shower cubicle panels

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New Shower Cubicle Installation

For a new shower cubicle we would recommend installing the shower tray first, then fit the panelling and cubicle.

Fit the shower tray, following the manufacturers instruction. Once fitted, seal the tray to the existing wall using a good quality sanitary silicone sealant. Smear the silicone up the wall slightly so that there is a skirt of sealant right around the tray. If you fit the panels first you may well find that the walls are not straight and at 90deg to each other which will result in gaps that will need to be filled and sealed. Fitting the shower tray first will help overcome this problem as the panels will give you and extra 8 or 10mm coverage which should be more than adequate to cover any small gaps.

Most manufacturers recommend fitting the panels (or wall tiles) first and then the door and side panel (or whatever shape cubicle you have chosen). You will need to decide if the panels are going to finish flush with the edge of the cubicle/tray or protrude past the enclosure frame slightly. Either way the edge of the panel will be visible so a capping trim will be required to provide a finished edge. Most cubicles come with wall profiles that allow a reasonable degree of adjustment which can help overcome out-of-true walls. Some frameless cubicle designs are less forgiving and might require the walls to be leveled prior to installation (either by plastering or by battening out the wall). Frameless wall brackets might need to be fitted with a packing piece to ensure a solid fixing - see our fixing through pages in our installation section. Standard wall profiles can usually be fitted without packing as they have a much larger surface area.

In a shower area we recommend running a thin bead of silicone inside the joint of each panel to ensure no water forces its way through. The joins are waterproof to static water but high pressure water such as that provided by a power shower or mains pressure water can force its way through if the shower head is pointed at the joint ( the joint relies on the "springiness" of the plastic to form the seal). This is a very quick process and provides peace of mind knowing the joint will be 100% waterproof.

The panels should also be sealed at the bottom where they meet the shower tray. We do not recommend the use of masking tape to create a straight edge finish for the silicone as the solvent in the adhesive can affect the lacquer on the panel which could damage the finished surface. We would recommend just using a neat bead of silicone smoothed off with a caulking tool or wetted finger negating the need for tape. Any holes made for pipes or cables should also be sealed with silicone before completion.

Fitting Panels In An Existing Cubicle

Most of the above instructions will also apply to fitting panels in an existing shower cubicle. We would not recommend removing an existing enclosure (leaving the tray in place) to fit the panels and then replacing the cubicle as showers tend to be heavily sealed in-situ and removing components without damaging them can prove problematic. It is better to run the panelling inside the cubicle and butt up to the existing frame. Trims or silicone can be used, see the following page for details of which trims to use: shower cubicle trims

Our Spabord panels are not really suitable for this type of application as they are too large to maneouvre into place inside the cubicle.

See the following page for more general shower cubicle information.