DIY shower wall panels
ken_o
| Posted in General Questions on
We intend to have a shower in the second bathroom in the home we are building. Shower stalls and even kits are ridiculously priced for what they are. I want to buy a shower pan and put something waterproof on the walls and have a shower. I don’t want to go with tile as that is not my skill area and I would rather not maintain tile. I remember seeing some 4×8 PVC panels somewhere that were inexpensive and simple to install, but I cannot find them now. What have people done in this situation and are you happy with the results?
Thanks a bunch!
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Replies
ken_o,
The chief advantage of purpose built panels is the edges, which you don't have to trim. The advantage of doing what you are suggesting is if you don't like it in a few years its easy to swap out, and you haven't spent much. I've always opted for seperate panels, rather than one piece surrounds, for ease of replacement.
I've never used them but I see 1/2" x 4 x 8 white PVC panels listed on both Home Depot and Menards websites. I also see a 1/4" panel listed at Imeca.com for much less $.
I should think you could use them. But keep in mind the waterproofing weak points, which would be the vertical joints at the corners, and the bottom edge where the panels meet the shower pan. You'll need to have a very clear and effective plan for waterproofing those joints. A bead of caulk is NOT the answer. A lot of ugly stuff can happen inside your wall when showers are not waterproofed well.
I have installed those in a few of my mom's apartment units. They are easy to install, aside from being pretty thin and brittle.
SO that fiberglass pebble grain sheets[think commercial kitchen walls] are 43 bucks at the Borg, 3 of those plus the corner molding would 'work' but they have actual shower surrounds for less than 350 bucks, so by the time you have built a couple soap dishes and such, and with the risk of 'did you do it right' sure doesn't seem that expensive to me
If you DIY the flat panels, how will you make the corners water tight?
Sure, calking will work when it is new but it is only a matter of time before it starts leaking and you have a moldy rotting mess hidden in the walls.
The water proofing system for tiles would work but it is not cheap.
The one-piece fiberglass shower stall seems like the low cost and maintenance option the trick is how to fit them thru the doorways.
Walta
If for some reason I had to do this, and I cannot think of one, 'L" shaped flashing in the corners that drains to the pan. Apply sealant to the outer edges so it seals to the installed panel
The corner trim they sell for the fiberglass panels I mentioned is 'splash proof' I guess. Assembled like this, maybe with some I&W as backup, no fasteners below ~4 feet, one would think it would be durable.
But to save a hundred bucks.....
If it were me I would just learn to tile. It is really easy, my dad taught me in about ten minutes. Half inch Hardibacker is $13 per 3'x5' sheet and you can get tiles for as cheap as $0.37/sqft. At my previous house I did the entire area surrounding the garden tub for maybe a couple hundred bucks at most and it looked great. Never had any issues with soap scum, mold, etc either
The book "Setting Tile" by Michael Byrne is a fantastic how-to resource, if a little dated. It won't cover some of the newer products that can make things easier (Schluter, etc) but it's got all the old-school basics and it won't steer you wrong.
We just had our FIBO shower panels installed last week. The panels are some sort of laminate (I think) applied over tongue and groove plywood, and kits come with a specific sealant and trim bars. Ours has the look of large marble tile, and I am happy with the way it looks. The contractor who installed them was able to watch installation videos and discuss specifics of installation with one of their representatives, and did not run into any issues with the installation, however, proof of success will become evident once we start to use the shower.
You can find more information at https://fibosystemusa.com/
The hard part of building a shower is the waterproofing. Tile isn't waterproof, neither is cement board, the waterproofing is what goes in between. If you were to build your own walls you'd still have to waterproof them. If you're going to do all that work you may as well do tile, it's not that hard and if you don't go crazy with the tile it's not that expensive.
There are different types of waterproof membranes used behind shower walls house of hazards. Researching options like shower liners or vapor barrier would be helpful.