Bathroom Paint Guide: Your Questions Answered
When painting a bathroom, standard wall paint might give a good look initially, but could quickly prove itself unsuitable, with peeling and mould growth around your room. The solution is to use specially designed bathroom paint, which is built with long-term moisture performance in mind. In this guide from Building Materials Nationwide, we’ll explore the essentials of bathroom paint, looking at the benefits it offers and answering an assortment of popular questions.
Do You Need to Use Bathroom Paint?
Traditional interior emulsion paints are not intended for use within high-moisture environments like bathrooms. While they can be used, you can expect to see issues like peeling paint and mould growth. As bathroom walls need to deal with both a high level of steam and splashing, the paint will need to be water and mould-resistant to perform well over time. Specialist bathroom paints will be intended for the walls and ceilings of high-moisture spaces, offering far greater long-term resistance than standard paints. The extra costs of these paints will pay off over time in terms of performance.
Types of Bathroom Paint
When shopping for bathroom paint, you’ll find a range of paints from brands like Dulux and Crown. While oil-based options have traditionally been used for bathrooms, most modern options will be non-toxic water-based emulsions. Oil-based paints are more difficult to apply and emit toxic VOCs during the drying process.
Bathroom Wall and Ceiling Paint
Both trade and consumer-facing manufacturers produce waterproof bathroom wall and ceiling paints. Opting for a glossier sheen was traditionally seen as the best way to preserve your bathroom walls. However, durable matt emulsions are available today, designed around long-term use in high-intensity environments like bathrooms. Popular bathroom paints include Dulux’s Easycare Bathroom range and Crown’s Bathroom Mid Sheen Emulsion.
What Paint to Use on Bathroom Tiles
Painting bathroom tiles requires using a paint that will bond to the tile well and perform within the high-moisture bathroom environment. A product like Zissner Allcoat can be used, with tiles ground down and primed before painting. Bathroom floor tiles can also be painted, though the high level of foot traffic could require them to be repainted more regularly.
Bathroom Painting Tips
While ensuring you choose the correct type of paint is vital, prepping your area and choosing a suitable colour will ensure a great look for your finished bathroom walls and ceiling.
Prepping Your Bathroom Area
Your bathroom should be completely dry before painting. If the bathroom is in active use, you may need to wait a day or more to ensure that there is no residual moisture. If you do not take the steps to ensure this, it could severely limit the longevity of your new coats. You should also mask the items in your bathroom that cannot be removed, such as baths, counters, and toilets, to ensure that you don’t get any paint on them.
The Best Bathroom Paint Colours
No longer restricted to white, bathroom paints are now available in a huge range of colours. You can opt for a lighter blue or grey, or make your bathroom a showpiece with bolder greens or pinks. Some even opt for more eccentric choices like glitter paint. It can be a great idea to get sample packs of paint colours and try them on sections of the wall before committing.
Get Premium Paint Delivered Fast With Our Trade Accounts
Struggling to source the quality paint you need for jobs? Open a trade account with Building Materials Nationwide and get access to all leading paint brands from Crown, Dulux, Leyland and more.
Your dedicated Trade Account Manager will get to know exactly what paints you need to get jobs done. Whether it’s hardy exterior masonry paint or a premium, moisture-resistant bathroom emulsion, they’ll source it through our extensive supplier network.
We supply every type of paint finish across popular colours. Just let your contact know the quantities and delivery timeframes needed. With trade pricing and free delivery over £100, it’s a cost-effective way to order.
Tell Us What You Need
Let us know what paint you need for your next project, and a member of our team will get in contact with you.
F.A.Q.s
What is the Right Wall Stud Spacing?
The standard spacing is every 400mm or 600mm (which is every 16 inches or 24 inches) on the centre of the wall stud.
What is the Right Wall Stud Width?
Wall studs are usually around 89 mm in width. This width is sufficient to support the weight of both metal and timber frames.
What is the Average Wall Stud Length?
A pre-cut stud is usually 2300mm or 2600mm but can come in lengths up to 5000mm.
What is the Right Wall Stud Height?
The stud height is usually the ceiling height. In terms of the length of each piece of timber (or metal), studs are usually 2300mm and 2600mm. When installing a wall stud, measuring and cutting the timber or metal is necessary to make sure that each part of the wall frame is fully secured to the floor and ceiling.
How Thick is a Wall Stud?
The thicknesses of the studs in a wall are typically 75mm or 100mm. This is quite thin and can make it difficult to hang pictures, television mounts and other wall decorations that might require extra support. In this case, you may need a stud finder - a handy tool that locates studs behind the plasterboards.