Shower Panels

The easiest way to give your bathroom a modern makeover is to install a shower panel. Not only does it protect your walls from soaking wet and catching dirt, but it will also make them more convenient to clean and maintain.

If there is no shower panel in the bathroom, you have to be careful not to wet the wall too much. Firstly, too much wetness can soften the grout between the tiles and cause them to come off. Secondly, nobody wants to end up with a dirty looking wall after every shower. This severely limits the number of directions you can enjoy water sprays from. Anybody can imagine that this takes all the fun away from bathing and makes it into another mundane day to day activity. A shower panel is an easy solution to this problem. Read this article to know more about them.

Different types of shower panels

A shower panel serves a lot of purposes. The essential feature is that the panel covers the wall and protects it. And if the panel comes as a complete package, there will be mounts on it for installing shower heads, shower controls and even mirrors. But the single most important thing that determines the quality and usefulness of a panel is its material. This article will tell you everything you need to know about these panels. You will also find some really useful tips that you can use while shopping for them as well.

PVC shower panels

If you are looking for a really affordable shower panel, then a PVC shower panel is the right option. Not only is PVC cheap to produce, but PVC panels are easy to work with and cut into sheets of different sizes and thicknesses. This property makes PVC useful material in a lot of different applications. Clear PVC material is used for making shower panels. There will also be some additional textures to limit visibility in some cases. Another benefit of PVC panels is that they are really light. This makes them really easy to install as well. However, one side effect of this is that PVC panels are easily breakable.

Unplasticised PVC panels

One of the main disadvantages of PVC panels is that they are not very strong. Unplasticised PVC panels solve this problem to a certain extent. Yet, they keep some desirable features of PVC panels. Unlike regular PVC, unplasticised PVC panels do not contain harmful compounds like BPA or Bisphenol-A. While unplasticised PVC shower panels cost slightly more than PVC panels, they do have some clear advantages as well. Being a more environmentally friendly option than regular PVC, people prefer unplasticised PVC these days.

Acrylic wall panels

Technically, Acrylic is a kind of plastic. However, it is a more modern material and does not have the problems associated with regular plastic. Acrylic panels are much stronger and more durable than plastic panels. This property alone makes them really good material for making shower panels. It is also denser than plastic. But because Acrylic is heavier than plastic, they need better support than PVC panels. It is possible to design acrylic panels in a variety of colours and textures. Moreover, they are more durable and hygienic, as well.

Laminated wall panels

Laminated wall panels, or MDF panels, are produced from medium-density microfibres. This material is pretty strong, waterproof and durable. Because of their acceptable strength, they are commonly used to produce cheap furniture. While MDF furniture might not be as durable as wooden furniture, MDF works well as shower wall panels. Unlike Acrylic or PVC, MDF panels are not transparent. Because of this, they are used for protecting the shower walls. Most of the time, MDF panels imitate the look of marble and tiles and can be hard to tell apart.