Bathroom remodeling is not like remodeling any other area of your home. Bathrooms, unlike any other location, include the only are in the entire house where we spray water on the walls for several minutes each day. The inside of your shower or bath area, therefore, is really the only place in your entire home where waterproof walls are required.
For all of the generations since indoor showers were invented, engineers, designers, architects, home builder, contractors and consumers have struggled with creating a completely waterproof shower. How often does a shower require deep cleaning due to water stains, or re-tiling due to the presence of mold or mildew. The seemingly simple task of controlling water is actually extremely complex because it involves interactions with different types of materials and different physical processes.
It is important to make this "wet area" of the bathroom entirely waterproof, because any water that does not find its way to the drain can cause stains, mold, mildew or worse: Property Damage.
There are two pieces to making a waterproof shower: 1. Surfaces and 2. Seals.
Some surfaces traditionally used for waterproofing have failed pretty miserably at their 1 and only job. Fiberglass, Tile, Cultured Stone and Real Stone are all porous materials which become stained or degraded by water. Fiberglass, and other "solid surface" products are installed by essentially gluing the product to the wall, and then caulking the edges. This type of process makes no provision for thermal expansion or human interaction with the material. Caulk seals break, materials become worn over time, and eventually homes need extensive repairs or mold abatement due to failed seals. The other common material for waterproofing is tile, and it is installed using a porous mortar called grout, and grout accounts for more than 75% of waterproofing failures in bathrooms.
There is a solution.
Acrylic has become popular in recent years because its extremely high density makes it more water resistant than any other material used for waterproofing. Our business has created a unique "thermal expansion gasket seal" installation which comes with a lifetime warranty. When your acrylic bath or shower is installed in this way, it can be used for years without significant maintenance, and it will remain waterproof much longer than materials like tile, stone, fiberglass and other traditional materials.
Contact Bath Planet of Reno today for more information on our high quality bath and shower products or to schedule your free, in home estimate! You'll be glad you did!