Wall Panel 07E Mix Grey Marble: planning the pattern

Wall Panel 07E in mix grey marble is a flat PVC wall board the shop supplies, four boards to a pack at 60 x 240 x 0.7cm, covering 5.76m². The pattern is the point of this one, and a patterned board asks a question a plain panel does not: where the joints fall, and what the pattern does across them.

The figures, as listed

Four boards of 0.6m by 2.4m is 5.76m², so the coverage agrees with the board size. Read the size as width, length and thickness.

Plan the pattern before you plan the cuts

One pack gives you a wall 2.4m wide in four 60cm verticals. That is four pattern panels side by side, and where they meet is a decision rather than an accident. Things to settle on paper first:

• Centre the pattern on the feature. If a basin, a hob, a mirror or a bath sits against this wall, set the boards out so the feature lands in the middle of a board or exactly on a joint. Anything in between looks unresolved.
• Do not finish on a sliver. If the last board works out narrower than about 15cm, take the same amount off the first board and balance the two ends.
• Decide the direction of travel. The tongue and groove means you work across the wall one way, so start at the corner you most want to be perfect.
• Keep your offcuts. A patterned board is the one you most want a spare piece of if a cut goes wrong later.

The listing does not state the pattern repeat, whether every board in a pack carries the same pattern, or whether the marble effect runs in one direction only. Those three answers change the layout completely, so ask the shop and, if it matters to you, ask to see photographs of two boards side by side rather than one board alone.

Working out packs and strips together

Take the wall's greatest width and greatest height, multiply in metres, divide by 5.76. A 3m by 2.4m wall is 7.2m², so two packs with boards over. A 1.2m return at 2.4m is 2.88m², half a pack.

Then measure the perimeter, because the strips come in separate packs and this listing names several. The PVC Strip B and PVC Corner Strip both come in the matching E Mix Grey Marble so an exposed edge or a corner continues the pattern. The aluminium End, Corner and I strips do the same jobs as a deliberate metal line in black, gold or silver instead. The I Strip is the one to think about if the wall is taller than 240cm and needs a horizontal division. A job held up for want of a corner strip is a common and avoidable annoyance.

What the listing does not tell you

The description suggests kitchens, bathrooms and feature walls. It does not give a moisture or water rating, a fire rating, a temperature limit, or any statement about use inside a shower enclosure or directly behind a hob. Ask the shop before you commit to a wet area or a wall near heat, because a suggested room is not a rated specification.

Also unstated: the fixing method, what the boards want behind them, and how they should be cut. At 0.7cm these are thin boards, so a wall with hollows in it will show through the joint line. The shop supplies adhesive for wall panels, but this listing does not name it as the fixing here, so confirm rather than assume.

The patterns beside it

If this pattern is more than the room can take, 07B Grey Marble is the other grey in the same size and pack format; neither listing describes how bold either pattern is, so compare the photographs rather than the names. 07F Gold and Grey Marble is the gold and grey version of the same board, which is the one to look at if the taps and handles are brass. And 011B Grey Marble is the grey in the 011 two-piece pack, with its own panel size on its own page. All of them, and the slatted alternatives, are in Slat & Acoustic Panels.

Mark your layout on the bare wall first, then order boards and strips together from the Wall Panel 07E - Mix Grey Marble - Wall Board page, where the shop can confirm the pattern questions and the current lead time. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.