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Choosing Bathroom Flooring

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Choosing Bathroom Flooring

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. Bathrooms are, like it or not, wet areas. Even if the rest of your house has gleaming hardwood floors, they re not the best choice for your bathroom. While some wood-look laminates can be glued and sealed to resist moisture, if water does get beneath the surface, the affected panels have to be replaced, which isn t simple or cheap. Cork flooring, properly installed and treated, can be a good alternative if you want that warm wood feeling. Cork is sustainably harvested, naturally anti-microbial and mildew-resistant. All it needs is a coat or two of eco-friendly acrylic binder to seal the joints and make it suitable for bathroom installation. Polished stone or glossy tile are slippery when wet, so if you re going with tile, look for a sandblasted or textured finish. Any stone or tile can be very cold underfoot, so consider installing a radiant heat mat beneath it. Stone and porcelain tile can be very expensive, but there s a huge variety of ceramic and glass tile available from $3 to $20 per square foot, installed. Tile installation is an advanced do-it-yourself job that can be physically demanding and time-consuming. But even if you hire a pro, it s a good investment. Some Realtors estimate that every dollar you spend on tile installation adds $1.50 to your home s value. For budget installations, vinyl tiles are the cheapest and easiest to work with. They don t last as long as sheet vinyl, though, and the gaps between them can be hard to seal. While it s a myth that sheet vinyl is an easy do-it-yourself project, there are lots of great new patterns and colors to choose from, costing between $2 and $7 a square foot. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com


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Bathroom Fixtures and Porcelanosa Tile
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Bob and Chris Vila continue the walk-through of the Manhattan Brownstone with a look at the new bathroom. The former bathroom was completely gutted, but the footprint remains the same. The new look is very clean and sleek with elegant, solid fixtures in the shower and sink. The Toto pedestal sink and toilet are contemporary with very clean lines. An oil-filled, electric wall radiator from Runtle will warm the space as needed and also serve as a towel warmer. The tile on the walls, floor, and shower are all from Porcelanosa. The wall tile is a white, large-format tile called Subway that is designed to replicate the feel of an urban subway station. The stone green tile on the floor is Durango Stone, which is an outdoor tile that was used on the patio as well. The glass shower tile flows like water across the walls and is called Glacier Glass.

Installing a Bluestone Floor
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Bob discusses the bluestone floor being installed in the floor of the greenhouse. A landscape cloth set below the stone dust to prevent water from seeping through causing the stones to wobble. The stones are being installed in a diagonal pattern and with enough space for drainage.

Preparing a Shower Pan for Tumbled Stone Tile Installation
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Bob watches tile setter, Tim Galvin build up a shower pan and tile. The pan helps protect the surrounding area from moisture. Tim applies a mortar on top of the pan and then sets the tile in place.

Supporting the Chimney Flues and Hearth
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Bob and the mason discuss the chimney. Pointing out that we have two flues, one for the boiler in the basement and one for the wood stove. By code, the ceramic flue liners need to be surround by at least four inches of solid masonry (the chimney). The mason tells Bob how they are going to attach the pipe from the wood stove to the flue. Then the mason shows how easy it is to cut a four-inch cement block with a hydraulic jack. The mason and Bob then discuss the supports for the hearth, including a concrete table and a blue stone finishing floor.

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