Piedrafina Shower Walls
|Piedrafina Shower Walls – When most people enter their tile shower they rarely take into account the behind the scenes procedure that went into making that shower work effectively. Unfortunately some contractors will use this for their benifit of cut corners and save a few bucks. I have to say most contractors are attempting to do a good job, however some of them never learned the correct procedure and why these processes are crucial. The best strategy to find a very good tile contractor is always to ask them to explain the theory. If they are able to let you know the ins and outs behind the scenes, higher you will get a good job. If your pals refer somebody for you it’s still OK must these questions, all things considered exactly what do your pals really know regarding the reasons for a tiled shower? They may have found a contractor who’s nice and an easy task to work with along with their brand new shower looks great, but when you won’t want to fight mildew in 6 months but for the next 20 years you will ask a few of questions.
So let’s begin from the outset and explain common language and theory of the tile shower. First you have what is called a shower pan. This is a completely waterproof section that covers the shower floor and up the walls about 10″. This is the hot mop, (the amount of layers of tar paper, hot tar, tar paper, hot tar and the like) or it can be a PVC membrane that is folded into the corners and also over the dam. The most important much of this in your case the homeowner to learn is of course it’s absolutely waterproof but additionally it has what is called a sub-pitch. A proper sub-pitch is simply a float of cement or similar product under the pan that produces a flow on the drain along with the shower pan. This is important because, say as an illustration your shower pan is flat (no sub-pitch) water will travel through your grout making its way on the pan while showering. If this water forms a puddle under your tile floor rather than flowing on the drain it becomes stagnant and soon can become mildew inside your grout. With a sub-pitch the water that produces its way on the pan will continue to flow on the drain always being replaced with fresh water. It is much like the difference between a pond along with a creek.
Next there is a vapor barrier that is applied on the walls directly on the wood studs. This is normally a paper which has a tar trapped in the middle. This paper keeps moisture out of your walls. Why is this important? Not a lot of water penetrates the shower walls, nevertheless the substrate (the substrate is whatever surface your tile is stuck to, backer board, cement float, etc.) this surface can get moist. Moisture will move from substrate toward the lining wall, out over the grout and down on the pan, without vapor barrier paper you will get small amounts of water into the wall cavity. So you say “why should I bother about such a tiny amount of water”. The reason is when you invest in a drop of water with your wall whenever your shower can be used, those drops accumulate because your wall doesn’t have ventilation for evaporation, so eventually the wood is always moist. Do you know what loves moist wood? Termites, they love these conditions simply because they never have to travel back on the ground to acquire a drink, they are able to just keep eating. It would be just like you and I never having to go on the supermarket. Think of how productive we might be if it were the truth.
Well that’s the theory of waterproofing behind your shower walls. When you adhere to the following tips your brand-new shower contains the best potential for being confident for many years, without extreme maintenance.
So to summarize, I hope this has been an instructive along with understandable explanation of why a properly waterproofed shower makes a difference. As a Contractor I welcome customers that will ask me these questions, it tells me they comprehend the value of the job well done.