trade tiles.

Part tiles look like a right bodge job if you end up with an inch at the edge of the run, especially if using larger size tiles. Easily cured with a bit of forethought and moving the reference datum point where you start tiling.

Many tiles, including some expensive tile, are not fully glazed on the edge and on an external corner the unglazed section would show without a corner bead which hides the edge of the tile. On internal corners there is no exposed edge of the tile

Or you could use tiles that are not ceramic, but stone

And dark-coloured grout hides the annoying mould and discoloration of white grout :-).

Neighbour used his Karcher window vac to clean his shower but bunged it up with soap fairly quickly after the tank (intended to collect clean condensate water only) overflowed into the vac pump :-)