Hardie Board For Shower Walls
|Hardie Board For Shower Walls – Choosing the best shower or bathtub wall surround can be hard. Should you install acrylic, a good surface material like Swanstone, or use decorative tiles? Will the grade of the products stand test of time? Which one is the greatest match for the budget and tastes? Learn 7 practical steps to determine which wall strategy is best for you.
Step 1 – Determine if you would like to go over your existing walls – To cut costs it’s nice to place a bathtub or shower wall surround over a preexisting surface. It is possible to use specialized glue or butyl tape to adhere acrylic or Swanstone solid surface materials over existing tile as long as the present walls aren’t spongy or bowed. If you have a plastic or fiberglass system it’s not possible to position new walls over your existing materials. In these cases the present system will need to removed, new backerboard installed after which new walls put up.
Step 2 – Think through your budget- If you’re similar to most you wish to get the most value for the money – a top quality material which will not hurt your wallet. If you desire a straightforward to clean cost effective material acrylic is an excellent choice. It is warm to the touch, installs quickly and includes a lifetime warranty.
For a much more elegant appearance (which is available in more decorative patterns and designs) consider a Swanstone solid surface wall. Swanstone is simple to take care of, doesn’t have joints to grout or seal and also comes in a wide variety of choices. Usually the more costly technique is tile (until you be capable of install it yourself and save the labor hours- tile is the most time intensive to put in vs. sheet products like acrylic & Swanstone). There are limitless choices and price ranges of tile and yes it creates a classy look too.
Step 3 – Select your material, designs, colors and accents you would like – After you’ve selected between acrylic, Swanstone and tile you need to choose your design and color(s). Acrylic wall surrounds come in a multitude of colors, patterns and finishes. There are solid, granite, metallic plus marble finishes. In addition the walls you select can be smooth, 4″ x 4″ simulated tiles, 8″ x 10″ simulated tiles or even a stone look. Acrylic is not really just a white smooth faced wall.
Swanstone, although it has been noted for it’s strength, color and texture consistent, grout-free quality, and also the fact it’s not going to crack or craze – includes a very broad range of decorative options too. There are over 45 standard, shiny, and granite colors. In addition there are decorative panels to construct unique architectural designs named Pebble, Geometric, Beadboard, Tangier and Barcelona. There are also designer trim pieces and rosettes to produce a finished look. Tile supplies the widest product options in terms of color, accents, borders, sizes and thicknesses. Make sure to look for a high density water resistant tile for the bath or shower.
Step 4 -Choose your backerboard. Select material to adhere the wall material as well as in the case of tile finish the face area of the wall- What you aren’t seeing in a bathtub or shower wall panel project will be as essential as that which you do see. Use the right material(s) behind the wall. Here are some recommendations: Acrylic – If the tile walls are in good condition install over them by adhering the acrylic with butyl tape and color match sealant. This will reduce landfill costs, reduce the project installation some time to cut costs. If the existing wall is not installed over put up moisture resistant green board or a cement backer board. Swanstone – Like acrylic if your tile is good structural shape install on the existing. If not, Swanstone can be installed over greenboard or a cement board using special glue.
Tile – Poorly done tile installations have caused a great deal of wasted money historically (cheap backer board might have been used, poor grouting jobs, poor work in the corners are just a few of the problems). For tile installations never use green board – use whether water resistant cement board or a waterproof extruded polystyrene board like this made out of Wedi Corporation. These boards ought to be glued and screwed for a framing. In addition to with all the right backer board consider investing in a urethane grout. This type of grout will not must be resealed which is waterproof. Although it costs more up front it will cut costs as time goes on in the must regrout, or worse yet the must redo the shower for those who have any water damage.
Step 5 – Fix what’s behind the wall – The best time to fix an inadequate performing shower valve, a shower head which is too low, as well as to add backer material to bolster the installation of your accessories occurs when you’ve got the wall opened up.
Step 6 – Identify the tub tub and shower accessories you wish to add function and type for a project – Have you always wanted a leg ledge for shaving, a large part seat, a curved shower rod to help keep the river in, a hand held shower, a large part caddy, a frameless shower door, shampoo or soap niche or a grab bar? When you’re installing new wall surrounds is the perfect time to accessorize your bath or shower to make it work for you and your loved ones.
Step 7 – If the process sounds too difficult call a professional contractor which is not a “one size fits all” – Let’s face it, there are many of choices and installation details that must be done properly to make sure an effective project. Calling an expert may be more costly in the short term but help save long lasting costs. Make sure to go with a contractor which doesn’t make an effort to push you to the one kind of shower or bath wall surround system you can choose from (for instance a company selling acrylic systems pushes this solution on you). Look for a company skilled and competent in multiple systems that can look to understand your preferences, budgets and tastes and provide different alternatives.
Know you’re built with 7 steps that will be the good outline to plan your acrylic, Swanstone or tile bathtub or shower wall surround installation.