Plastic wall panels or tiling for bathroom walls?

[mrsaneperson]

Just wondered what everyone's thoughts were on this?

I'm looking at either white tiles or some form of plastic paneling like Seratone or Alulite for the walls of a bathroom.

Tiles downside:
Cold to touch and as such they tend to condense moisture on their surface moreso than plastic - my wife tells me she prefers the plastic [Seratone] we had in our old property as the walls never got moisture so never needed wiping and cleaning
Need grouting requiring some maintenance
More labour to install
Heavy

Tiles upside
More tradies able to install
Harder wearing than plastic
Easy to replace if one tile gets damaged [if white colour]

Plastic Laminate downside:
Less tradies familiar with install
Some product types such as Seratone are expensive ex $240 per sheet 2.4M X 1.2M

Plastic upside:
Condenses moisture less on surfaceWarm to touch
Less joins
Less labour intensiveCan be used on ceiling toEasier to drill into if needing to add accessory or cut for new pipes etcMaintenance free

Right now I'm keener on the plastic but what are anyone's recommendations? Can you simply use sheets of "PVC shower liner" or a product called Alulite which these chaps in Penrose sells sheets of:

http://pprpenrose.co.nz/shower-lining/alulite-wetline-white

[SimonW]

I have a plastic product on the lower half of the walls of my own bathroom. It is patterned to look like white square tiles, and unless you get up really close (and touch it) you can't even tell the difference. At the top of the sheets it has been finished with that brushed steel capping they use on regular wall tiles, so it looks great. It is as you say, easy to clean and maintenance free. It was already there when I bought the place so I don't know what it's called sorry.

In terms of installation, I would have thought that anyone who knows how to use a caulking gun and a level could install it with not too many issues.

[AlexL]

Is this for a rental or your own home? and assume these are only on the walls outside of the shower?

Personally, I like the look of tiles - they make a space look just that little bit more upmarket, especially if you select well.
Alternatively you can go for a vinyl tile, PSP is launching this product in December: http://dumawall-us.com/

Re. Seratone, My parents installed seratone onto their home bathroom ceiling about 10 years ago, its been almost zero maintenance in that time.

[mrsaneperson]

Is this for a rental or your own home? and assume these are only on the walls outside of the shower?

Personally, I like the look of tiles - they make a space look just that little bit more upmarket, especially if you select well.
Alternatively you can go for a vinyl tile, PSP is launching this product in December: http://dumawall-us.com/

Re. Seratone, My parents installed seratone onto their home bathroom ceiling about 10 years ago, its been almost zero maintenance in that time.

In regard to Seratone i had it installed in my first rental over 30 years ago and it still looks great , with zero maintenance issues. Actually had it installed on the ceiling their too and it still is great.
A few years ago I had the "HardieGlaze" tile wallboard installed, which is a fibrous cement board with a white glossy tile look embodiment , it looks good but I'd still prefer the plastic.

This install i am currently considering will be for my own home and yes this is for the walls outside the shower.

[SimonW]

In regard to Seratone i had it installed in my first rental over 30 years ago and it still looks great , with zero maintenance issues. Actually had it installed on the ceiling their too and it still is great.
A few years ago I had the "HardieGlaze" tile wallboard installed, which is a fibrous cement board with a white glossy tile look embodiment , it looks good but I'd still prefer the plastic.

This install i am currently considering will be for my own home and yes this is for the walls outside the shower.

This HardieGlaze is likely what I have got - your description fits with what I have, but I had no idea whether it was plastic or cement sheet - I just assumed plastic...

[AlexL]

We often put plain white hardiglaze into public schools for its durability vs cost effectiveness.

In the last month i've just put full height wall tiles into my home bathroom and yes it does get more condensation on it compared to the painted walls it had previously, but for us the look and feel definitely out weighs the cons.

Just noticed you mentioned what your wife prefers..can pay to keep the wife happy

[artemis]

Tiles are great until there's a leak inside the wall.

Happened to a client, who had a humungous quote to investigate, fix, retile. IIRC that was partly due to unknowns.

We took a look, went in through the next door bedroom wall instead. Invoice a fraction of the quote, client for life (and friends and relations)! Not always possible though.

[mrsaneperson]

What does anyone think about using shower liner for the bathroom wall outside the shower cubicle?

This would be a cheaper option than Seratone and probably be just as good if not better. So effectively using PVC 2mm white shower liner vs Seratone which is a 4mm woodbase with layers of Polyurethane on top.

[AlexL]

Few things I can think of to consider: because the liner is soft-ish, your wall may need to be fully cleaned down to stop anything projecting through. Also how to do the joints and finishing-you'll need a jointer to take the 2mm liner, I think Seratone and hardiglaze is about 4mm?
Also method of cutting, I haven't found the liner material to be the easiest for cutting, it moves around a bit.
Other than that, I can't see any major problems

[mrsaneperson]

Thanks AlexL good points about the jointer. The sheets i am planning to use are 3.3mm thick, i was thinking it may look better without a jointer by just using a bead of white silicon between sheets . A builder who put up the HardieGlaze tile sheeting also did this and used Silicon between the joins as he felt it gave a better look.

This crowd here seem to have some good prices for the PVC sheet:

http://pprpenrose.co.nz/shower-lining

[crashy]

Use waterproof laminate flooring for the walls. Very fast to install. Very tough. Looks great

[jimO]

nasty...........