Shower Panels - Are they going to last?

[Flump9]

As title really. How long have shower panels been around? I've only heard of them the past couple of years, has anyone had them for a few years that can tell how they are wearing? Love the idea of no tiles and grout lines but have visions of peeling or swelling in the joins after a few years?

They seem a new trend and one can see the advantage of not having tile grout going orange.

I have, however, heard that you cannot affix a caddy to them so where would you put all your shampoo bottles etc...

Most hospitals, campsites etc use them. I think they are as good as the person fitting them.

Our bathroom fitter/plumber said they last about 10 years. He was amazed the shower panel at the back of our bath had lasted 30 years. It’s failed majorly now, hence the need for a bathroom fitter.

I have Nuance Bushboard in two showers. One is about 12 years old and still looks as good as the day it was installed. We have shower caddies screwed to it and no issues. You have to use the recommended glue and sealant. We are just about to do a third shower with it but it's not cheap.

Shower panels have been around for several decades. They last as long as you take care of them. So don’t go around punching them basically! Very easy to clean. They do need to be sealed at any joins.
I do have a shower caddy hanging from mine - I just used a very strong suction hook from amazon to hold it. Alternatively, you can hang a caddy on your shower pole.

No real reason why you cannot drill into them - just make sure you have extra long screws and rawlplugs and seal the fixture properly. Remember once you’ve have put a hole in it, it’s there forever, unlike tiling where you have a chance at replacing one tile, with board you would have to replace the entire panel.

Just as a recommendation, if you get white ones, do not rinse hair dye in the shower!! Learnt that the hard way....😩

My parents have them and they seem to get weird blue green trails on them. Never noticed it in their bathroom when they had tiles :/

I don't think i'd want to be screwing things into it, think i'd have hanging caddy or suction/floor standing. Hoping it lasts longer than 10 years really, I imagine it's a pain to replace without taking everything out. Can you still use mould remover around the bottom of the shower tray when needed or would that ruin the panels around the bottom?

I just wipe mine down after a shower and bleach spray and wipe once a week. Job done. No mould etc.
@PhilInt is it shower gel or shampoo?

@Alphabet1spaghetti2

I'm not going to say it's entirely impossible, they have never been the cleanest of people but it certainly looks to be in a very strange place for that :/

@PhilInt ewww. As a cleaner then my other guess is bodily fluids…..so get the bleach out!

I have shower panels and they are still like new 3 years on. Also I had a large bathroom panelled instead of using tiles around 10 years ago. Pretty sure the panels you can buy now weren't around then. I used tongue and groove plastic that was made for gable ends. Looks brilliant and has lasted .

Slightly alarmed at the idea of them having blue-green bodily fluids... 😁

@Persipan the fluids in question attract dirt and can grow mould etc. cleaning fluids if used, can stain rather than remove calcifications which can occur with certain bodily excretions…. And then some bodily expulsions are just blue/green - snot and pus being two. !!

We ( or rather DH) installed them in a mould prone shower room in 2009, over the existing mosaic tiles which were driving me mad. They were still pristine in 2021 when we sold the house. I’ve just had them installed in the shower in our new house ( a particular glitzy sparkly turquoise), and I am thinking of putting them over the very boring tiles in the utility room .

they are just so easy to keep clean.

We use one of these storage baskets that fits to the shower riser rail. We've had it for about five years. It's much more secure than any of the suction or pressure mounted stuff I've come across and there's no need for drilling.

www.amazon.co.uk/Croydex-Chrome-Basket-Storage-Guarantee/dp/B06XYQY4TD/

The only slight downside is that it stops you from mounting the shower head really low down on the rail, but this will only be an issue if you're exceptionally short!