Can The Wall Panels Be fitted Horizontally?

We have been asked if the panels can be fitted horizontally a few times so thought we'd provide our thoughts on the subject.

The panels can be run horizontally but the manufacturers do not recommend this method as both the tongue and groove sides of the joint design have recesses that could hold water. In living rooms or outside of the bathroom or shower room this is not so much of an issue but obviously is not ideal in wet areas.



Fitting the panels horizontally also makes installation a lot more difficult as you have to maintain a horizontal line around the room, even if the walls are out-of-true, and you don't have a variable grout gap as you would do with tiles to help compensate for any discrepancies.

Panel Range Changes

As has already been posted, the Tinto range is to be phased out and we have also been informed that Mosaic Rose and Mosaic Jade are to be discontinued.

The rest of the Mosaic range will remain, which is good news as this is one of our most popular panels! The great advantage of mosaic effect panels over ceramic tiles is that there is no grout - and mosaic tiles tend to use a lot of grout.

There is also news of a new tile-effect wall panel that will be available very soon - details will be posted as soon as we have them.

Tinto Range

The Tinto Range, which is currently on special offer, is to be phased out and a new range brought in to replace it. We do not have definite information on the exact dates but Tinto Sahara stock has been exhuasted and will not be run by the manufacturers again.

There is still stock available for the rest of the Tinto range at present.

As soon as we have details of the new range to replace Tinto we will post details here.

Panels Used With Shower Bath

The last number of years have seen a marked increase in popularity of the shower bath.

Many people find showers more convenient than a bath but tend to shower over the bath rather than removing the bath and installing a shower cubicle in its place. One of the drawbacks of showering over a bath is the limited amount of width available - standard baths are 700mm wide which is smaller than the majority of cubicles.

The shower bath attempts to overcome this problem by incorporating an enlarged shower area at one end of the bath - this limits the amount it cuts into available space compared with installing a much larger bath or even a corner bath.

The following image shows a typical shower bath installation (click to enlarge):



The customer has opted to panel around the bath/shower area with Mosaic Jade waterproof wall panelling. As the panels stop short of the bathroom ceiling they have finished off the edges with Decos Capping Trim.

The bath has a curved glass shower screen to contain the shower water when in use. This tends to work well with a low pressure showering system or an electric shower but can prove slightly less effective in use with a power shower (we have had quite a few customers who have fitted an Outasight in place of the glass screen as they found the screens were too small and didn't cover enough of the bath leading to water escaping onto the floor).

Wet Or Dry?

We quite often get asked if the curtain of the Outasight needs to be put away wet or dry.

The answer is that it can be stowed wet or dry.





The curtain material is impregnated with acrylic to stop mould growing in the curtain material but mold can still grow on the surface. After a number weeks or months you might start to see the odd small spot of mildew appearing. The curtain is designed to be used in conjunction with the recommended cleaner, Dettol Mould & Midlew Spray which will erradicate the spots and treat the curtain at the same time. The curtain needs a quick spray once or twice a month as shown in the video on the following page: http://www.bathroommarquee.co.uk/out-vid3.php

I have found that the dryer you put the shower curtain away the longer you go between sprays - the only downside is that it is marginally more difficult to stow when dry (this is not really an issue once you are used to the process).

Wall Panels For Shower Cubicles

We quite often get asked if our UPVC panels can be used in shower cubicles. The answer is an empatic yes. They are ideal for use in shower cubicle and unlike large sheet wall panels they can also be fitted inside an existing cubicle if required (their smaller size means they can be manouvered into position through the shower door).

We have added some extra pages to our shower cubicle section with images of customers' installations showing the panels in-situ. Here are some examples:

We shall be adding some more images from our customers' installations in the near future.

Ceiling Panel Direction

When you are looking to install ceiling panels you will often be confronted by the choice of direction in which to run the panels.

If the room is square this is obviously not an issue but in a rectangular room there are a few issues that need to be addressed.

One customer had a room where the ceiling was 4m long but only 1m wide and wondered which way was correct - as the panels can be installed either way it's a personal taste issue rather than a right/wrong way.

If you are using a flush fitting panel, such as Labo or Blanca it is not going to make much difference as the joints are not that visible. If you are using the cladding with the infill strip or using a v-groove panel such as Topline then the direction will have more of an effect, but not a massive one.

Running the ceiling panels along the room will have the effect of making the room look longer and narrower. Running them across the room will have the effect of making the room look shorter and wider.

So it really depends which you prefer. If you do choose to opt for cutting the panels shorter you will find it is much easier to fit, cut and handle smaller lengths. Also it might well be that you will require less panelling to cover the bathroom ceiling in one direction than it will in the other.