Cultured Shower Walls

A Subtle Grey Marble Ite Shower Paired With A Bright White Cultured in size 2448 X 3264

Cultured Shower Walls – When many people enter their tile shower they rarely take into account the behind the scenes method that went into making that shower work effectively. Unfortunately some contractors use this with their benifit of go cheap and save one or two bucks. I have to say most contractors making the effort to do a sufficient job, however some of which never learned the proper procedure and why these processes are crucial. The best approach to look for a tile contractor is to ask them to explain the thought. If they are able to tell you how it operates behind the scenes, higher you will get a fantastic job. If your mates refer somebody to you it is still OK to inquire about these questions, all things considered what can your mates truly know concerning the foundation of a tiled shower? They may have discovered a contractor that’s nice and easy to work with along with their fresh shower looks great, however, if you don’t want to fight mildew in six months and for the next 20 years you will ask one or two of questions.

So let’s begin at the start and explain common language and theory of a tile shower. First you have what is known a shower pan. This is a completely waterproof section that covers the shower floor or over the walls about 10″. This is whether hot mop, (which is a variety of layers of tar paper, hot tar, tar paper, hot tar etc) or it could be a PVC membrane that is folded to the corners and over the dam. The most important thing about this for you the homeowner to learn is of course it’s absolutely waterproof and also it has what is known a sub-pitch. A proper sub-pitch is just a float of cement or similar product within the pan that can cause a flow for the drain together with the shower pan. This is important because, say as an illustration your shower pan is flat (no sub-pitch) water will cross your grout and make its way for the pan while showering. If this water forms a puddle under your tile floor as an alternative to flowing towards the drain it is stagnant and soon will end up mildew within your grout. With a sub-pitch the river that creates its way for the pan continue circulation towards the drain always being substituted for water. It is similar to the difference between a pond and a creek.

Next you do have a vapor barrier that is applied for the walls directly for the wood studs. This is usually a paper that has a tar held in the guts. 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 will get moist. Moisture will move from substrate toward the within wall, out with the grout and down towards the pan, without vapor barrier paper you will get small amounts of water in your wall cavity. So you say “why should I worry about such a little bit of water”. The reason is when you invest in a drop of water within your wall each and every time your shower is utilized, those drops accumulate since your wall does not have any ventilation for evaporation, so eventually the wood is obviously moist. Do you know what loves moist wood? Termites, they love these conditions because they never have to travel back for the ground to obtain a drink, they are able to just keep eating. It would be just like you and I never having to go for the market. Think of how productive we will be if that were the truth.

Well that’s the thought of waterproofing behind your shower walls. When you stick to these guidelines your shower has the best possibility of looking great for countless years, without extreme maintenance.

So in closing, I hope it’s been an informative along with understandable explanation of why a properly waterproofed shower makes a difference. As a Contractor I welcome customers which will ask me these questions, it tells me they view the value of a job well done.