Shower panels, wet walls, mermaid boards.....

[CointreauVersial]

....whatever they are called. I'm talking about large acrylic or laminate panels which you use in a shower or bath in place of tiles.

We are about to start work on the family bathroom and I saw some nice displays in Homebase ("Stormwall") and Bathstore ("SplashPanels"). Some of the shiny marble-alike ones were a bit "Travelodge" but some looked quite stylish and low maintenance. We need something behind the bath as we are having an over-bath shower.

What do the bathroom jury think about them? Do they leak or blow? Show water marks? Identify me as a person of questionable taste in decor?

in that case, me too -we've put them in a rental where they look very nice and are going to use them in our own shower too.

no grout to go mouldy!

just make sure you use the right glue and sealant. And you can get them a lot cheaper than from Homebase and Bathstore. I'll see if I've still got the right catalogue and post here if I have.

Are they easy to put in yourself?

We have them in our loft bathroom, coming on for 5 years old now and I love them! Ours are dark, sort of slate Wetwall.

I love not having grout and they are easy to clean. Our builder fitted them so I have no idea how hard it is.

I actually love tiles but hate grout so we'll definitely use these when we update the other bathroom.

yes, fairly easy - the ones we had lock together tongue and groove style, and they are easy to cut with a hacksaw. This also means they are quite fragile in transit so check for damage before accepting the parcel.

found the catalogue - Eastbrook, via one of our local plumbers merchants. They don't seem to be online so you'll need to ask around a bit. They sell several types and thicknesses of panels so plenty of choice, and of course in pattern and colour.

I love ours, no grout!! We have black pixels

www.wetwall.com/boutique/

I have it in my bathroom, showerwall I think it's called, and it's brilliant. Looks really lovely, easy to clean and no mould. About to have a new en suite built and will have it in the new shower too. I think it's brilliant.

Have had it since start of the year and love it. Hated cleaning tiles and grout.Not sure about installation as the company we used did everything.

We use a karcher window vacum on it after showering to dry it quickly.

It is similar to the black swirl in RandomMess link.

Ooh good, fairly positive feedback! DH liked it too. Just need to work out what flooring it would go with.