Synthetic Marble Shower Walls
|Synthetic Marble Shower Walls – Choosing the best shower or bathtub wall surround can be hard. Should you install acrylic, a great surface material like Swanstone, or use decorative tiles? Will the quality of they stand test of your time? Which one is the foremost match for your budget and tastes? Learn 7 practical steps to determine which wall method is good for you.
Step 1 – Determine if you’d like to review your existing walls – To lower your expenses it’s nice to place a bathtub or shower wall surround over a pre-existing 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 set new walls over your existing materials. In these cases the present system will likely need to removed, new backerboard installed and then new walls placed.
Step 2 – Think through your budget- If you’re like most you want to get the best deal for your money – a top quality material which doesn’t hurt your wallet. If you are looking for a fairly easy to scrub cost effective material acrylic is an excellent choice. It is warm to the touch, installs quickly and features a lifetime warranty.
For a much more elegant appearance (that is for sale in more decorative patterns and designs) consider a Swanstone solid surface wall. Swanstone is easy to keep, does not have any joints to grout or seal and also comes in a multitude of choices. Usually the priciest technique is tile (if you do not manage to install it yourself and save the labor hours- tile is regarded as the time-consuming to set up vs. sheet products like acrylic & Swanstone). There are limitless choices and price ranges of tile and yes it creates a stylish look as well.
Step 3 – Select your material, designs, colors and accents you would like – After you’ve selected between acrylic, Swanstone and tile you’re ready choose your design and color(s). Acrylic wall surrounds can be found in many colors, patterns and finishes. There are solid, granite, metallic plus marble finishes. In addition the walls you choose might be smooth, 4″ x 4″ simulated tiles, 8″ x 10″ simulated tiles or maybe a stone look. Acrylic is not simply a white smooth faced wall.
Swanstone, while it has been famous for it’s strength, color and texture consistent, grout-free quality, and the fact it won’t crack or craze – has a very broad range of decorative options as well. 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 make a finished look. Tile provides the widest product options regarding color, accents, borders, sizes and thicknesses. Make sure to locate a high density water resistant tile for your bath or shower.
Step 4 -Choose your backerboard. Select material to adhere the wall material and in the case of tile finish the eye from the wall- What you aren’t seeing in a very 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 will be in good shape install over them by adhering the acrylic with butyl tape and color match sealant. This will save on landfill costs, lessen the project installation some time to lower your expenses. If the existing wall cannot be installed over placed moisture resistant green board or a cement backer board. Swanstone – Like acrylic when the tile is good structural shape install within the existing. If not, Swanstone might be installed over greenboard or a cement board using special glue.
Tile – Poorly done tile installations have caused plenty of wasted money historically (cheap backer board has been used, poor grouting jobs, poor are employed in the corners are simply a few from the problems). For tile installations never use green board – use the water resistant cement board or a waterproof extruded polystyrene board prefer that produced from Wedi Corporation. These boards needs to be glued and screwed for your framing. In addition to with all the right backer board consider investing in a very urethane grout. This type of grout doesn’t must be resealed which is waterproof. Although it will set you back more at the start it is going to lower your expenses 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 solve an inadequate performing shower valve, a shower head that is too low, as well as to add backer material to strengthen setting up your accessories is when you have the wall showed.
Step 6 – Identify the bath tub and shower accessories you want to add function and magnificence for your project – Have you always wanted a leg ledge for shaving, a corner seat, a curved shower rod to help keep water in, a hand held shower, a corner caddy, a frameless shower door, shampoo or soap niche or a grab bar? When you’re installing new wall surrounds is the best time for it 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 reputable contractor that’s not a “one size fits all” – Let’s face it, there are plenty of choices and installation details that must be done properly to make sure an excellent project. Calling an expert might be more costly in the short run but save you long-term costs. Make sure to pick a contractor that doesn’t attempt to push you to the one sort of shower or bath wall surround system you can choose from (such as a company selling acrylic systems pushes this solution giving you). Look for a company skilled and competent in multiple systems that can seek to understand the needs you have, budgets and tastes and provide different alternatives.
Know you’re built with 7 steps that may function as good outline to plan your acrylic, Swanstone or tile bathtub or shower wall surround installation.