Shower Wall

Shower walls have to perform several functions in sometimes difficult cir

Any shower wall must fullfil three basic requirements:

it must be waterproof
it must be easy to keep clean
the shower wall must look good

The most common form of covering for a shower wall tends to be ceramic tiling. Unfortunately ceramic wall tiles can fall down when it comes to these basic requirements - but shower wall panels don't, which is why they are becoming ever more popular.

Although ceramic tiles are waterproof, the grout used to seal in between the tiles can be porous and let water through, damaging the shower wall. The grout is also a weak point when it comes to keeping the shower walls clean - it can turn mouldy and eventually will need to be raked out and re-applied - not an easy job. Tiles do look nice however - at least until the grout turns black !

A more effective wall covering for shower areas is waterproof panelling. These panels do not use grout keep their good looks for years and years. They are also 100 percent waterproof.

If the grout fails inside a shower cubicle it can have more serious consequences than just looking bad. If water gets behind the tiles it can start to cause a lot of damage, especially if you have plasterboard walls and wooden studwork. Sometimes this can go un-noticed for a long time as the tiles cover up the problem. Eventually the tiles will start to come loose as the adhesive fails siginying that the wall behind the tiles has suffered water damage. In this event, the tiles should be completely removed from the shower wall and the whole area left to dry out. If rot has set in, it might require specialist teatment.

Damage to the shower wall can also result if there is slight movement in the shower tray, and the gap between the tiles and the top of the shower tray has been filled with grout rather than with a flexible silicone sealant. Grout will not tolerate any slight movement and will cause it to crack, enabling water to get through to the wall.