Shower walls, flexible panels

Posted by GoHabsGo on October 5, 2009, 11:42 am

I just bought a couple of those plastic (acrylic, I think) panels that are
used for gluing over old tile or backerboard to create a new clean look for
a shower.

These panels are 36" by 80" and flexible enough to roll for transport.

I will need to cut these panels to fit to the size of thes shower and
also the holes for the control valve and shower nozzle.

The guy at Home Hardware said they could be cut with a utility knife.
Does anyone have experience with these? Can they be cut this way or do I
need a special tool to do the job ?

Also, the panels will extend over top of the tiles. What's the best
material for shimming that section up?

And one last question. Do I need to prime the tiles? If so, what type of
primer would I use?

Thanks,

Larry

Posted by Bob F on October 5, 2009, 12:55 pm

GoHabsGo wrote:

> I just bought a couple of those plastic (acrylic, I think) panels
> that are used for gluing over old tile or backerboard to create a new
> clean look for a shower.
> These panels are 36" by 80" and flexible enough to roll for transport.
> I will need to cut these panels to fit to the size of thes shower and
> also the holes for the control valve and shower nozzle.
> The guy at Home Hardware said they could be cut with a utility knife.
> Does anyone have experience with these? Can they be cut this way or
> do I need a special tool to do the job ?
> Also, the panels will extend over top of the tiles. What's the best
> material for shimming that section up?
> And one last question. Do I need to prime the tiles? If so, what
> type of primer would I use?

I'd probably use my large tin snips.

Like
http://hand-tools.hardwarestore.com/67-410-snips-tin/irwin-tinner-snips-229070.aspx

Posted by dicko on October 5, 2009, 1:39 pm

On Mon, 5 Oct 2009 15:42:45 +0000 (UTC), GoHabsGo

>I just bought a couple of those plastic (acrylic, I think) panels that are
>used for gluing over old tile or backerboard to create a new clean look for
>a shower.
>These panels are 36" by 80" and flexible enough to roll for transport.
>I will need to cut these panels to fit to the size of thes shower and
>also the holes for the control valve and shower nozzle.
>The guy at Home Hardware said they could be cut with a utility knife.
>Does anyone have experience with these? Can they be cut this way or do I
>need a special tool to do the job ?
>Also, the panels will extend over top of the tiles. What's the best
>material for shimming that section up?
>And one last question. Do I need to prime the tiles? If so, what type of
>primer would I use?
>Thanks,
>Larry

Whatever you do, dont roughly cut out the holes leaving any sharp
corners, i.e., cut circles instead of squares.

The guy who did my house 11 years ago did a really bad job of cutting
the holes and I now have fatique cracks extending outward, into the
panel, from every sharp corner he left behind.

Posted by DT on October 5, 2009, 10:00 pm

spambreakerNOSPAM@hotmail.com says...

>The guy at Home Hardware said they could be cut with a utility knife.
>Does anyone have experience with these? Can they be cut this way or do I
>need a special tool to do the job ?

I've put up several of the tub surrounds that use these thin panels. They
cut OK with a knife, but they are very slippery and a knife can skid and
mark the surface, especially when making tight curved cuts. I use a hole saw
or even a spade bit for the faucet holes, both methods work much better. Use
a straight edge for the long cuts, and keep the waste to the knife side of
the straight edge in case you slip.

--
Dennis

Posted by GoHabsGo on October 6, 2009, 9:50 am

> spambreakerNOSPAM@hotmail.com says...

>>I just bought a couple of those plastic (acrylic, I think) panels that
>>are used for gluing over old tile or backerboard to create a new clean
>>look for a shower.
>>These panels are 36" by 80" and flexible enough to roll for transport.
>>I will need to cut these panels to fit to the size of the shower and
>>also the holes for the control valve and shower nozzle.

>>The guy at Home Hardware said they could be cut with a utility knife.
>>Does anyone have experience with these? Can they be cut this way or
>>do I need a special tool to do the job ?

>
>
> I've put up several of the tub surrounds that use these thin panels.
> They cut OK with a knife, but they are very slippery and a knife can
> skid and mark the surface, especially when making tight curved cuts. I
> use a hole saw or even a spade bit for the faucet holes, both methods
> work much better. Use a straight edge for the long cuts, and keep the
> waste to the knife side of the straight edge in case you slip.
>

THanks for the clear instructions, Dennis. When cutting with the knife,
is the material soft enough to cut with one pass of the knife or does it
take two or more passes?

Thanks,

Larry

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