Making a Bath Panel

If you’ve already got an acrylic panel fitted, take it off. You’ll probably find that it’s screwed to a batten at the bottom. Undo any stabilizing brackets; these are usually bolted to the bath frame. Now, measure the height and width of the panel. Most DIY outlets or merchants will cut the timber to size, which is very handy. It’s also important that you use good quality marine ply of about 15-millimeter thickness.

Once you’ve acquired the timber, try it to make sure the size is correct. If there are pipes in the way along the wall, you may need to cut the panel around them, similar to what we showed you in the kitchen appliance series when we were installing the dishwasher. To do this, mark the center of each pipe onto the panel. Measure and mark the depth of the pipes as well. With a flat bladed wood bit, cut two holes into the wood panel, which will eventually fit around the pipes. Square off the outsides with a setsquare. Now remove this section with a saw and don’t forget to smooth out any rough edges with a medium density glass paper. Check the underside of the bath for any obstructions as well. The panel will have to be cut around these.

To make things simple, we’ve marked the location of the obstructions onto the bath with a pencil. Then transfer the positions to the panel and cut any sections out with a 10-inch saw. Finally, fit the panel into position—it should be a tight fit, which means you’ll have to knock it into position using a hammer. Mark across the bottom of the panel where pilot holes will be drilled in order to screw the panel onto the batten.

We’re going to fix some decorative beading to this panel as well so mark the top and bottom positions where the beading will be fixed. As most baths run down to the plug hole and are therefore not level—square up the lines with a spirit level. For the vertical positions of the beading, use the spirit level to mark it up again. Find the center of the panel and square this up vertically with the spirit level. Okay, now we can fix the beading.

Choose a suitable beading profile (there are lots of choose from) and cut a 45 degree angle using a miter block. Place this on the panel and mark the other position of your other 45 degree angle. Cut this off to size and then knock panel pins into the beading. They’ll be a lot easier to fit if you’ve already started them into the beading. Position the beading onto the bath panel, taking care to line everything up correctly. Now, just knock the pins into the panel but don’t knock them all the way in just in case they have to be removed for minor adjustments later. Then fix the bottom pieces of bead in exactly the same way.

Okay now cut another 45 degree angle and place this onto the panel between the other two lengths of bead. It’s always a good idea to use a 10-inch saw when cutting small decorative pieces of timber like this. Line up carefully and fix in exactly the same way as before. Repeat this same process for the left side of the panel. When you’re satisfied with the location of the beading, the nails can be hammered all the way in. To prevent the panel from splitting during this step, it’s important to flatten the tip of the nail off with your hammer before hammering it in.

Next, you can fix a piece of edging strip to the corner of the bath panel. This will tidy up the rough edge of the plywood on the corner. Once done, sand down everything with a medium grade glass paper and decorate to suit your décor.