Blog : flooringsupply | Flooring Supply Shop Blog - Part 42Flooring Supplies

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.

Be a responsible citizen Use eco friendly products

The environment friendly products and materials are increasingly being used these days as it helps in reducing global warming & pollution. It is the responsibility of each & every individual to contribute towards making the environment clean & healthy. Hence, make your contribution by going green and using eco friendly products for building or renovating your home.

One must make use of natural stones, which can be used for building both the interiors as well as the exteriors of the house. Marble and graphite are good examples of natural stones that are widely used for building homes; these are durable and require minimal maintenance. Moreover, these stones provide an elegant outlook and are highly reasonable when it comes to price.

You can also paint your roof in white or light colors. Not only will this look elegant, but will also help in reflecting back the harmful radiation; this is also good alternative to keep your house cool the natural way. The US Secretary of Energy and a Nobel prize-winning scientist Steven Chu stated that the green house effect can be minimized by making a building reflective where the sunlight gets bounced back into space.

While constructing or refurbishing your home, make use of eco friendly products such as environment friendly flooring material. Recently, these eco friendly products have become quite a rage since these are attractive, durable as well as affordable. Moreover, you have so many options to select from, such as bamboo which gives a wood like effect. Other options include cork flooring, linoleum flooring, stone flooring, ceramic or glass tiles. All these are eye catching options, come in variety of colors and are sturdy as well as long lasting. Apart from this, you can use radiant electric floor heating systems, based on the principle of thermal heat radiation. This is more beneficial than using other heating options, such as electric base board heat, gas furnaces, wood and boilers. Electric floor heating systems consume less energy and prove to be highly economical.

Moreover, you can use eco friendly cleaning solutions which do not contain harsh and harmful chemicals. The harmful chemicals present in traditional cleaning solutions can cause breathlessness, dizziness and uneasiness along with having long term side effects such as cancer. Apart from this, chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, sodium hydroxide and phosphates found in traditional cleaning solutions are harmful to the environment. Hence, make use of eco friendly cleaning solutions, made up of biodegradable constituents, with a neutral pH (7) as for cleaning your home.

The eco friendly products are not only beneficial for humans but also for the environment and if each one of us realizes the significance of these products, our planet will definitely become a cleaner place to live. Therefore, for your own benefit and for the benefit of mankind use eco friendly products for your home.

Reduce your efforts in building an effective shower area

All you ‘do-it yourself’ enthusiasts who have tried building a shower area would know about the time and effort that goes into the process. Technicalities such as the pan liner slope, depth of the mortar bed and the shower floor slope can get tricky and can easily ruin your showering area. It is for this reason that most people prefer using the services of professional tradesmen to take care of all the technicalities and to build a perfect shower area.

One way to reduce all this time and effort, and to ensure that all the technicalities are taken care of effectively, is to use a ready to tile shower pan. Reputed ‘ready to tile‘ shower pans such as ProPan can be conveniently installed within a matter of hours, and can also be tiled within the same day. This is in sharp contrast to the time taken in installing a pan liner, mortar beds and tiles using the traditional methods.

Ready to tile pan liners are highly effective since they ensure a completely waterproof shower sub floor. Although installing a pan liner is considered to be the most effective ways of waterproofing the sub floor, there have been instances of a leakage in the pan liner damaging the plywood sub floor. Since ready to tile shower pans eliminate the need to install a pan liner, there will be no chance of a leakage to the sub floor. Further, these ready to tile shower pans are manufactured high quality polystyrene to ensure high durability and a longer working life.

Ready to tile shower pans such as ProPan also eliminate the need to slope the shower pan manually, thereby reducing the time involved in building the shower area. These ready to tile shower pans have a pre-formed slope of 1/4” per foot to ensure that any water that seep under the tiled floor is directed effectively towards the drain weep holes. Thus we can see that not only do ready to tile shower pans floors reduce the time and efforts involved in building a shower area, they also make the shower area more effective.

All those of you who are looking for a curb entry into the shower would find these ready to tile shower area to be of high utility. ProPan comes with an attachment for a curb, which can be installed on the site of the shower. Since building a curb involves a lot of time and a lot of precision, this facility of a curb attachment ensures that you are able to build an effective curb by spending a fraction of the time and energy that is involved in building a curb the traditional way.

Finally, in case you are worried that your shower area is not of standard size and that these ready to tile shower pans will not fit in your shower area, ProPan offers the ideal solution. ProPan can be cut or extended on the site according to the specific shower area size, thereby ensuring that you are able to use these ready to tile shower pans irrespective of the size of your shower area.

Author: flooringsupply

DIY only if you have the skill and patience

Carpeting VS tiling

History of American tiles

Be a responsible citizen Use eco friendly products

Reduce your efforts in building an effective shower area

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