Home Improvement Blog

Four key reasons to remodel your bathroom

Posted by william bateman on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 @ 03:28 PM

The bathroom(s) in your home is probably the most frequented room in your house. Mornings, nights, rainy days, stiff aches and pains; the bathroom is the area of your home to relax, feel revived and take care of everyday hygiene for both you and your family. Creating a breath taking atmosphere within your bathroom will create many years of happiness for you and your family. Imagine the benefits of a new bathroom remodel that creates a complete surreal enviroment!

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 Debating your bathroom remodeling project? Well, there are definitely pros and cons to remodeling your bathroom; however, in most cases you'll probably find that the benefits of bathroom remodeling outweigh the cons. Both you and your home can benefit from a remodeling project on the bathroom. Here is a look at a few of the benefits that can be enjoyed when you decide to remodel your bathroom.



Benefit #1 - Increase in Home Value - Probably one of the biggest benefits you'll enjoy when you remodel the bathroom in your home is an increase in the home value. When you remodel the bathroom, you end up with an even better home, and larger remodeling projects can really make a difference in the amount that your home is worth. However, if you don't do the project the right way or you don't finish it, the value will actually go down, so you want to make sure that the bathroom remodel is done the right way so you can enjoy the increase in your home's value.

Benefit #2 - Improve the Bathroom's Appearance - Another benefit of remodeling the bathroom in your home is improving the bathroom's appearance. Perhaps your bathroom didn't look to great in the past or it was starting to have repair problems. When your remodel, the entire bathroom will look so much better. You'll be able to go into the bathroom and enjoy the way that it looks. Since the bathroom looks even better, it will actually help your entire home to look better as well.

Benefit #3 - Better Use of Space - In many cases, bathrooms are too crowded, especially if you have a smaller bathroom. When you remodel, you can benefit from a better use of space in the bathroom. There are new furniture and fixture choices today that look great and take up less room, so you can make the best out of the space that you have in the bathroom.

Benefit #4 - Create a Place for Relaxation - Yet another benefit you can get when remodeling your bathroom is creating a place for relaxation. Remodeling gives you the ability to go beyond just function in the bathroom. You can turn it into a retreat that you can enjoy each day. With the right fixtures, décor, and a great tub, your bathroom can become one of the best places to relax and sooth away the stress of the day.

 

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Topics: construction-general-painting-monroe, orange county ny, bathrooms, tile

Whats really behind your bathroom walls

Posted by william bateman on Sat, Mar 26, 2011 @ 10:29 AM

Your bathroom is old and outdated? You might be thinking about a quick sale or a quick fix? The thought about price and upsetting your home has you considering a quick fix? A quick fix isn't always the answer and you might just be throwing your money down the drain. You might want to consider a full bathroom remodel that will add more value to your home and more peace in mind that all mold and mildew has been removed. Within 1-2 weeks you will have the bathroom of your dreams!!

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Many franchise companies promise to reface your bathroom by covering up your old tub and shower walls. In the picture above, Rebath came for an estimate to put a cover over this old deteriorated tub. Thats like putting a cap over a rotten tooth!

Top reasons not to use franchise bath covering companies:

  • Mold and mildew will be trapped and left to keep growing inside your walls and floors

  • Any rotted wall studs and/or flooring cannot be detected and will just be covered

  • Walls will eventually start to come loose as the adhesive breaks down

  • Rebath is not cheap! It is probably the most expensive recycled plastic out there! 

  • The end result is always a cheap look. You can spot a Rebath install a mile away

  • Tubs and shower bases become smaller after capping

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This is a before and after picture of a franchise company installation. I can see why people would like the idea because it gives instant gratification but most people aren't aware of the downfalls.

Besides appearance, what you don't see:

  • Ceramic tile almost always has a glossy surface. Even the best adhesives have a hard time staying adhered. The walls will eventually start to pop off.

  • New divertor was changed from a three hand diverter to a single hand diverter. Thats fine, the only difference is that it should have been moved up another foot minimum. As water hits your body it will tranfer onto the diverter at the lower height and eventually penetrate into your wall creating mold and mildew.

  • The new drain was installed with a pop up. Your trip lever was discontinued and now if you want to take a bath you must push down on the drain. The only problem with this is that your old drain had a strainer cover on it for catching hair and other debris from entering your drainage system. Now your drain is wide open so look for major issues down the road.

  • Notice you have lost any shelving and soap dish. They may equip you with a cheap built in shelf.

  • The rest of your bathroom is still old and outdated so now you will still have to upgrade all the contents.

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Here is another franchise companies cover up job. Makes you cringe to think all that mold, mildew and bacteria is still living under your new tub. Don't be fooled, these installations are nothing more than a quick cover up job.

Benefits of a full bathroom remodel:

  • All of your old moldy and mildew contents are removed down to the studs

  • New fiberglass insulation is installed and brought up to current R-values

  • All your plumbing valves are changed inside the walls

  • Electrical is updated and extra lighting can be installed

  • Shower area walls, cement board will be installed and new moisture resistant sheetrock on the rest of the walls and ceiling of bathroom

  • Opportunity to add in wall shelves or recessed vanity

  • Freshly painted walls

  • Opportunity to notice any unseen problems

Newly renovated bathroom with WMB Construction

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Topics: construction-general-painting-monroe, Monroe NY, orange county ny, bathrooms, construction-general--monroe, flooring, finished basement, tile, bi-level

Enhance your kitchen by adding a tile backsplash

Posted by william bateman on Tue, Feb 08, 2011 @ 12:10 PM

The backsplash of your kitchen can take quite a beating from water, grease and grime. Your backsplash wall with a little paint applied over the sheetrock surface is not enough protection from these elements. Soon the paint and sheetrock will deteriorate leaving more of a problem. If you have a formica countertop that isn't caulked correctly, you can risk damage to the countertop due to water penetration.

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Besides just protection, tile backsplashes add elegance and beauty to your kitchen. With so many decorating options available for your kitchen, a backsplash will have the most impact. From natural stone, to ceramic tile, to different borders; the ideas start to become endless.

 

 

In this photo we installed a natural stone tile. You can quickly see the difference it made to this kitchen. Because natural stone is porous, Bright Seal was applied to the tile to seal and protect. The sealer also enhances the natural beauty of the tile.

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 The tile installed even made the beauty of the faucet stand out. This countertop came unequipped without any attached backsplash. The customer almost lost the countertop due to water penetrating and delaminating the formica. We saved the countertop just in time by adding the tile backsplash and sealing off all voids where water could penetrate.

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In this photo we installed ceramic subway tile with a natural stone border. The countertop in this photo is equipped with a 4" backsplash giving the countertop a little more integrity.

The added beauty and protection with a tile backsplash is an unmatched upgrade to your kitchen. Tile back splashes also offer added value to your home along with peace in mind that you will get longevity out of your kitchen. 

 

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Topics: orange county ny, remodel, construction-general--monroe, Creations, kitchens, tile

Proper subfloor for tile remodeling

Posted by william bateman on Thu, Dec 30, 2010 @ 09:00 PM

In my field of work I have seen many tile floors fail due to improper subfloors and wrong glues used during installations. Most tile floors when finished always look great unless the work was done half fast. What you dont know is what was done before and during the installation of the tile. Subflooring is the most important part for the longevity of a floor. All ceramic tile companies recommend a minimum of 1 1/4" subflooring before any tile is set. Most all of homes are built with 3/4" plywood flooring through out the house so an extra 1/2" where ceramic tile is to be applied is necessary wheather you use plywood or cementboard. Since ceramic tile, like concrete, is a solid product that does not do well under any movement is very likely to crack if the proper steps are not taken. What we do at WMB Construction is make sure the original subflooring is properly secured to the floor joists using 2 1/2" screws.(screws always hold better that nails that builders use during new construction.)  Next we install 1/2" cement board(Perma Base) over original subfloor setting the cement board in Sturdi-Flex adhesive and using 1 5/8" screws every 3" to secure the cement board down. Now tile is ready to be set on top of a subfloor that is completely indestructable. Some might say my methods are a bit over the top but a little extra material and labor is well worth a great installation so that I can sleep at night

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Topics: General Contractor, bathrooms, Construction, tile