Bathroom panels vs tiles

JustBen

JustBen

JustBen

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Joined
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Location
Cumbria
As title really I've started clearing out my bathroom which is currently in black glittered wall cladding which makes the small bathroom look really small. Upon taking some off the plaster underneath is coming off so I've knocked most of it which is now back to brick. From experience I've only tiled the wall and floors and never bothered with cladding apart from for the ceiling. So the plan is to move the bathroom about to maximise space and tile the walls and floor.
Someone I know if currently at the same stage of ripping out their bathroom. They are going to wood floor the floor and put bathroom panels on the wall.
So I suppose the question is what do you guys think is best to go down? Wood floor and wall panels looks cheaper by quite a bit but I think it will likely look a bit tacky whereas tiles are looking at about 200 for the hardiebacker boards then 100 or so on adhesive and god knows how much on tiles.
Luckily cost isnt a huge issue but it would be nice to see some people suggest tiles are better to get rid off any doubt in the extra costs.
 
Wood floor? No. Go for tiles or something like quick step vinyl. As for walls, tiles are nicer. Panels are quick and easy to install though. For DIY panels are far easier.
 
I tiled my bathroom wall to wall and floor to ceiling - It looks clinical - so to cure a problem leak at edge of shower cubicle I put wall panels on the shower walls -I bought marine ply backed ones - I made sure they were vertical and level and with a new frameless cubicle it has really improved the look of bathroom - it is in a slightly darker colour than tiles. - we blade and wipe our shower every time we shower and it still looks clean and new -I also polish them occasionally with car wax - there is a rush to get in first as last one in cleans up.

I don't think I would like panels all round unless you can split them up with some other feature.
 
I have panels in my shower ‘cubicle’, which is effectively an alcove with a door on the front so needed a 3 sided kit. It was a complete pain to install the back panel because the walls were not straight and it needed lots of trimming to get it in on both sides with the right gap for the corner piece. The sides were much easier.

One thing I hadn’t factored in was getting the panel into the room itself which isn’t big enough to swing a cat. It was a small en-suite, at its biggest point is 1.4 wide and about 2m deep. The back panel was 1.2 meters wide and effectively full height as we put in a low profile tray... That lead of quite a few angry words and gouges in the ceiling but on the plus side I only needed one pack of vinyl click floor tiles to do the room!

Would I use them again? Yes. The gave a good finish and are easy to maintain.

But I wouldn’t use them on bath or whole room. Tiles are far more flexible for dealing with the odd shapes you end up with in a bathroom. The grout lines also break up the surface of the wall rather than having big smooth panels. The panels are meant to be a feature but to use them over a large area would be a bit ‘much’ but ideal in a shower.

A 2 or 1 sided shower would be an easy install though and easily recommended for DIY and create a nice feature. 3 sides is more challenging but doable.

For a bathroom/whole room. Tiles every time.
 
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Thanks for the detailed reply , I understand the getting them into the room bit as getting the old cladding out was easier going out of the bathroom window into the front garden then trying to get them out of the bathroom door and around the stairs. I'll get the hardiebacker ordered today and some of the adhesive. Pay day in a week or so will get the other bits then. Looking forward to getting the bathroom replaced once that's done I have done the whole house =)
 
I and a few others here used marmox boards our bathrooms, it’s an insulated board that’s also waterproof. It’s pretty easy to work with, Worth a look.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
I and a few others here used marmox boards our bathrooms, it’s an insulated board that’s also waterproof. It’s pretty easy to work with, Worth a look.
Click to expand...
Thanks will price the hardiebacker and price up the marmox boards see if theres much in it
 
I'm going to be doing a full 3 walls in multipanel when I do mine. Remaining wall will be plastered and painted. I can't stand tiles.
 
When we did ours, we went for panels. I hate tiling.
Full length around the shower but dropped to half height for the rest of the room which was fortunately quite large.
Light colour (white /grey marble effect).
I did tile the floor.
Looked really nice when all was done. Then we made a decision to move 200 miles.
 
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