Sectors

Changing rooms and wet area washrooms for gyms and leisure centres

Wet changing rooms destroy MFC cubicles. Alpine 13mm compact grade laminate is the range that takes the humidity, the hosing and the traffic.

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A leisure centre changing room is the hardest environment a cubicle has to live in. Constant humidity, standing water on the floor, chlorine in the air, and a user leaning on the door with a wet bag on their shoulder. The material decision matters more here than the price per cubicle, because the wrong one gets replaced twice in five years.

Alpine is 13mm compact grade laminate with polished radius edges. Solid through-colour board, water resistant and self-supporting, with no chipboard core to absorb moisture. We manufacture it to order in Bolton on a 7 working day lead time, and we make matching benching, vanity units and duct panels in the same material family.

What we supply

  • Alpine CGL cubicles

    13mm compact grade laminate, through-colour with polished radius edges. Self-supporting, so it takes wet area detailing and daily hosing without a core that can swell. Manufactured to order in 7 working days.

    View Alpine Range

  • Benching and changing seats

    Laminate benching and changing seats made from the same compact board as the cubicles, so the finish matches and nothing left in the room has an exposed MFC edge waiting to fail.

    View worktops

  • Vanity units and trough surrounds

    Vanity units and wash trough surrounds for wet changing areas. Vanity units run 7 to 10 working days, worktops and postformed panels 8 to 10. Sizes taken from your setting out.

    View vanity units

  • IPS panels for shower areas

    Duct panels concealing pipework in showers and wash areas, specified in a board that suits humidity rather than a dry-area panel that will delaminate. 8 to 10 working days from order.

    View IPS panels

  • Hardware for wet environments

    Cubicle hardware for humid areas, including indicator bolts, hinges, brackets and feet. Stock hardware is dispatched in 1 to 2 working days when you are replacing items that have already failed.

    Browse hardware

Specification

Where MFC fails in a wet area and CGL does not
Condition MFC and Ascent MR Alpine 13mm CGL
Standing water on the floor Edges can wick moisture into the chipboard core Solid through-colour board with no core to absorb water
Constant high humidity Core swelling and edge lift over time Water resistant and dimensionally stable
Hosing or jet washing down Not suitable Suitable, specified for wet area use
Impact and heavy traffic 18mm board, adequate for dry commercial use 13mm compact, self-supporting, higher impact resistance
Surface damage and graffiti Damage exposes a different coloured core Through-colour, so a scratch reads as the same colour
Typical areas Dry lobby WCs, studio corridors, offices Pool surrounds, wet changing, showers and spa
Lead time 7 working days 7 working days

Why buy direct from the manufacturer

  • We cut the compact ourselves

    CGL is machined in house on our own CNC and beam saw in Bolton, including the polished radius edges. Nothing is subcontracted, so tolerance and edge quality stay ours to control.

  • Matched across the room

    Cubicles, benching, duct panels and vanity ordered together in one material family, so the changing room does not end up as three finishes from three different suppliers.

  • Trade pricing, no merchant

    You buy from the manufacturer. All prices exc VAT, free delivery to UK mainland, and any Highlands, Islands or Northern Ireland surcharge agreed before production starts.

Common questions

Why does MFC fail in a wet changing room?

MFC is melamine faced chipboard. The face is fine but the core is not waterproof, so once moisture reaches an edge, a fixing hole or a cut-out, the chipboard swells and the edging lifts. In a room with standing water and constant humidity that is a matter of time, not bad luck. Compact grade laminate has no such core.

Is Ascent MR good enough for a poolside washroom?

Ascent MR is moisture resistant, not waterproof. It is the right answer for a busy dry washroom that gets wet-mopped daily, or for a changing room lobby. It is not the right answer for a pool surround, a shower area or anywhere hosed down. Specify Alpine CGL there and keep Ascent MR for the drier zones.

Can you make benching and vanity to match the cubicles?

Yes, and it is worth doing. Benching, changing seats, vanity units and duct panels can be made in the same compact material and colour as the cubicles, so no MFC edge is left in the wet zone. Vanity units are 7 to 10 working days and worktops 8 to 10, against 7 for the cubicles.

What is the lead time on an Alpine changing room?

Alpine cubicles are 7 working days from order, manufactured in 3 to 5 in Bolton. Benching, worktops and postformed panels are 8 to 10 working days, IPS panels 8 to 10 and vanity units 7 to 10. On a phased refurbishment we will split despatch to match your zone-by-zone closure plan.

Is CGL more expensive than MFC?

Per cubicle, yes. Over the life of a wet changing room, usually not. An MFC run in a wet area typically needs its doors replacing within a few years and the whole run soon after. Price both, then price the second replacement and the closure time as well before you decide.

Do you supply gyms as well as local authority leisure centres?

We are trade only and supply gym operators, leisure trusts, local authorities and the fit-out contractors working for them. Everything is made to order from your sizes, all prices are exc VAT and delivery is free to UK mainland. We manufacture in Bolton and have been making laminate products since 1998.

Related guides

Price a wet area changing room

Send the layout and we will specify the Alpine sizes, the benching and the duct panels and come back with one price exc VAT.

Send us your sizes 0161 703 3980