Bathroom advice sought

[pubrunner]

Hi All,

We are about to have our main bathroom and ensuite bathroom refurbished.

My dear missus has decided to do away with tiles (& skirting boards) and to have panels put in. I think that panels are an excellent idea within the shower, but for the bathroom walls, I'm less certain - I'm not sure if they should be the same colour as within the shower area, or slightly contrasting - what do most folk do ?

Some bathrooms that I've seen online, have panels over the ceiling - is this a good idea ? It would save having to paint the ceiling - that's not a frequent job, but can issues arise with covering the ceiling with a panel ?

Are shower panels 'much of a muchness' or do they vary in quality ? If so, which are the best makes and what are the qualities that we should look for ?

Thank you for any suggestions.

• * Update edit ***

We intend to replace the sinks and the surrounding 'work tops' (not sure of the proper name) into which they are seated. What would is the best 'worktop' material ? We'd like something of good quality, that will look good for a few years.

Edited by pubrunner on Monday 7th October 14:55

[Peanut Gallery]

There are definitely cheap panels and nice panels - and the 2 do not cross over in my experience.

For walls I have used a panel with a wooden core, nice and solid, warmer than tile, waterproof, heavy, big panels (size of a sheet, so 8ft by 4ft) so less joins, some nice colors / effects.

For ceilings I have used the hollow, pvc style panels, really light, flimsy, can be dented by a 4 year old (dont ask) - but are much warmer to the touch, easier to cut - but in my opinion harder to cut straight, lighter to glue onto the ceiling, but do feel "cheap" - on the ceiling you hardly notice it, but on the walls you really feel the wall flex when you press against it and it just feels meh.

TL:DR - recommend going for solid core wall panels, some really nice ones out there, but I would avoid the clip together hollow core wall panels.

[pubrunner]

Thank you for the guidance that you've provided - really helpful.

I had thought of getting something from this range :

https://www.multipanel.co.uk/products/bathroom-wal...

Are these ^^^ likely to be clip together hollow core wall panels ?

I have to admit, I've not heard of 'solid core wall panels', but they seem the way to go.
Are these the kind os panel you'd recommend ?

https://wetwallworks.co.uk/wall-panels/wet-wall-ra...

Thanks for taking the time to reply - appreciated.

Edited by pubrunner on Monday 7th October 16:21

[Turtle Shed]

We've gone with panels for the ensuite I'm installing. Solid core ones, and not cheap, but I am confident they will be simple enough to fit an look great for years. Anything that does away with grout has to be a good thing.

At about £180 each there will be a lot of measuring before cutting.

[pubrunner]

Is there any chance you could give a link to the supplier of your panels ?

They may cost more than others, but hopefully, they last for years.

Thank you.

[Rob.]

I'd personally avoid solid surface worktops. We installed a MAKStone one and it scratches if you look at it sharply.

[blueg33]

I prefer rectified tiles with very narrow 0.6mm grout lines to panels. generally looks more classy. In the houses we build, its panels for the social houses and tiles for the up market luxury houses. Buyers generally see panels as the naff option. Panels are cheap and quick to install, tiles need to be done properly, especially large format ones.

At home we decided to use tiles.

[MarkJS]

We went for panels instead of tiles throughout the bathroom recently and don't regret it. Quality does vary and Fibo are way better quality than Multipanel for example - but you pay for it like most things.

The Fibo panels are excellent.