Everyone would love a tiled bathroom. Tiles give the feeling of class and can even make a room look bigger and brighter than it actually is. But at the same time, tiles are difficult to install. They’re also an expensive design fitting, and can take a lot of maintenance to keep them gleaming.
But physical tiles aren’t the only option if you’re set on this design. There is an alternative which will save you time, money and a lot of mess – wall panelling.
Consider wall cladding
Bathroom cladding, or plastic wall panels as it is more commonly known, are sheets of plastic panelling which can be installed onto your walls using adhesive and screws. The reason these panels are a great alternative to conventional tiling is because you can now buy tile effect panels for your bathroom.
Once installed, these tile effect panels will make your walls look like you’ve splashed out hundreds of pounds on new tiles, and spent hours installing them, when you’ve actually saved yourself time and money with wet wall panels!
Installation
When you install tiles in any room, you have to start by preparing and skimming your walls. This in itself can take hours. With bathroom cladding, there’s no prep necessary. You can even fit the panels over your existing tiles!
The installation of the wall panels is extremely easy. You should always start by measuring your room, as it makes buying the right amount of cladding much easier. Once you’ve got your panels, it’s best to start the installation from a corner. To make things that much easier, consider buying corner trims, which means that your corner panels have something to slot straight into.
Starting from the corner, work your way across the room attaching one panel to the next using a tongue and groove system. Once you’ve installed all your panels, you’ll be left with a seamless covering across all your walls.
Bathroom design
Choosing cladding over tiles doesn’t limit your design choices with it comes to renovating your bathroom. In fact, there are more colours and schemes for you to choose from.
When it comes to cladding, you can choose tile effect panels in many different shades. You can also consider wood effect panels, marble effect and simply plain colours.
You can also pick from a range of different panel thickness, from 5mm to 10mm, allowing you to get the most out of your bathroom space.
Maintenance
If you live in a busy household or have children, cleaning and maintenance quickly turns from a ten-minute job to enormous task. When you install tiles, you have to consider the mildew and mould that will inevitably build up in the grouting.
If the mould is left for too long, its notoriously difficult to remove. As panels don’t have the need for grouting, this eliminates the issue of black mould.
Alongside this, bathroom cladding is stain resistant, which means you simply need to wipe the surface down after a bath or a shower to remove any watermarks. If you let this quick cleaning slip and your panels look particularly dirty, don’t turn to harsh cleaning products. Simply put a few dashes of vinegar into some hot water, and use a soft cloth to wipe the mixture over your panels. They’ll be gleaming in no time!
So, as you can see, the tiled look is achievable without splashing out or spending your entire weekend in the bathroom!