Swanstone Panel Thickness?

[elgato]

I cant seem to find it on their site. Does anyone know the spec for Swanstone panels?

Also,

It appears that most cultured products are 3/8". The installer said to allow 1" to the edge of the valve plasterguard when using 1/2" drywall and a 3/8" panel due to adhesive. Does this sound correct?

Thank You

[BS]

I just installed Swanstone tub wall panels in the past two weeks. They are 1/4" thick. (You'd think they'd tell you this somewhere, wouldn't you?)

Another thing they don't tell you is to install the two-tiered Corner Soap Dish BEFORE you install the corner molding. The directions tell you to install the single tray Economy Soap Dish AFTER you install the trim. I assumed it would be the same for the Corner Soap Dish. WRONG. So I spent last Sunday cutting and filing the back corner of two of these so they would fit over the corner molding.

BTW, Don't assume the panels are cut perfectly square because I found that one of mine was wider at the top than at the bottom. This might matter if you have to measure in from one of the sides to do some cutting.

I'm by no means an expert, but having just finished a Swanstone tub panel installation and about to begin a shower panel installation, I'm willing to share my lessons learned. Feel free to ask.

- Bernie

[Designomatic]

Bernie,
I am also about to install a swanstone shower kit for the first time.
1) Would you mind sharing which tool(s) you used to make cuts in the swanstone panels? The mfg recommends a sabre saw but I was wondering if a spiral saw might work also.
2) Did you need the additional overnight bracing suggested by the mfg?
3) In response to the previous question, would the total thickness build-up be
1/2" drywall + 1/8" adhesive tape + 1/4" panel = 7/8" ?

Thanks,
Clif

[BS]

Clif,

I used a sabre saw (jigsaw). I think Swanstone specifies the blade have a minimum of 14 teeth per inch and I used something like 24 tpi. It worked well but slow and probably would have gone faster with 14 tpi. I clamped a piece of lumber to the panel to use as a fence in order to get a relatively straight line. A hacksaw blade also works well. For minor adjustments use a file.

Absolutely you should use the overnight bracing. It was a lot easier to set up than the tiny sketch implies. Use 1x's for the bracing because they bend easily, exerting a steady force on the panels while making it easy to fit them between the panels.

I also rigged my own bracing for the corner soap dishes by leaning a piece of lumber into the soap dish (45 degree angles to the walls) and weighing down the leaning piece of wood. This exerted a good steady force pushing the dish into the corner.

7/8" total thickness sounds about right.

Good luck!

- Bernie