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KITCHENS, BATHROOM & DISABILITY NEEDS
L Wall panels
ocal authorities have an important responsibility to ensure their social housing tenants are provided with a happy, pleasant and comfortable home in which to live. Being one of the most used and high-traffic spaces within a home, it’s no wonder that bathroom renovations are a significant part of maintenance and refurbishment programmes. That said, with the potential for there to be hundreds, if not thousands, of properties on a local authority’s housing stock portfolio, a special type of building product is required to help deliver the works quickly, efficiently and to a high-quality finish. While tiles may be the go-to product for bathrooms, having been the traditional choice within the market for many years, other solutions are available which offer significant benefits. With standard tiles taking around five days to install, from the initial wall preparation through to grouting, it can cause a significant amount of mess and disruption. Specialist tools and labour can be required for their installation, resulting in higher costs, and they can be easily cracked or chipped during transportation and handling. Tiles also require regular upkeep and maintenance to keep them looking fresh and new, with the grout, in particular, a common area to age, discolour and even become a breeding ground for bacteria. However, waterproof wall panel systems offer an ideal alternative to tiles for the social housing sector.
Selecting the right building products and materials for the job can be a challenge on major social housing refurbishment projects, with many factors to consider. Here, Scott Beattie, Managing Director at Fibo explores why waterproof wall panels present the ideal choice for local authority specifiers when renovating bathrooms.
Fibo’s waterproof wall panels are available in an array of designs, such as Cracked Cement
Need for speed As we know, a local authority may have hundreds upon hundreds of social housing properties on its system, with any planned maintenance programme becoming an incredibly large and long undertaking. As such, it’s important that building products and materials are selected which offer a quick and easy installation process, with minimal fuss. As well as enabling providers to work through the programme quicker, saving time and money, this can also help to minimise disruption to existing tenants. Unlike tiles, wall panel systems can be installed in a matter of hours, especially those with a ‘tongue and groove’ system, meaning the panels can simply ‘click’ together. Suitable for fixing to any secure wall surface, or even over existing tiles, wall
Fibo’s waterproof wall panels in White Silk Herringbone
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