Traditional Wood Panelling Bathroom

[FSteph]

Hello,

I'm about to redo my tiny and very awkwardly shaped family bathroom. I have found tiles I love for the shower area and floor, but prefer the softer look of traditional wood panelling on other walls. I've read online that you can get moisture resistant mdf but can anyone point me to anywhere specific to source this? Any experience or advice welcome. I'm assuming I can just paint this whatever colour I like in bathroom friendly paint? My fitter is happy to install but i'm sourcing everything so would appreciate any links or tips! Thank you x

Wood will be more moisture resistant. It will be so annoying if the mdf blows that I would just go for wood.in a bathroom.

I would never use wood in a bathroom.

Have you considered wood effect tiling.

Well just google it. B&Q do it online as do many online timber suppliers.

Yes you can paint it (use an mdf primer first) and yes it should be fine in the bathroom as long as it is ventilated and you don’t directly soak the wood in water.

Alternative option is marine plywood.

15 years ago we installed softwood T&G on the side of the bath and to box in under a long shelf hiding pipes and a concealed cistern etc. Pros - when something went wrong we were able to un-pin the planks snd slide open to get access. It was quick and easy to install. Use a paint that can be wiped and it cleans ok. Cons - the softwood isn’t good where it gets damp/splashed often and a little bit of rot crept in at the corners of the bath panel so it now looks tatty. However overall im really happy with how it worked out. We used 60mm planks with a simple vee.

Im doing up a flat for the disabled DC and this time im trying water resistant Mdf Which is coloured green rather than usual brown. Ive bought mine from Wickes. They’ve got different packs with plank length/width. It was really easy to install DIY. Not painted yet but it looks really tidy where i used it as a “headboard” across a wall in the bedroom. This time i wanted a more modern look so the planks are 125mm with a simple vee.

There were other suppliers online who could do large size wall panels rather than individual planks. I found them googling but they were more expensive than Wickes. You also have different option to choose the joint as single or double groove etc so take your time to pick something that suits the age of the house. Hope that helps.