Archive for November, 2009
Wood countertops in your bathroom are not only attractive, they are versatile, fairly easy to install and are available in a wide range of colors and finishes. Today’s solid wood countertops are scratch-resistant, heat-resistant and water-proofed for use in a bathroom environment. This brand new type of wooden countertop can be made to fit any specification, with each counter top artistically handcrafted according to your explicit needs. Wooden countertops offer you a beautiful warm and inviting alternative to the sometimes clinical feel of a traditional bathroom. The wood not only looks appealing, it feels warm and tempting to the touch. However, to maintain your woods natural beauty, wood countertops must be properly sealed and maintained. Whatever type of wood you choose for your bathroom countertop, it must be sealed with a marine quality polyurethane varnish or paint. One of the most important things to remember is to seal around the edges of your plumbing fixtures so that any pooled water will not seep into the surrounding areas and cause your wood to warp or even worse, create wood rot. Read the rest of this entry »
Glass countertops in your bathroom, now that is fairly new. For the majority of us, glass is known for it’s translucent, eye-catching beauty, hardly thought of as a countertop material in your bath. Traditionally the emphasis on countertops has been function but in recent years there has been a sort of design revolution, today’s bathroom design has moved towards permanent fixtures acting as ornamental as well as functional countertop pieces. And because of this trend, homeowners are looking beyond the traditional surface materials of cultured marble and porcelain. Cutting edge designers are incorporating new trendy materials into their bath designs, materials such as wood, concrete, stainless steel and glass countertops are on the forefront of this shift in radical bathroom design changes. Read the rest of this entry »
Arrgh, my drain is backed up in my toilet again! So what are some easy home remedies for opening clogged drains in your bathroom? Well, the quickest and easiest thing to do is grab your typical plunger. The process is pretty straightforward, you know the drill. What you don’t want to do however, is to vigorously plunge up and down like a jack hammer. The most effective way to clear your drain is to cover the drain opening completely with the bell-shaped head of the plunger and push down firmly but gently, then come up quickly and forcefully creating suction. Normally the suction of the upwards movement will pull what ever is stuck in your drain back up into the bathroom toilet, tub or sink. It should be noted here that some tubs and sinks have overflow outlets that must be plugged with a sponge or wet towel before you can use your plunger effectively. Read the rest of this entry »
Saunas and steam rooms are pretty much a given in most trendy health clubs and spas across the country, and have been for decades, but recently in the last couple of years there has been a growing demand by consumers for incorporating the benefits of residential steam right into their homes. This demand for custom home saunas and custom steam rooms has been accelerated by the stress and fast pace of modern living. With time and convenience being the name of the game; who has time to go to the spa anymore, so why not bring the spa home? This trend of steam rooms, infra red and traditional wet saunas has taken off like wildfire especially in master baths and in homes that have a luxury bath setting. And the great thing about these home saunas and steam rooms is that contrary to what most people expect, you actually don’t need much floor space for a sauna or steam room. You’d be surprised just how much you can fit into a 4×4 space with a home sauna kit. That’s about the size of a small closet, which could actually be a good place to put in a sauna, custom shower or steam room if space is at a premium in your home. Read the rest of this entry »
When I was installing my first tiled shower enclosure a couple years ago I talked to one of my friends, who was a professional tiler, about how to make sure my shower stall was water tight and he had mentioned cement backer board as the solution. Backer board is a drywall like product that you place behind your ceramic tile to protect the area around your shower stall from any water seepage or damage. Contrary to popular belief installing cement backer board on your bathroom walls isn’t as difficult as most people initially think; you just have to have the right tools, add in a sprinkle of patience and planning and the job should pan out quite nicely. Read the rest of this entry »
Shower doors are not only there to keep the rest of your bathing area dry, for example, an adjustable swing and pivot shower door can also add elegance and create a sense of modernism to your bathroom decor. Whether you want a standard shower or tub door, there are two categories of bathroom shower doors: frameless and standard framed shower doors. Frameless shower doors are normally prefabricated to fit almost any size of shower enclosure. Frameless glass shower entry systems create an open atmosphere in your bathroom that is upscale in look and feel. The glass used for framless shower doors is thicker and traditionally tempered for better safety and the edges are notched and drilled to house your handles and hinges. These shower door handles and hinges come in a variety of styles and finishes to fit any shower enclosure design. From frosted glass pivot doors to continious hinge shower doors, like their frameless counterparts for glass shower stalls, standard framed shower doors can be made to fit most opening sizes on your tub or shower stall and can be installed to open to the right or left. The only difference is that standard shower doors are usually enclosed in a sturdy anodized aluminum frame with clear or frosted tempered safety glass inside the door frame or you can request a variety of custom shower door glass options to tailor your shower to meet your bath design specifications. Read the rest of this entry »
Shower heads can make or break your shower. Purchasing the right showerhead is paramount to the quality of a good shower experience, plus the right showerhead can save you water and energy. Fortunately, if your present showerhead leaks or you simply want to upgrade to a more modern model, replacing a showerhead is not a difficult job. You just have to be aware that just like any other bathroom remodelling project, you have to follow a few common sense steps as well as use the right tools and your bathroom makeover should proceed smoothly without a hitch. (Learn how to replace or fix your showerhead like a pro, here). Before the early 1990s, many showerhead manufactures had water flow rates of five to eight gallons per minute. Today however, there are a wide variety of low-flow showerheads available, these new low-flow showerheads reduce water use without sacrificing the quality of the shower experience. New economical shower head flow rates of 7.6 lpm (2 gpm) saves water and money. The other good part is there are so many new innovations in showerheads these days you have a multitude of specialty shower head options to choose from. Handheld showerheads, multi-function showerheads as well as luxurious rain showerheads, large shower heads like waterfall showerheads and multiple-head directional showers give you the choice to create your shower to best suit your individual lifestyle and water consumption needs. Read the rest of this entry »
By far, hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of residential flooring materials used by homeowners nowadays. But what if you want to put hardwood flooring where no man has gone before or at the very least, in places not recommended by the mainstream bathroom floor design experts of today? Is there such a thing as a water resistant hardwood flooring engineered specifically for a high moisture environment such as your washroom floor? Divine Hardwood Flooring Ltd is a design Flooring Specialist Company, their proverbial focus is on hardwood flooring and nothing else which makes them experts in the flooring field so they know all about the different hardwood flooring types. Down at the 10th Annual Buildex Calgary Show I asked Tory Cook an account manager from Divine Hardwood, that very question and like most things in life, I found out there is no one cut and dry answer to this hardwood flooring question. Read the rest of this entry »
All right then, we have already established that the use of concrete countertops, sinks and vanities is an emerging trend in bathroom décor that is quickly picking up momentum as homeowners begin to realize the versatility of the material. Down at the 10th annual Buildex Calgary Show I was fortunate enough to be able to talk with Mario Falconi, the owner of Concrete Innovations Ltd., a company serving the Calgary market since early 2000. We had a fairy in-depth talk about the benefits and timeless nature of concrete and where he sees concrete fitting into the home as a viable alternative surface and fabrication material for home improvement and renovation in the years to come. Read the rest of this entry »
Hey everyone this is Anthony Mclean from the Bathroomguru Review. I just came back from the 10th Annual Buildex Convention down at the Stampede grounds in the building formerly known as the Roundup Centre; now distinguished as the BMO Convention Centre, in Calgary, Alberta. With over 250 exhibits, Buildex Calgary is Alberta’s largest annual tradeshow and conference for Designing, Building and Managing Real Estate. It is touted as the place to be for those wishing to discover the newest trends, products and educational sessions for the construction, renovation and design industry in Alberta. What is interesting about this show is that the separate trade show venues of Buildex, Construct and Design Trends have now been re-branded under one umbrella as Buildex. Read the rest of this entry »
|
 |
|
