 |
|
Showers are the very functional focal point of beauty in your bath. To create a beautiful bathroom shower requires a surprising number of decisions.
o Minimum shower size
Showers should almost always be at least 32” wide, but preferably 36”, 42” or more.
o Walk-in shower without shower door
Required to be quite large with the shower head placed such as to prevent water reaching the outside of the shower space. An L shaped 5’ x 7’ area can work.
o Ceramic tile
o Stone tile
o Stone
o Ceramic tile
o Stone tile
o Frameless
A frameless glass shower system adds a stunningly attractive appearance to any bath. Since usually it is made of clear glass it expands the size of the bathroom. And if it is a foot or so below the ceiling, when you enter your bathroom your line of sight above it typically to a far corner of the bath adds an additional feeling of extended space.
o Framed
Today’s framed shower enclosures compared with an earlier day are very sleek and attractive.
o Shower seat height
o Shower seat depth
o Shower seat width
o Shower shampoo shelf built into the wall
o Shower shampoo corner shelf
o Showerheads
o Bodysprays
o Handshowers
- Shower Fixtures and Trim
o Layout and heights
The
Construction of shower pan under shower floor. The shower pan is always constructed of ONE PIECE of vinyl folded in the corners (unless a rather large size of shower dictates otherwise). Solid wood is installed around ENTIRE perimeter of shower up 6” to 9” from floor to provide a solid backing for the vinyl shower pan to be attached to the surrounding wall. Any blunt force on this at any time during construction or after completion will not tear the shower pan vinyl and cause the shower to leak. Below the shower pan concrete is poured as the first floor of the shower. It is shaped to slope downward toward the drain. This concrete is installed BELOW the shower pan and is the final level of protection against leakage. In the very unlikely event that water does penetrate the vinyl BELOW the shower pan, it will still drain properly for many years. In the next step floor mud (a dense very strong concrete) is poured inside the shower pan as the second protective floor of the shower. It of course is shaped to slope downward toward the drain also. The tile setter installs tile on top of this. This system is used whether building a shower on the first or second story of your home. The same plumber and the same tile setter work together as a team on each shower. It is important that the plumber have confidence that the shower pan he installs is not damaged by the tile setter following him. Using this system Woodmark has no knowledge of ever having a shower pan leak in 34 years of building in
Construction of shower walls. Shower walls are constructed in a particular sequence. First waterproof drywall is installed directly on stud walls and taped and floated. Corners are caulked with clear Silicone caulk to seal the envelope. Black tarpaper is installed over the drywall as a further moisture barrier for the shower. On top of the black paper wire mesh is installed to provide reinforcement for the rather dense cementious wall mud installed in ½” thickness over it. A waterproof adhesive is buttered over the wall and over the entire surface of each individual tile that is placed on it. The individual tiles are then grouted. The process provides five levels of protection against water penetration: waterproof drywall; tarpaper; ½” of cement; tile adhesive, and the tile and grout itself.
Remarkably, today there are a number of large builders who provide only three levels of protection: waterproof drywall; tile adhesive and the tile and grout. The tile is simply installed directly on the drywall. This even though water impacts it a number of times each day at high temperatures. This process will result in shower walls crumbling in often a short period of time. The sequence will be such: the structure of the home will move creating hairline cracks in the tile grout; a bit of water will penetrate the hairline crack and soak into the drywall causing the drywall to swell; the swelling will cause the hairline crack to become a large crack and with water penetrating the drywall behind it, it will swell and crumble creating major damage. SHOWERS BUILT IN THIS WAY ARE ALWAYS TO BE AVOIDED.
Shower seats are always constructed of cinderblock. Wood is NEVER used. If water ever penetrated the seat surface (as is likely as all home structures shift a bit) the wood expands and a larger crack for the penetration of more water is created. Ultimately the seat rots. We construct the seat of the same cement material that is on the surface and then install the entire seat INSIDE the shower pan. We extend the shower pan vinyl envelope BEHIND the seat. If in the very unlikely event of a water penetration, the water would still be inside the shower pan.
We provide you with a large number of ACTUAL samples of grout material to be installed with your tile selection in order to allow you REAL options to choose from, rather than simply ink on paper or plastic samples. You often spend a great deal of time on selecting just the right shade of your tile. So we feel the same amount of care and attention should be given your grout choice.
We order a sufficient quantity of tile so as to avoid an interruption in the job schedule even if some tile is flawed or breakage occurs.
All grout or stone surfaces are sealed with at least two coats of a penetrating sealer. Usually Impregnator by Stone Tech. The sealer has an alcohol like viscosity which after penetrating the grout or stone and drying becomes a very hard plastic. Inside your stone. This prevents any staining substance from penetrating and becoming visible.
Please call to get an answer to a specific remodeling question on your present bathroom shower.
