Tiles or shower wall boarding?

[Monkeybunkey]

I've recently had a quote from a plumber to replace our grotty old shower tray and enclosure (long quadrant 1200mm x 800mm). As the old tiles are horrible and the grout is failing, he has quoted for either replacement tiles or shower wall boarding. This shower wall boarding is a new one on me, so I've googled it and it looks as though it's much easier to keep clean. Does anyone have this in their bathroom? Is it preferable to having the walls retiled?

[CountMagnus]

Shower wall boarding may still have silicone sealing at the bottom so that can still get mouldy if you're not careful (depends on the type of board being fitted). You really need to go and have a look at some in a showroom - some of it can be great, and some can be cheap and nasty looking.

We stuck with tiles, the tiler recommended drying the tiles off with a towel after a shower to prevent the grout discolouring.

[Monkeybunkey]

Thanks CountMagnus, I'd presumed there would still be sealant round the bottom but the lack of grout to keep clean sounded quite appealing! Will try to have a look at some before I make a final decision.

[PigletJohn]

you could also go for grey grout, which looks less dirty. It is very popular for tiled floors.

[Monkeybunkey]

Thanks PigletJohn, hadn't considered grey grout (possibly with grey tiles, although our water's hard so they'd get limescale marks pretty quickly).

[HmmOkay]

Don't you think grey grout just makes it look dirty in the first place?

This kinda thing.

"Don't want bits of your grout to look dirty? Just make all of it look dirty instead!"

It is like a Top Tip from Viz or something.

[Idefix]

Meh I am beginning to think it looks good and will hopefully stay fresher looking for longer.

[minipie]

Bette do an "upstand" feature on their shower trays. It's ordered as a special option but doesn't cost much extra iirc.

The shower tray has a built in upstand (a couple of inches tall) and you tile down over the upstand. It enables you to avoid having silicon where the tray meets the tiles. I haven't tried it but it looks brilliant as it's always the silicon that's worst for mould.

Personally I much prefer tiles to shower wall board, but admittedly that does mean grout.

[Bellybootcut]

We put the shower wall boarding in last year. It's brilliant, my favourite part of my new bathroom. We opted for a grey one with a slightly glossy fleck. It catches the light beautifully and looks lovely with the water beading down. Virtually no cleaning required.

[StripyBlanket]

We had grey grout in our bathroom and I regret it. The silicone still goes mouldy so it still doesn't look clean

[gameofchance]

We got something called bush board. It was ££££ but well worth it. It is completely waterproof and Matt so it doesn't show up the soap Axum. We went for a travertine look and it looks like the real stuff

[LooksBetterWithAFilter]

After trying to get tiles off a bathroom wall by previous owner in my old house it's wall board all the way for me now. The house we are in now had it already and it's so much easier to clean and easier to remove if and when I decide to chasm ge it.

[gameofchance]

Ps should read soap scum

[sluj]

We had shower wall for the kids bathroom a couple of years ago and it has been fantastic. Just wipe it over now and then with a damp cloth. The board is called Nuance by Bushboard and is waterproof through to the core. We used an offcut of it to make an splashback upstand behind the basin. Looks great
Just ordered more Bushboard for our ensuite in Silver Travertine. It costs a lot but I will never ever buy a tile again. I can't recommend it highly enough.