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Can anyone identify this bathroom wall lining?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @ProfHenry. It's wonderful to have you join us and many thanks for your question about wall linings.
Unfortunately, your image is a tad too blurry to be able to decipher what the material is. Could you perhaps try to take another in focus one? I know it can be a little hard sometimes that close up.
Are you wanting to know if this wall lining is potentially asbestos? Houses built before 1990 are likely to contain asbestos cement products. You're kind of on the cusp there, so I wouldn't totally rule it out just to be on the safe side. However, it is almost certainly some type of cement-based water-resistant sheeting. If it's not asbestos sheeting, then it could be regular Villaboard.
If you are wanting to know if it is asbestos, the only way to be sure is to take a sample and have it tested. There are also companies that will come out and do this for you.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Many thanks, Mitchell.
I was guessing that it was probably Villaboard. The bathroom was renovated about 12 years ago and the plumber, electrician and glass-wall installer DID NOT raise the possibility of asbestos. I wish I'd taken photos after the old tiles came off.
My primary reason for getting help identifying the material was to establish whether it would be a suitable material to affix the Tesa PowerKit wall mounting to
(specifically, with the Loxx Double towel rail. The websites (both Bunnings and Tesa) stress that it's not suitable for plaster or papered wall and I'm trying to establish that this is sufficiently non-absorbent for the adhesive.
I have a much clearer photo but when I try to upload it, I get the following message – "Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and submit the message when you are satisfied." Obviously a newbie error of some kind but the original image uploaded without any problem
Thanks again
What you are adhering to is a painted surface. It might be cement underneath, but it's top coated with paint. It would be a good move to lightly sand the portion of paint where the adhesive is placed to ensure it has something to bind to. Often bathroom paints have a higher sheen level, and I'm concerned that might put them in the "surfaces with a non-stick coating" category.
Feel free to email that image to workshop@bunnings.com.au, and I'll include it for you.
Mitchell
Thanks for the extra advice re wall prep.
I hope this image is of better quality.
Wow, you certainly stepped up the game on that image, @ProfHenry. Did you get the microscope out?
As mentioned previously, it's a painted surface, and after further consideration, I wouldn't advise attaching this style of stick-on rail to it. You are glueing onto this paint, so if the paint can't hold the weight of your towels, it will pull off the wall. It's one thing to hold the weight of the rail, but if a child were to pull on a towel or an adult lean on the rail, the paint wouldn't be able to hold that additional weight. This is potentially why they haven't included painted surfaces on the list of suitable surfaces. Have you considered a towel rail that attaches with mechanical fixings as opposed to the adhesive variety?
Mitchell
I'd generally recommend not using any included fixings for this type of wall. You'll normally get a plastic plug that is only really for tile/brick/concrete walls. Instead, use spring toggles. Their wide grip on the rear of the lining board will be superior to anything else offered.
The Caroma Elegance Double Towel Rail could be an option. It actually includes expanding toggles to suit fibre cement sheet walls. I'd still prefer the spring toggles over the expanding toggles, though. You'll find the majority of our double towel rails are designed to be screwed on, and those screws can be switched out for the toggle fixing method.
Mitchell
