Can concrete wall panels go in a shower?

Yes, they can. A ROKA cladding tile is 12.5mm of GFRC, and once it's sealed it can go in a bathroom or a shower. The rest of this is how it works, so you can picture your own wall.

What makes a concrete tile ready for a shower?

The seal does the work. We use SureCrete XS-327, a two-part, water-based hybrid polyurethane, the same one that protects a ROKA worktop. The maker describes it as a penetrating seal, so it goes into the surface instead of sitting on top. Water beads on it. It's stain resistant to most household chemicals and food, and it's UV stable.

It's rated to 149°C, which is far hotter than any shower you'll run. Hot water isn't the test it has to pass. That's about 50°C hotter than boiling water, so a pan of boiling pasta straight off the hob is fine. A shower is gentle by comparison.

What's the tile like?

Each tile is 600 x 1200mm and covers 0.72 m². It weighs about 20kg, which works out at about 27.5kg per square metre of wall. Four fixing holes are cast in, each 75mm in from a corner, and the edges carry a 1.5mm arris.

How many tiles does a shower wall take?

Start with the wall. Say it's 900mm wide and 2.4m tall, a common size for a shower wall. That's 2.16 m², or three tiles' worth of cover, and about 60kg on the wall in all. Tiles are £90 each, which works out at about £125 per square metre.

A wider wall is the same sum. At 1.2m by 2.4m you have 2.88 m², so four tiles. Delivery is £95 a pallet, and a pallet holds up to 48 tiles, so a bathroom job travels in one go.

How does it fix to the wall?

Indoors, the tile is bonded to a prepared wall with adhesive, the way brick slips are. Where the wall needs it, a screw goes through each cast hole into a plug or batten. That's the fixing. We confirm it for each wall when we quote, so you're never left guessing about your own bathroom.

In a shower, the wall behind the finish has to be built to take water. That's true of tile, stone and ours alike, and your builder or tiler sets it up first. Tell us what's behind your wall when you ask for a price, and we'll say how the tiles should go on.

Can I see it before I order?

You can hold it. A photo flattens colour and surface, so we make a free sample tile, 300 x 600mm. It's the same mix, with the same holes, and we usually bring it round ourselves, around Brighton and Sussex. Prop it in your bathroom for an evening. You'll know in a minute whether the colour sits right next to your towels, your taps and your light.

What if a tile has a fault?

There's a five-year guarantee on the making. If a fault comes from how we cast a tile, we remake it in year one and repair it up to year five. Send us a photo of the support when it's fitted. Check the delivery within 48 hours too, so anything wrong is put right early.

Where do you start?

With the measurements. Measure the wall, work out the tile count, and look at the concrete cladding page for the tile, the sizes and the price. Measuring, tile counts and a CAD drawing cost nothing. And if you'd like the colour in your own light first, free samples are the quickest way.