Had a job early this week to completely replace a corner shower. Remove old
tiles & replace, fit new enclosure.

Pressure was to return the shower to use as quickly as possible, so instead
of tiles I decided to use PVC panels in tile effect.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/na...condid=9295839

In theory a good idea. 820mm x 1900mm solid panels, stuck to walls with a
corner bead. Simple, quick, easy - not.

First problem, the panels are incredibly fragile, prone to splitting on the
moulded grout line. I was double careful in transporting them, but one
still split - luckily just where it was going to be cut anyway. Fluke.

Second problem was getting the edge of the panels into the corner trim -
bloody nightmare, such a tight fit. Took me hours & hours to get them to
fit in, inch by inch using a slim knife blade.. The panels were covered
with a protective film which peeled off 'tile by tile' which also took ages.

I reckon it actually took longer than tiling & grouting the walls - and was
much more expensive.

Customer was delighted with the job, the panels do look very good.

I will never, ever use the bloody things again though!


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Had a job early this week to completely replace a corner shower. Remove
old tiles & replace, fit new enclosure.

Pressure was to return the shower to use as quickly as possible, so
instead of tiles I decided to use PVC panels in tile effect.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/na...condid=9295839

In theory a good idea. 820mm x 1900mm solid panels, stuck to walls
with a corner bead. Simple, quick, easy - not.

First problem, the panels are incredibly fragile, prone to splitting
on the moulded grout line. I was double careful in transporting
them, but one still split - luckily just where it was going to be cut
anyway. Fluke.
Second problem was getting the edge of the panels into the corner
trim - bloody nightmare, such a tight fit. Took me hours & hours to
get them to fit in, inch by inch using a slim knife blade.. The
panels were covered with a protective film which peeled off 'tile by
tile' which also took ages.
I reckon it actually took longer than tiling & grouting the walls -
and was much more expensive.

Customer was delighted with the job, the panels do look very good.

I will never, ever use the bloody things again though!

We've had a similar problem, but with a cubicle & tray. In theory there was
50mm to play with...in reality not a 'snowball in hell's chance'! No matter
how we jiggled with it (the cubicle that is), it was having non of it. In
the end, we had to opt for an 850cm enclosure instead of the 900cm supplied.
The suppliers response?....."Oh, you must have had a 'rogue'
tray.....sometimes they shrink more than expected during firing".

Bloody hell, what are Quality Control paid to do?

Don.

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Had a job early this week to completely replace a corner shower. Remove old
tiles & replace, fit new enclosure.

Pressure was to return the shower to use as quickly as possible, so instead
of tiles I decided to use PVC panels in tile effect.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/na...condid=9295839

In theory a good idea. 820mm x 1900mm solid panels, stuck to walls with a
corner bead. Simple, quick, easy - not.

First problem, the panels are incredibly fragile, prone to splitting on the
moulded grout line. I was double careful in transporting them, but one
still split - luckily just where it was going to be cut anyway. Fluke.

Second problem was getting the edge of the panels into the corner trim -
bloody nightmare, such a tight fit. Took me hours & hours to get them to
fit in, inch by inch using a slim knife blade.. The panels were covered
with a protective film which peeled off 'tile by tile' which also took ages.

I reckon it actually took longer than tiling & grouting the walls - and was
much more expensive.

Customer was delighted with the job, the panels do look very good.

I will never, ever use the bloody things again though!

Customer will curse you when the surface print wears off, and the
rough finish due to cleaning it means its a nightmare to get even half
clean. Just say no indeed.


NT

wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Had a job early this week to completely replace a corner shower. Remove old
tiles & replace, fit new enclosure.

Pressure was to return the shower to use as quickly as possible, so instead
of tiles I decided to use PVC panels in tile effect.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/na...condid=9295839

In theory a good idea. 820mm x 1900mm solid panels, stuck to walls with a
corner bead. Simple, quick, easy - not.

First problem, the panels are incredibly fragile, prone to splitting on the
moulded grout line. I was double careful in transporting them, but one
still split - luckily just where it was going to be cut anyway. Fluke.

Second problem was getting the edge of the panels into the corner trim -
bloody nightmare, such a tight fit. Took me hours & hours to get them to
fit in, inch by inch using a slim knife blade.. The panels were covered
with a protective film which peeled off 'tile by tile' which also took ages.

I reckon it actually took longer than tiling & grouting the walls - and was
much more expensive.

Customer was delighted with the job, the panels do look very good.

I will never, ever use the bloody things again though!

Customer will curse you when the surface print wears off, and the
rough finish due to cleaning it means its a nightmare to get even half
clean. Just say no indeed.


NT

I used some polystyrene backed 300mm tile panels on a project where
condensation was an issue. They were dead easy to use, but a little
expensive.