Wetwall

[Oleanda]

We are planning a new bathroom, and our builder has recommended WetWall rather than ceramic tiles on the walls. My OH is all for it but I am more sceptic. I believe it is laminated MDF, so where it has to be cut to fit, surely damp will get inside the sheets? Anyone on here used it?

[Graham-W]

We have it in our bathroom around the shower.
Brilliant stuff. No grout to discolour, easy to wipe down and clean. The resin in the laminate is such a high quality they give a lifetime guarantee. More expensive than tiles but goes up much faster, so you save on labour charges.
I would recommend it every time above tiles.

[buildersmate]

It is perfectly feasible that the SURFACES will be water-proof - as are ceramic tiles with water-proof grout. The issues are going to be at the joints (as with tiles). It seems one fills the joints with silicon sealant (as with tiles).
If you like the finishes available then it seems no less or more likely to leak than a properly-finished tiled surface. But I'm not enough in the tooth to remember avocado-coloured bathroom suites (and worse colours) so just bear in mind that fashions change.

[bookbinder]

I have never used Wetwall, but I have looked at it in a plumbers' showroom. At the internal angles, an aluminium jointing strip was used, that was the full length of the Wetwall sheet. The sheets were slotted into the jointing strip, rather like a mortice and tenon joint. A similar jointing strip was used to cover the outer edges of the sheets. I was assured by the salesman that that was enough to make the whole assembly watertight. There was no mention of using silicone sealant on the aluminium strips.

[The Builder]

Good product Oleanda. Used a lot now.
As with all these products, they're only as good as the guy putting them up. If not enough attention is paid to the minutiae of sealing edges etc, then it could give problems.

PVC is another way to go. Completely waterproof and rot proof. Have a look here, and look at the installation videos...............

http://www.pvc-cladding.co.uk/products.php?cat=Shower+Wall+Cladding+Kits

[Oleanda]

Thank you all for your answers, would you use it for the whole bathroom though, or just the shower part?

[The Builder]

Your choice entirely, whichever system you go for. With the current trend towards "wet rooms", the whole bathroom becomes one huge shower cubicle

.

[heathfield]

Yeah, wet rooms are great, just so long as you have a separate WC with a dry floor and toilet seat, for when you have to 'pay a visit' in the middle of the night! ;-)

[Zacs-Master]

Good product.....If you want your bathroom to look like a chinese take away.

[The Builder]

Zacs, aren't you confusing it with "wallboard"?

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00HBmtPTQaIDoh/Wall-Board-for-Inner-Wall-Decoration.jpg&imgrefurl=http://czpulin.en.made-in-china.com/product/goFxPmQJuzWH/China-Wall-Board-for-Inner-Wall-Decoration.html&h=853&w=640&sz=72&tbnid=pbmRw5SBVev0EM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=68&zoom=1&usg=__qHmT2z-NuDY7Le6qrfCkH4Gh9pI=&docid=kqfYZ8F5CWSD3M&;hl=en&sa=X&ei=29oTUYDKEOnC0QXz44G4AQ&;sqi=2&ved=0CGsQ9QEwBg&dur=1

[Zacs-Master]

No, It's that hideous semi shiny plastic stuff that makes your bathroom looks like a 3 star camp site bogs.

[Graham-W]

We chose quite a dark coloured board for the corner where the shower is, and a light coloured tile, as a contrast, for the rest of the bathroom.
As others have said, you pays you money, you makes your choice.