Blog : April, 2010 | Flooring Supply Shop BlogFlooring Supplies

leak proof shower no more a worry

One of the most common problems pertaining to a shower area is water accumulation over the pan liner. Since your tile floor is not completely waterproof, some water will trickle down to the pan liner. In case your pan slope is not appropriate, the water that seeps down the tile floor might not be directed towards the drain, and might accumulate between the floor and the pan liner. This water accumulation could lead to serious problem of mold in your shower area in the long run. Whats more, in case there is a leakage in your pan liner, your sub floor could also get damaged due to the water leak.

Traditional mortar beds can soak the excess water and can remain wet for a long duration of time, thereby resulting in damage to the tiles as well as the grout lines. Further, mortar can choke the drain weep holes, thereby resulting in a blocked shower drain. All such problems can result in an unpleasant showering experience for you.

A leaky shower area or excessive mold could cause serious problems and could result in unnecessary repairs and maintenance expenses. Now, with the introduction of ready to tile shower pans, leaky shower is no more a worry. Ready to tile shower pans are a contemporary version of traditional pan liners, which used to be placed over the shower sub floor. Ready to tile shower pans are manufactured with high grade polystyrene, and are rot proof as well as leak proof.

Ready to tile shower pans have a pre-formed slope of 1/4” per foot that is as per the industry standards. This slope ensures that any water which seeps through the tile floor is effectively directed towards the shower drain weep holes. Effective drainage and non accumulation of water below the tile floor ensures no leakage and no mold growth in your shower area.

Constructing a traditional mortar bed shower pan requires a lot of time as well as a little masonry skills. However, the easy and convenient structure of ready-to-tile-shower pans ensures that every do-it-yourself enthusiast can install it without any difficulty. The fact that these pan floors can be tiled as soon as they have been installed makes them all the more convenient and effective.

Although installing a pan liner is still the most popular method of constructing a shower area, more and more people are realizing the importance of ready to tile pan floors. Their easy to install and highly effective nature ensures high value for money. Further, the preformed slope, which is in accordance with the industry standards, ensures that any water that seeps through the shower floor is effectively directed towards the drain weep holes. You can also find a few ready to tile shower pans that come with integrated curb to ensure that you do not to spend extra time or money into building a shower curb. It is due to benefits such as these that the use of ready to tile shower pans has picked up significantly in recent times.

Build a perfect curb for that unmatched shower area

While building a shower area, a number of individuals give the least priority to a shower curb. The results of this negligence are frequent leaks and unnecessary expenses in repairs and maintenance of the shower area. The curb of your shower area acts as a dam and prevents water from spilling out to the floor. It is for this reason that the process of building a shower curb should be given high priority and should be completed with extreme care.

If a shower curb is not built with utmost care, the nails can puncture through the pan liner and can cause it to leak. It is to remove this problem that Kirb-Perfect can be an ideal solution. Kirb-Perfect is an easy to install structure that can be used to build a shower curb that is perfectly pitched and that maintains the integrity of the pan liner. Kirb-Perfect is made up of high quality non rotting plastic to ensure long durability of the curb structure.

Kirb-Perfect can be used both with a 2×4 membrane wrapped wooden curb as well as non-wooden curb. In both the cases, the nails are to be used on the outside of the curb structure, thereby ensuring that the integrity of the pan liner is not affected. The use of Kirb-Perfect also makes it easier to use light weight mud to cover the curb structure.

The biggest advantage of Kirb-Perfect is that is allows construction of a curb even without the use of 2×4 wooden blocks. This can be done by inserting the pan liner between the interior and exterior portions of Kirb-Perfect while screwing them together. Since nails will not be used in the inside of the pan liner, there is no scope for any leakage to the sub floor.

The ease of installation associated with Kirb-Perfect makes it a perfect choice for ‘Do-It-Yourself’ enthusiasts. All that is required to use Kirb-Perfect in building a perfect shower curb is attaching its 3 sides and trimming it on the inside to accommodate pre-pitch. The next step is to place this structure over the 2×4 wooden blocks or over the pan liner and fill it with mud. The ease of installation and the high utility offered by Kirb-Perfect makes it an ideal choice for any shower area building project.

A shower area is incomplete without a proper curb to keep the water in the shower area and to prevent it from splashing outside. Since your tile flooring is porous, there is a possibility that water might seep down to the pan liner. Although a pan liner is there to ensure that the water which seeps down is directed into the drain, in case your pan liner leaks, you could face serious problems of water accumulation. By using Kirb-Perfect, you can ensure that there is no damage to the pan liner and that in case any water seeps down to the sub floor, it is effectively directed into the drain. This would enable you to build a perfect curb for an unmatched shower area.

DIY only if you have the skill and patience

It is always advisable to think about the pros & cons before taking up responsibility. Performing a task may not be as easy as it may appear to be. One should take up a job only if capable enough of finishing it with perfection.

It is never advised to undertake a job unless you are not sure of completing it. When it comes to individually finishing a task to perfection, patience is the most important virtue required to do it. If you do not possess the necessary skills required to execute the job you are bound to make severe mistakes. It is therefore advisable to get professional help if you are not sure of accomplishing the task on your own.

Your home is your most important asset. When it comes to renovating your house or performing repairs you must do it yourself only if you know how to do it. People of late are becoming conscious about the kind of flooring they have in their houses. A lot of people are resorting to changing their flooring and go for more eco-friendly options. However, when it comes to changing or renovating the floors it is highly essential that unless you possess the necessary expertise, you should hire professional help.

Though DIY is a better option since it is the cheapest option as you do not have to pay anyone for getting the job done. However, make sure that you can skillfully complete the job because a single mistake on your part can incur more expenses to fix the problem. Moreover, insurance policies generally do not cover accidents caused while performing a DIY job. Hence, before you plan to start a DIY construction or renovation work at your place, contact your insurance company and make sure that you and associated perils are covered by your insurance plan.

In case you are planning to renovate your home on your own, you must understand that it will take time, skill and patience. Moreover, before you start any job, make your plan of action, and according to the layout, ascertain that you have all the requisite tools. Apart from this you must also know about the legal restrictions and get a building consent from your local council, if the law requires. You must carry your work in a systematic manner so that the job is manageable and can be completed on time. Further, it is advisable that you start with simpler task and then move on to difficult jobs.

For instance, if you are planning to tile your bathroom floor you must ensure, that you have a proper layout and accordingly priorities your time. In case you can only work on weekends, then you must be prepared to bear with half-done bathroom for at least a couple of weeks. Apart from this, the drying time will take a couple of more days. Before starting the job, make sure you have all the tools and a plan of action in place. The biggest consideration is that you must have patience, skill and will to complete the task. Moreover, if someone among your friends or family has completed similar work, take their help as they will be able to guide you better and give tips to successfully complete the work. Once you successfully completed simpler tasks, you can move on to tedious job as you would have acquired the necessary skill by then.

Hence, judge yourself and decide whether you have the skill and patience to undertake a DIY work. If not, contact a professional contractor.

Carpeting VS tiling

Homeowners who are either building, or remolding their house, face a dilemma of whether or not to use carpet flooring. The countless flooring options available in the market these days have increased the options and complicated the task of selecting one for your house. Although carpeting still remains one of the most preferred flooring options, there are a number of problems associated with this type of flooring.

One of the major concerns that homeowners have regarding carpet flooring is keeping it clean. It is very easy for dust, food particles and other items to get trapped within the fabric of the carpet. A dirty carpet not only affects the aesthetics of the house but also becomes the source of allergies. Further, cleaning these impurities is a difficult task and requires specialized resources.

Generally, contemporary wall to wall carpets consist of synthetic fibers as well as dyes and glue that release harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These VOCs not only cause allergies but can also act as carcinogens, thereby affecting the health of the family members.

On the other hand are the tiled floors, which offer a number of advantages over a carpet floor. One of the biggest advantages of having a tiled floor is the availability of different shapes, sizes and colors. From a wide pool of vinyl, ceramic or porcelain tiles, you can select the one that best suits the decor of your house.

Another significant benefit of using a tiled floor is the ease of maintenance offered by it. Vinyl and ceramic tiles are generally stain resistant and spills can be easily wiped using a piece of cloth. Further, routine cleaning requires a mild cleansing agent and a mop, thereby significantly reducing the efforts associated with a tiled floor.

Installing a tiled floor is generally much simpler and less time consuming as compared to other types of flooring. You can use a low toxicity thin set mortar to set your tiled floor in an effective and convenient manner. Further, grouting is also easy and any DIY enthusiast can use resources such as the Grout Remover and the Grout Caulk Thinset to complete the grouting job. In case a tile gets damaged, all that is required to fix the problem is, to remove the damaged tile and set-in a new one. This ease in repairs and minimal requirement of maintenance makes tiles the ideal flooring option.

Finally tiles are highly versatile and can be used in any room of the house. Not just the living rooms and the bed rooms, but tiles can also be used in wet areas such as the bathroom and the kitchen. You can select anti slip tiles for your shower area for maximum effectiveness.

Therefore, it can be clearly seen that although carpeting is the preferred flooring choice of a number of individuals, tiles can become an ideal replacement. Not only do tiles enhance the aesthetics of a room, but are cost effective as well. Further, tiles are a much better option if you want a clean and healthy environment inside the house.

History of American tiles

Tiles have been used by man for aesthetic purposes since a long time. Excavations have revealed that a number of civilizations in Babylon, Egypt, America and China used a variety of hardened clay to decorate walls, floors, pitchers and pots. Further, the discovery of natural pigments to color these tiles led to the development of colored and decorative tiles.

Apart from being used as a decorative item, the renaissance period saw the development of tiles into a canvas. During this period, a number of renowned artists painted their masterpiece on tiles. One of the main reasons for the popularity of tiles as a canvas was its high durability and the appealing background that it provided.

Fired clay tiles gained popularity in the United States during the late 19th century due to the widespread availability of the raw materials used to create them. Continuous development in tile manufacturing technology led to tiles being created through a systematic process by using roller kilns, higher firing temperatures and shorter firing cycles. Although this process has become outdated, the tiles created through this process are still in use around the United States.

Apart from the process of manufacturing tiles, the size of tiles have also undergone a tremendous change over the years. Earlier, standard sizes of either 4” x 4” or 8” x 8” were manufactured; with advancement in manufacturing technology, there is no limit to the size of tiles that can be manufactured. If the rate of technological advancement is anything to go by, we are sure to see a lot more changes in the size, shape, color and thickness of tiles.

Even the process of decorating tiles has undergone a significant change over the years. Earlier, glaze was applied on the surface of the tile using bell applicators; however, change in technology has facilitated tile decoration using flat silk screens, rotor or roller screens, laser screens and digital ink.

It was during the late 20th century that the trend of using porcelain tiles gained popularity. The main reason for the popularity of porcelain tiles was that they were ‘freeze thaw stable’ and had water absorption of less than 0.5%. These characteristics ensured that porcelain tiles could be used in any temperature and in any condition. Even NASA realized these characteristics and started using porcelain tiles on space shuttles to protect it during the re-entry procedure. Now, technological advancements have enabled tile manufacturers to create tiles that have the same surface color as the body color. This makes wear and tear marks almost non-existent on these tiles.

Tiles have been popular over the years due to their three main characteristics: they are hygienic, economical and green. Tiles are highly hygienic and are widely used in hospitals and educational communities due to this reason. Since tiles are highly durable and require little maintenance these prove to be highly cost effective in the long run. Finally, tiles can easily be recycled and are manufactured using natural materials, thereby reducing wastage and encouraging a ‘green’ change.

Month: April 2010

leak proof shower no more a worry

Build a perfect curb for that unmatched shower area

DIY only if you have the skill and patience

Carpeting VS tiling

History of American tiles

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