Narrowboat refurb - Back to the bathroom...

Ah, like the one I took out that was sliding quadrant and panels with click stuff over failed tiles.
I need the panel thickness to make the door wide enough so it has to go on top then the door hanging open is going to pull on the top and push on the bottom. The structural engineer in me doesn't like it. If I hadn't been a structural engineer I'm sure I'd just fix it and admire my work. lol

 

I made the door frame, remember ours is an off set space due to a corridor running past it, so that the interior lightweight panelling is rebated into the external ply...if that makes sense
I'm not sure I'd trust it to be load bearing or structural as it does compress. For example, it would have been really easy to overtighten the shower rail into the panels, so I think I made the liner for the room a bit thicker on that wall so it held a screw better.

We are actually going for a refurb next year and I will be using lightweight rigid panels. Expensive but more durable.

 

https://showerwall.co.uk/

Acrylic. The current Mrs BM has chosen her design

 

Expensive ideed if you don't want mdf or ply backed ones - I've looked and good ones are £eek! Like £350 each x 3 panels

 

We pass this way but once and a little luxury doesn't go amiss every now and then.

 

Ours is an L shaped frame with top and bottom rails for the door to slide on so not putting direct pressure on the walls. I was not sure if the panels would collapse when the frame was screwed to the wall.....but I fixed the electric shower unit on top of the panel, it's tightened up obviously and there's no collapse. If you are concerned how about some rigid 10mm plastic (Eurocell?) onto your ply walls where your door fits to take the loading.

 

Have you looked at IPSL in Sheffield. These are what I used, very pleased.

Interior panel system Ltd....I think!

 

@Zed, the MDF backed panels are usually 10mm, but the reason we're going acrylic is that they are only 4mm.
Reverse printed and 30 year guarantee.
Be careful if you are planning on a printed design. Because the PS hollow panels are surface printed there is a risk it will come off over time. Our bathroom still looks good, but some areas have lost that sparkle. We use a blade after every shower but as I've lined the roof that's an area where moisture can sit, especially this time of year. Some of the pattern has been lost, hence the refurb.
It's done well though for a reasonably priced product in a very harsh environment

 

Just going for plain white so now pattern worries.
4mm isn't thick enough to make things work due to... reasons. lol
I'm going to get the hollow ones and make it work.
The shower rail was fitted to similar before and was solid enough.
For the frame I could inset packers for the screws or even spread the load with a wider brushed SS plate behind the frame on the hinge side and go for pivot door so it's not hanging directly on the side frame. Lots of options.

 

Perfect. Looking forward to seeing the results. It's been an interesting journey so far

 

Ta! I was hoping someone would chime in and say they had a pivot or hinged door on hollow panels and it was fine. I'll have to be the trail blazer. Quite liking Para's suggestion of jamming sticks inside if by some lucky chance I can get a good size sticks for the job. Even dowel would work. Simple solution.

 

I think I might have made a booboo.
I finished the bathroom walls.
The one where there was a gap is now 2 pieces of 18mm
The corridor one is 18mm + 12mm ply strip spacers and 9mm sheet on top.
I had to (wanted to) make these thick to both match the existing bit near the kitchen an be able to fit the architrave around the inside of the door. Couldn't cut the frame more shallow because the door is thick and they match.

That 9mm one had to be last in and on an by eck I couldn't stand it up in the bathroom so I had to stand it up outside and flex it like beggery to get it through the door diagonally.

All good so far but next is the shower panels which will also not manoeuvre from horizontal to vertical inside the bathroom as they're wider than the ply. Opposite corners need room to rotate inside the room.
The rear one might go in through the door as it's shorter, being sat on the shower tray. I doubt they'd stand the violence needed to get the ply in.

I wanted to cut the side ones around the tray so that they'd reach the floor in front of the tray so they would be full height.
They'd have gone in if I hadn't finished the wall. Doh!
I can't take it back out, one sheet is pocket screwed with the other nailed and glued on top hiding the pockets.

 

Oh dear.
Sure it’s not what you wanted but if the full panels won’t jiggle in then the only solution would seem to be ( if the rear one will go in ,in one piece) to do the sides in 2 pieces with a jointing strip in the middle , not ideal but …

 

You can get these in 250mm click together form so although I was intending full panels I might have to go that way.
I just drew out and measured diagonal on CAD and I might be able to turn them if I keep them above the tray level then add a skirting outside the shower cubicle.
I'm tempted to buy a cheap sheet of ply, cut it to size and practice!

 

Or, maybe if I can turn them on the "short" diagonal I can have my down to the floor in front of the pan idea after all. I'd much rather do that than skirting. at this stage. I might need skirting to cover the balls up I'm bound to make of the floor covering.
I will have to check more accurately.

 

Well, here's the wall I should have waited to build.


And here's the SBR painted on the wood in the shower cubicle and still wet. I painted it on neat as I've got so much lol. Is this a good idea? I don't know, it seems like the forum pro-builders are steering clear of shower building advice other than the tray, I don't blame them TBH. I'll give it a second coat too - what the heck.

 

Just to be clear. The panels I used joined together with a tongue and groove fitting, I put a thin bead of the supplied sealant in first. Before fitting the panels I fitted the trim, top and bottom and in the corner. The bottom trim has a flexible strip which bears onto the top of the shower tray with a groove behind the flexible bit that you fill with sealant. The panels then fit on top of these trims and is fixed in place with the supplied adhesive. To finish off the corner trim and the top ones are finished with clip in cover strips and the bottom ones with sealant. The vertical edges where they abut the shower framing are also sealed with sealant. Sounds complicated but isn't really and I hope this helps.

 

Thanks, and yep to all that, I've done my homework.
Thought I would belt and braces with "no more leaks" tape too. The bottom one you describe relies on buttering up the mitres in the corners with silicon. I get the idea of it is to not have a visible bead of silicon between the shower tray and the panels - neat idea. But it's a shelf and if I'm a teeny bit out of square it won't hide it, or it won't look very good so I'm resigned to tape and a silicon bead I think...if I use whole panels. I might even buy all those trims and dry mock up to see how square I got it. If I'm square enough I could use it and if not just run the silicon bead. I'm good at that or I was 40 years ago when I did literally miles of it.

 

Added this door to access the toilet cassette through the wall. A bit out of keeping style wise but boy am I fed up with making things... though I had to make the infill for it from 2 layers of thin painted ply and some insulation sandwiched between to keep the weight down. I've also painted everything that wasn't painted.


Then that shower cubicle that I love to hate. I did go for the multiple 250mm wide kind in the end rather than risk manoeuvring big pieces and failing.
The tray is sealed to the wall then those bottom pieces fitted with sealant. Quite neat.
I spent the day cutting all the panels to fit but I've only actually fixed one corner bead. It was all going great until the very last piece where I cut out the wrong corner where it's supposed to step down to the floor. Funny how just as you're congratulating yourself for not cocking up and on the home straight that's when you screw up.


Soooo... bodge or get another piece.


Get another piece I reckon or it will stare at me for ever.