Tile Effect Panel

We have just added a new panel to our website - Florentine 25 tile-effect waterproof wall panels:



Each panel appears to be 2 tiles wide with each tile being offset vertically by half a tile to give a staggered effect. Our other tile effect panel, Mineral Beige or Grey Tile Marble, have a butt-jointed appearance with a black joint line but the Florentine panels have a white grout line incorporated in the design.

Although many customers will instantly think of tiles when re-decorating their bathroom many are now switching to cladding the walls as they prefer the easy-clean, no-maintenance advantages of this type of wall covering. The main drawback with bathroom tiles has always been the grout, which can prove to be difficult to keep clean, especially if it is incorrectly specified or applied. The grout line on Florentine tile-effect panels is just part of the printed design so you just wipe over the whole surface when cleaning.

The cladding is available in two colours: grey (left below) or beige (right below)



Florentine tile effect panels are suitable for use in a shower cubicle or wet room and can be fitted to just the shower area or installed around the whole room - the more panels you install the less maintenance required.

Bending Panels Into Corners

We quite often asked if it is possible to bend the panels into corners rather than using a butt joint or a corner trim.

The answer is yes - it is possible but there are downsides to using this method.



We have created a new page with more information on this subject here :
bending panels into corners

The main issue with this installation method is that there are no real advantages. A well sealed butt joint or a joint employing a Corner Trim will be just as waterproof but a lot less fiddly to execute.

Our prefered method for internal corners is to butt join the panels and seal with a good quality silicone. As there is no grout used in the installation of our panels there is nowhere to harbour moisture and so the silicone, if applied correctly, will remain mould-free for years. On lighter coloured panels use a white silicone, on deeper shades use a clear silicone sealant. This will result in a very neat, waterproof finish for the corner and is suitable for use inside showers. If you are concerned about water leaking through the corner joint you can run silicone if the corner first and then push the panels into the wet silicone, encasing the joint in silicone, just wipe off any excess silicone sealant at the joint.

It is also possible (but tricky) to cut the panels for external corners but this involves removal of the webbing from inside the panel leaving the front surface more susceptible to splitting when the panel are bent. Our prefered method for external corner would be to use an angle trim, as available from our website. Another option is to use a tile edge trim. These result in a very neat finish but you have make sure that the panels are cuttin accurately as they to not cover up any slight discrepancies in cutting.

Over Bath Shower

If you are looking to use your bath for showering then the walls will need to covered in a suitable waterproof material. For many the first thing they think of is tiles but there are downsides in using these as can be seen in the following photo.



The main concern is the grout. Bathroom tiles frequently get wet and the grout used to fill the gaps between the tiles can retain moisture enabling mould to grow. Many customers are opting for our waterproof panelling as an alternative to tiles for this application as they use no grout in their installation and there is therefore nowhere to harbour moisture - no moisture equelas no mould.

The following image shows the same bathroom after the tiles have been replaced with our Bali Grey cladding:



The result is a bright, light, attractive surface that requires no maintenance and will look good for years to come after the installation.

Showerwall Panels

We have just added the Showerwall range of laminated panels to our inventory.



These panels can be used in all but the largest shower cubicles to cover the wall without any joins. They are constructed from an MDF core with a decorative laminate face and come in a range of attractive finishes. There is also a range of trims available for finishing off the edges and corners as well as adhesives and silicone to get the job done.

Advanced Notice of Closed Days

The Bathroom Marquee will be closed on Monday 7th June 2010 and will also be closed at the end of July, closing on Thursday 22nd re-opening on Monday 2nd August. We will put reminder notices up on the main website nearer the time.

Bathroom Ceilings

When remodelling a bathroom the ceiling quite often gets overlooked. Our wall panels offer a maintenance free opttion for the walls but they can also be used, very succesfully, on the ceiling. Most customers tend to opt for a white panel on the ceiling or sometimes one of our woodgrain effect panels but a recent customer chose to use the same panel for the walls and ceiling - in this case Spaceline Bali Grey.



The end result can be seen in the image above, where both the walls and bathroom ceiling utilise Bali Grey. There are some more shots from this installation on our Customer Gallery

New Panel - Spaceline Black

We have just added a new panel to our range of waterproof wall cladding.

Spaceline Black is a black, marble effect panel, 2.7m long, 250mm wide and 10mm thick with a striking gloss finish.



These dark panels are ideal for use as a highlight "colour" within an overall refurbishment - the most common use being to line a shower cubicle with the black effect and then opt for a lighter contrasting colour around the rest of the room.

It is also possible to use it to line all of the bathroom or shower room walls but this is a bold move and could make a small room feel a litttle more claustrophobic as lighter colours tend give more of an impression of space. The finished result though will certainly catch the eye.

Mosaic Effect Wall Panels

As reported previously, Decos had announced that two of the colours in the mosaic effect wall panel range were to be discontinued. Production has now finished of both Jade and Onyx Rose.



At the time of posting there was very little Jade Mosaic left in stock with the importers but the manufacturers have a large quantity of Onyx Rose to sell off and have slashed the price accordingly.

While stocks last Mosaic Onyx Rose is just £6.99 per panel.

The panels must be bought in multiples of 4 and the price does not include carriage.

Outasight Shower Curtains Back In Stock

We have just been informed that Outasight shower curtains are back in stock with the manufacturers - a week earlier than initially thought. After working through the back orders normal deliveries should resume week commencing 01.02.10



Appolgies to any customers who have had to wait for the curtains - this was due to a delay in the supply of curtain material from the German manufacturer.

Christmas Opening Hours

We will be closing for Christmas at midday on Tue 22nd Dec and will re-open on Mon 4th January.

Any orders placed via our website while we closed will be processed on our return. We would recommend Thursday 17th as the last order day.

Not all of our suppliers re-open on the 4th so some products might take an extra couple of days in the first week back - please check with the sales office for details.

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.

Decos Panels

We are in the processing of updating our product pages to a new format that we hope our customers will find to their liking. We have simplified the layout and added a lot of extra information and additional photos to show the different colour options (where available).

Currently the Decos panels have been updated and we are in the processing of updating the rest of our cladding ranges.

Longer Labo Ceiling Panels Added

Labo ceiling panels are now available in a 6m length as well as 4.5m and 2.6m. This enable larger areas to be spanned without the need for joins (which are not the best looking option). They also offer another option when trying to work out the most economic way to cover a bathroom ceiling. One pack (4 panels) of the 6mt length is enough to cover a bathroom 3m x 2m or a room 1.5m x 4m.



The Labo panels can be fitted with the optional Infill Trims (extra) which helps break up the solid colour of the ceiling and provides visual interest. The panels can also be used on walls if required but the Infill Strips are not suitable for use in wet areas such as inside a shower cubicle or over a bath.

Tile Effect Wall Panels - Now Available In Grey

We have recently added a new panel to our range.

Mineral Beige Tile Marble has long been a popular panel with our customers that provides the best of both worlds, the look of tiles with the benefit of wall panels - no grout, no maintenance, wipe over surface, easy installation.

The manufacturers, Grosfillex, have now produced a grey version of this panel which we think will be a great addition to the range.



The panels appear to be 2 tiles wide and the finished effect gives a staggered pattern with each tile joining half way up the adjacent tile (click the above image to see in more detail). This means that horizontal lines do not have to be lined up perfectly, making installation a lot easier.

Visit the following page on our website for more information:
Mineral Grey Tile Marble