Tile Bathroom Shower Walls
|Tile Bathroom Shower Walls – When many people enter their tile shower they rarely think about the behind the scenes method that went into making that shower work correctly. Unfortunately some contractors uses this for their benefit to scrimp and save a couple bucks. I have to say most contractors making the effort to do a good job, even though some of these never learned the best procedure and why these processes are very important. The best approach to find a very good tile contractor is to ask them to explain the thought. If they could show you how it operates behind the scenes, it is more probably you will definately get a fantastic job. If your friends refer somebody for your requirements will still be OK must these questions, in the end what do your friends truly know concerning the first step toward a tiled shower? They may have realized a contractor that is nice and all to easy to use along with their brand-new shower looks great, however, if you dont want to fight mildew in 6 months but for the next two decades you may ask a couple of questions.
So let’s begin in the beginning and explain common language and theory of an tile shower. First you have what is known a shower pan. This is a completely waterproof section that covers the shower floor or more the walls about 10″. This is sometimes a hot mop, (which is a variety of layers of tar paper, hot tar, tar paper, hot tar etc) or it can be a PVC membrane which is folded to the corners well as over the dam. The most important part of this for you the homeowner to find out is naturally it’s totally waterproof but additionally which it has what is known a sub-pitch. A proper sub-pitch is simply a float of cement or similar product under the pan that creates a flow on the drain in addition to 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 earn its way on the pan while showering. If this water forms a puddle beneath your tile floor instead of flowing on the drain it becomes stagnant and very quickly will end up mildew in your grout. With a sub-pitch water that makes its way on the pan will continue to circulate on the drain always being substituted with fresh water. It is just like the difference between a pond plus a creek.
Next you have a vapor barrier which is applied on the walls directly on the wood studs. This is usually a paper with a tar kept in the guts. This paper keeps moisture out of the walls. Why is this important? Not a lot of water penetrates the shower walls, however 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 inside wall, out with the grout and down on the pan, without vapor barrier paper you will definately get small amounts of water in your wall cavity. So you say “why should I worry about this type of tiny amount of water”. The reason is when you invest in a drop of water inside your wall whenever your shower is used, those drops add together because your wall doesn’t have any ventilation for evaporation, so eventually the wood is always moist. Do you know what loves moist wood? Termites, they love these conditions because they never have to travel back on the ground to get a drink, they could just keep eating. It would be as if you and I never having to go on the supermarket. Think of how productive we could be in the event that were the truth.
Well that’s the thought of waterproofing behind your shower walls. When you adhere to these guidelines your shower contains the best probability of feeling better for quite some time, without extreme maintenance.
So a final thought, I hope it is been an informative as well as understandable explanation of why an adequately 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 an job congratulations.