Panelling goes straight over uneven walls, and it costs less than tiling and goes up in a day.
Panelling that goes straight over walls that are nowhere near flat.
Tiling wants a flat wall and a decent budget. Panelling wants neither, and on the right room it looks every bit as good. This studio flat was quoted for tiles and ended up panelled in a day.
Where panelling wins
It isn't always the answer, but in these situations it usually is.
- Walls that are old, bowed or patched and would need skimming first
- A budget that tiling would eat in materials alone
- A bathroom you need back in use tomorrow
- A shower surround where grout keeps going black
- Rented property where quick and durable matters more than fashion
- A room you'd like to change again in a few years
If your walls are flat and you've set your heart on tiles, say so. I'll tell you honestly which I'd do.
What the job involves
Start to finish on a room about the size of that studio flat bathroom.
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A look at the walls
How far out they are decides the battening, and that decides the price. It's worth five minutes with a level before anybody quotes.
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Battens and boards
Panels go onto battens where the wall is uneven, and straight onto it where it's sound. Either way the finished face comes out flat.
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Round the awkward bits
Basins, taps, bath edges and spotlights are where panelling is won or lost, and they're the parts that take the time.
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Sealing it
The joints and the bath edge get sealed properly. That's what keeps water out of the wall behind.
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Clearing up
Offcuts and dust go with me. You get the room back usable rather than as a building site.
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The rest of the room
Flooring, a new bath panel, moving a towel rail. If it's part of the same job it makes sense to do it while I'm there.
Want a price for this?
Ring, text or WhatsApp me with roughly what's going on. A photograph helps, and it often means I turn up with the right part.
Questions about this one
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Usually, and the gap is biggest where the walls would need work first. On that studio flat it was the difference between doing it and waiting another year.
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A room that size was a day. A bigger bathroom, or one where the walls need a lot of battening, takes longer and I'd say so when I price it.
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Have a look at the photographs on my work page and judge for yourself. The marble-effect boards in that flat came out well.
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Often yes, as long as they're sound and stuck down. It saves ripping them off and making a mess of the wall underneath.
The other things I do
While I'm there, it's worth asking about the rest of the list.
Fitting a new one, swapping a dead one, and working out why the one you have runs cold halfway through.
Radiators that stay cold at the top, leaking valves, towel rails and immersion heaters.
Dripping taps, slow drains, leaking waste pipes and the blockages a plunger has given up on.
A two stage treatment that clears the mould and leaves the room feeling fresh again.
Key safes, meter boxes, shelves, handles, hinges and the list that has been on the fridge since spring.