7 Reasons For Your Shower Floor Squeaks

There’s little that makes me crazier than a whirlpool shower flooring. As there are many reasons your flooring could be squeaking, it can be tricky to find out how to repair it or if it’s fixable. Your best bet is to prevent squeaks in your acrylic or fiberglass shower foundation from ever getting started. Here is what to watch out for.

Chris Snook

1. Subfloor flexing. Most of the time, a noisy shower enclosure is actually because of a plywood or shiplap subfloor bending on a screw or nail. If you step into the shower, the floor flexes along with the timber rubs from the screw or nail, which makes a squeaking noise.

If you are performing a complete remodel and can observe the toilet floor framing from the space beneath, you can usually see where the floor goes and squeaks when someone walks on it. A couple well-placed screws can remove the squeak. Gluing plywood to either side of squeaky floor joists can lessen subfloor flex, also.

Fleurco

Alessa shower base

2. Gaps between the pan and flooring. Sometimes, squeaks are caused in which the flooring tile meets the shower pan. Normally, there should be a small gap between the shower enclosure along with the flooring tile. This gap is filled with silicone, so the grout does not touch the skillet itself. Without the proper quantity of silicone, the pan will probably squeak.

If you become aware of a squeak after the flooring installation, you can eliminate additional grout and thinset carefully with a grout removal tool so there is no grout or thinset linking the floor to the shower base.

Architect, Michael Knowles

3. Inadequate thinset. Look for a shower pan that lets you use a mortar, or thinset, underneath it. Not all producers allow this, but it can result in a sturdier shower pan. Adding mortar or thinset under the pan adds a bit more weight to the installation (which helps weigh the floor down) and fills the voids beneath the pan to keep it from rocking. No motion signifies no squeaking.

URBAN OPERATIONS

4. Pans screwed into wall studs. Shower pans may also squeak when they’re screwed into wall studs. I see this happen all too often, and seldom is this process recommended by shower pan manufacturers. Rather than screwing throughout the shower pan, indicate that your installer use no-drill clip attachments.

Jan McQueen

5. Wet wooden floors. Make sure to waterproof the area outside of your shower. When hardwood floors get too wet, the wood swells and expands, which may cause motion under your shower pan.

Perhaps not all the building codes in North America require waterproofing around the shower (although they do in Australia), so you’ll want to speak to your installer about this specifically.

Holly Marder

6. Heat expansion. Darker tile absorbs more heat than lighter tile. If you’ve selected a dark-colored tile for your bathroom renovation, be sure to ask for a thinset that has a little flexibility for heat expansion. You may discover your shower and toilet squeaks come and go because of weather and humidity levels.

T Russell Millwork Ltd..

7. Subfloor damage. Watch out for the quality of your toilet’s remodeled or original subfloor. Often, a bathtub is eliminated to make way for a brand new shower. After the pipes and drain lines have been transferred, the subfloor has to undergo repairs that may impact its structure favorably or negatively. Ensure that your subfloor is scrutinized for squeaks and the region around the drain is totally supported prior to any installation.

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Bathed in Color

I may not have been a pink-loving girly woman in my younger years, but lately I’ve seen some fantastic uses of the colour in bathrooms, and they’ve given me a fresh appreciation for the dramatic hue. Pink doesn’t need to be limited to little girls’ bathrooms, either. A deep raspberry color can look supersophisticated in a guest or master bathroom. If you put it with crisp whites, strong grays or even jet black, it will have an edge to it.

Check out seven stylish bathrooms that are pretty in pink, together with tips on how best to work with this daring colour choice.

Jennifer Ott Design

I tend to prefer bolder pinks, but if you do go milder, find a color that has some coolness to it — it will look less like cotton candy.

Pink paint selections for toilets (from left to right):
1. Razzle Dazzle 1348, Benjamin Moore
2. Gala Pink SW6579, Sherwin-Williams
3. Foxy Pink 110B-4, Behr
4. Quite Berry 1002-1A, Valspar

DesignLine Home Transformations

This saturated hue is grown up. It is a wonderful background color for your crisp finishes in the room. The barn door that is charming actually stands out. Regardless of the extreme hue on the walls, the space feels open and airy.

Begrand Fast Design Inc..

If you prefer a subtler touch of pink, then take inspiration from this beautiful bath with its soft pink mosaic tile backsplash. I think pink looks best paired with white and cool neutrals, but incorporating wood tones to the palette is a great way to help warm it up.

REFINED LLC

Hot pink and black make for a sexy and dramatic color blend. The daring accent-wall color and also the fetching framed mirror are the eye-catching components in this room. Keeping the ceiling, counter tops, floors and lower part of the walls white has made the space feel open and light.

LTD, Gristmill Builders

Here is evidence that pink doesn’t need to look too fussy or sour. This handsome bath gets a great boost in the berry-pink tiled counter and backsplash. Tile is typically a more economical option than stone or walnut for countertops, so why not have a bit fun with all the colour?

Holland Rogers Company, LLC

This is a daring color choice to get a bathroom cabinet — I adore when a homeowner is ready to break with secure neutrals and exude a popular bold colour into a space instead. This would be less successful if there were rival colors or components in the space. But because the space has an otherwise controlled color palette and it is not overly cluttered or decorated, I think it looks fantastic.

Don’t be scared of using your favorite eye color. It is possible to make it work if you balance it with all the other colors and components in the space.

Greenbelt Construction

Hot pink and daring orange make for an enjoyable and lively duo. It is a high heeled color combination that isn’t particularly relaxing, but it functions nicely in a space in which you will not be spending lots of time lounging around, like a powder room or guest bathroom. This would also be a wonderful palette to get a pink-loving teen’s bathroom. Because wall paint and towels are easy and inexpensive items to change out, this bathroom can be easily transformed down the street, if someone outgrow the pink.

Carey Mudford Interior Design

Pink with spring green is just another of my favorite colour combinations. This soft and pretty bathroom shows how to use pink in a manner that doesn’t hit you over the head and doesn’t feel too sugary sweet. It strikes the ideal balance of soft, pretty and soothing yet stylish.

Tell us What would you think about pink?

colour guides: More tricks to working with daring colors at home

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How to Settle on a Shower Bench

A consumer at the process of building a walk-in cupboard asks, “Is there some guidance out there regarding placement of shower benches?” The solution is not as straightforward as you may think.

The shower’s footprint and the way the bench will be used often supply the ideal response. If you’ve got a dual shower, you may want your bench to chair two. If you’ve got a tiny shower, occasionally a removable or floating bench works best. Wheelchair transports and ease of cleanup are things to think about, too.

Avon’s Woodshop

If you are intending to move a wooden bench around, be sure it’s small and light.

Most showers have sloped flooring in several directions. This can cause a freestanding bench to rock when you are sitting. Plan for your new bathtub to have a one-way slope, or locate a bench with flexible legs so it’s possible to eliminate the rocking chair. You might also purchase a three-legged bench or have one created, since these won’t rock.

Tip: locating a bench the perfect size for your shower can be challenging. If working with a cabinet maker on a bathroom vanity, consider asking him or her to include a customized teak bench on your order.

Moss Building and Design | Moss Home Services

When designing your bench, you need to have a strong opinion on if you desire the bench to move around or stay stationary.

This built-in bench is one of my favorite designs and makes for easy cleaning. Because it extends out of the shower, there is no gap between the bench and the glass. Those tiny gaps can be a pain to clean.

Tip: For much less cleanup, think about a solid surface material, like granite or composite stone, for your bench.

Vinyl & style

You are going to want your bench to be near your own shower controllers — it makes rinsing shaving and off considerably easier.

To fulfill most industry guidelines, shower benches should measure 17 to 19 inches off the finished shower flooring. Occupational therapists may provide me a dimension customized for a customer’s body.

Narofsky Architecture + ways2design

Most steam showers call for a bench for relaxation. When space is tight, a folding shower chair can work wonders.

These folding seats require strong blocking supporting the wall. Make sure the framers of the project align wall studs with placement of the bench.

BiglarKinyan Design Planning Inc..

In a smaller shower, you may think about the bench as a portion of the tub deck. Bear in mind that benches need to empty — just like a bathtub floor — so be certain that the slab of stone does not move in as one piece. The piece inside the shower must tilt toward the floor.

Just a little corner chair might offer additional leg room.

Zack|de Vito Architecture + Construction

Marble looks beautiful in showers, but it’s too soft to use by itself in a shower bench’s construction. The exact same is true of wood. These benches want the support of a metal bracket or custom metal tubing.

Webber + Studio, Architects

This great looking shower includes both a fixed bench before the window along with a movable bench just outside the shower. If you would like to open the shower up floor area, consider a drifting bench like this.

Christa Young – TY Design

Have fun with the bench! This is by far my favorite bench to date. I’ve yet to locate a customer who will let me build this, but I am still searching!

BY DESIGN Builders

Any bench can be made safer. Grab bars, free space and bench positions are laid out in ADA planning manuals. These spaces require planning from the beginning so that interior walls do not get in the way of transferring from a wheelchair into the bench.

Any bathtub built larger than 36 by 36 inches must have numerous grab bars.

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