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 »

Divine Hardwood Flooring Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 »

Concrete Innovations Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 »

Attersall Marketing Ltd. is a manufacturer’s representative for both residential and commercial plumbing fixtures. Down at the Calgary Home and Interior Design Show I was able to experience first hand the magic of a working Relax-A-Mist Steam shower display. Attersall Marketing also had on display a Safety Bath Walk-In bath Tub for universal bathroom use and some beautiful Cascade Italian designer faucets with some intriguing design concepts. I talked to the owner Mark Attersall and he explained to me the benefits of taking a steam bath over an ordinary shower. Read the rest of this entry »

Attersall Marketing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Concrete sinks and countertops in your bathroom? Who would have thought? And why not, few other countertop surface materials offer more customization in shape, color, size, design options and thickness, as I soon found out after talking to Justin Brown, the man behind 2Stone Designer Concrete at The Calgary Home + Interior Design Show. It is no wonder that a multitude of home owners and design professionals alike have come to the conclusion that concrete counter tops and sinks are an excellent way of creating a distinctive look and adding beauty to your restroom. Read the rest of this entry »

2Stone Play Now | Play in Popup | Download