Lifestyle trend: digitally printed wallcoverings in wet rooms

Oasis of relaxation, retreat, private spa – today's bathrooms have nothing in common with the purpose-based wet rooms of the past. Professional decorators design and create truly natural relaxation zones for their customers that combine the functionality of the space with design and comfort. Thanks to their huge range of images, digitally printed wallcoverings fulfil a wide range of style requirements, but it is rare to find them in the ‘wet’ area of showers, pools, washrooms etc. because of the high levels of humidity. Until now, that is. The Erfurt-JuicyWalls Wet Room System now enables digitally printed wallcoverings to be used in wet rooms. This gives painters and decorators even more design freedom in these rooms – and offers a real alternative to tiles.

Digitally printed wallcoverings in wet rooms
Wet rooms place high demands on the materials used in them, whether due to the temporarily increased air humidity and water vapour or splashing water. Materials need to be sealed in accordance with DIN 18534 to be used in spaces where water will come into direct contract with wall surfaces. As wallcoverings have not been sealed to date, it has been impossible to apply digitally printed wallcoverings to sealed surfaces. This is exactly where Erfurt comes in with its new JuicyWalls Wet Room System. This is because the perfectly coordinated components deliver a highly individual design with digitally printed wallcoverings, at the same time as providing a waterproofed and sealed finish. On the one hand, the system allows painters and decorators to protect the wall from the ingress of moisture and then to create a dimensionally stable, UV-resistant and washable surface. The result: A waterproof wet area, in which the statement walls are extremely hard-wearing and thus create a stylish ambience in the wet room for years to come.

System components
The use of the Erfurt-JuicyWalls Wet Room System is extremely user-friendly: The kit contains a primer, system adhesive and two-component coating, as well as a sealant for the joint area. First, the antibacterial primer gel is applied to the base surface without dripping. Once dry, the solvent-free system adhesive is applied to the surface and the seamless digitally printed wallcovering is laid into the bed of paste. Finally, the mixed, solvent-free, two-component coating is applied as transparent surface protection to ensure that the wallcovering is waterproof and retain the lasting colour-fastness of the wallcovering with no yellowing. The transition area to the wallcovering is sealed with a low-odour joint sealant with minimal shrinkage, which can be applied to glass, ceramic or anodised aluminium. The kit is enough to seal 10–12 square metres of wallcovering.

Erfurt professional-quality digitally printed wallcoverings
Erfurt has been well established in the digitally printed wallcovering sector for many years. Apart from the company’s experience in the design and production of high-resolution murals, it is also the professional quality of the nonwoven carrier material that sets the manufacturer’s expertise apart. This combination has enabled Erfurt to design the most individual wall concepts, passing on much of the customisation to customers. The new wet room system now also opens up bathrooms and wet rooms as places in which digitally printed wallcoverings can be applied. Whether you are seeking a stylish backdrop to shower areas or a statement wall behind a bathtub, washbasin or toilet – customers can use an image file of their own or access the comprehensive image database when selecting an image. And thanks to the recommended use of the Erfurt-GIGA roll, wallcoverings with an overall height of up to 3.10 metres can now be applied seamlessly. Erfurt-Variovlies M 160 flat nonwoven is available as a nonwoven carrier material. The customer’s chosen image is then printed onto the Erfurt-GIGA roll in large format with exceptional print quality.