Materials for your next bathroom remodel, House decorationg tips, Property renovation design advice
Your next bathroom remodel materials
22 February 2022
There is no perfect time for a home renovation, so why not do it now, asks NFI Property Management team? Give your house a fresh new look for a fresh new year! And of course, when it comes to house renovations, one of the rooms that always comes to mind is the bathroom, because why not? The bathroom along with the kitchen is probably the most functional room in your whole house as well as the most used and frequented by your household members and visitors alike, so it is just right that you consider you place your bathroom at the top of the list when it comes to deciding what to repair, renovate and remodel.
Materials for your Next Bathroom Remodel
Now, to begin your bathroom remodeling, one thing you must always remember is that your bathroom is considered a communal area. As a communal area, it is hardly the right place to put overly decorative trinkets and personal pieces on the bathroom vanity – everything in your bathroom has to serve the purpose of a bathroom: to clean, bathe and prepare. In essence, what you need to have before even starting your bathroom’s remodeling process is one thing, the priority is functionality above everything else.
Prioritizing functionality, however, does not mean that you’ll have a complete disregard for aesthetics or even just the bathroom’s coordination. No, it merely reminds you that before you think about the basics, you have to tackle the functionality first – and this is where the materials you will use for your bathroom come in.
As you remodel, you’ll need to strip down your bathroom to its barest and assess all the fixtures – the sink, toilet, shower, and such. Basically, you should be focusing on everything that makes your bathroom a bathroom first before any other decorative trinkets. To help you remodel your bathroom the right away, with functionality in high regard, we have provided a list of materials you can use to make sure your bathroom and its fixtures will be sturdy and safe to use as you go about your daily cleansing and preparing routines.
- Concrete
Concrete is an alternative to the common bathroom wall and floor materials such as tiles or even vinyl flooring planks, these materials are often used because of how it brightens up spaces because it is a semi-reflective surface and can absorb temperature to an extent makes a room cool as it needs to be. As pleasing as all these sounds, however, when flooring a bathroom, these are not the factors you need to consider.
While tiles and materials like it are aesthetically pleasing and have some functionality, unfortunately, they are a leading cause of accidents in the bathroom. By using concrete floors as your base and finishing it up with quality glossy and non-stick paint, you will be able to reduce your floor’s slipperiness without having to compromise the quality.
- Glass Fixtures
While most orthodox bathrooms do have mirrors usually above the powder area (if there is one) or above the sink and counter, using glass for fixtures such as inside the showering area or small bathroom dividers may just be the perfect thing to accent your bathroom. Besides being easy to clean and not susceptible to damage or wearing down as it gets wet –- as it is inevitable for everything in your bathroom to get wet at one point or another because let’s face it, isn’t that what a bathroom is for? — mirrors can also serve as additional reflective surfaces for those who use the bathroom.
This would mean easier access for those using the bathroom who need to see their reflection to see if they are clean. A simple glance at glass shower doors or walls will be able to tell if you have just a little bit more soap on your head you need to rinse out. Using glass gives a certain elegance to your bathroom’s aesthetic as well as helps everyone in the process.
- Laminated wood
Wood is arguably the best material when it comes to making load-bearing appliances and fixtures such as cabinets and tables. This is because compressed solid wood has the capacity to carry up to 100kg depending on the compression of the wood and its size. Using wood as the cabinets and other fixtures in your bathroom allows you to have a dependable storage space since a lot of products will be kept there permanently.
One flaw of using wood as material though is that is prone to a number of reasons for wear and tear. Wood’s integrity can be severely weakened with just one bug or termite infestation, it chips off and, can also be weakened by chemicals that touch it as it absorbs chemicals such as bleach. The biggest hindrance however is how it absorbs water and expands – this makes it non-durable as a choice of material for a bathroom. This is why laminated wood is the way to go! Laminating the wood eradicates all the problematic reasons that we just stated and allows your bathroom to have durable and sturdy furniture to store your self-cleaning and pampering products making it sturdy and ready to last!
- Stone fixtures and decorations
Stone comes in handy when it comes to looking for a solid material that can be shaped and molded for several functions. For bathrooms, it is a perfectly acceptable replacement to countertop finishes, floor accents among others that we usually choose cloth (such as heavy-duty rugs) or plastic for. Bathrooms are known to be the room in one’s household with the least amount of ventilation as there are either no windows or just one solitary window at the top of the wall.
Because of the lack of ventilation and bathrooms being constantly wet, your bathroom is actually a hodgepodge of long-surviving bacteria and other living organisms no matter how often you clean. And the worst part is? These kinds of bacteria survive a lot longer on plastic and even thrive on cloth surfaces instead of being naturally killed. Switching to stone will be able to help you mitigate the growth of unseen bacteria in your bathroom as stones are heavily absorbent of heat and living organisms will have a hard time surviving on stone surfaces and decorations!
- PVC pipes (Polyvinyl Chloride)
This one’s an oldie but a goodie. Last but not least, the MOST – and this is not even arguable in any way – the most important thing you have to consider when modeling or remodeling your bathroom is making sure your bathroom’s plumbing is top-notch. This is where PVC pipes come in. Ever since the invention of this extremely insoluble material, PVC pipes have been used for drainage systems, house constructions, and heavy water system repairs everywhere. PVC pipes have watertight joints as well as an environmentally safe option. It is water insolubility and watertight joints will definitely ensure that your bathroom’s plumbing will be top-notch and will not give you any problems when it comes to water leaks or drainage management. If you’re not using PVC pipes for your plumbing, we suggest getting on it right away.
The Bottom Line
Using the 5 materials we listed above will definitely help your bathroom remodeling be a fruitful one. Once you cover all the basics of your bathroom’s infrastructure and fixtures and follow our tips, it’s going to be a whole lot easier for you in the next 5 years or so to not have to think about anything other than aesthetics and decorations when remodeling your bathroom.
With these materials, you get to be able to prioritize functionality without having to compromise on your bathroom’s style and aesthetic. Using stone, glass and laminated wood will surely give your bathroom the high-end elegant feel that you can like to a 5-star hotel room while still suiting your practical needs and being value for your money as these materials’ durability will surely ensure that your bathroom fixtures and furniture will last you for years to come. If you’re already done with all the basics, then it’s time to indulge whatever creative spirit you’ve got inside of you that was ignited during this remodeling process and add decorative details, accents, and furniture to your bathroom space that will fit your chosen theme.
The last thing would be to always just remember that your household’s bathroom is a shared space and that all these changes must be amenable to everyone in your house. Let them know how these materials will benefit all of you and get them on board! You never know, you may just be able to turn what would have been a long and tedious chore for you that would have lasted several weeks if not even a month or two to accomplish into a fun bonding 2-weekend experience for you and your whole family as you all take part in the planning and installation part of your bathroom remodeling. It’s not too late yet to get into the new year, new me mindset as you remodel your bathroom to have a fresher look that will make using it both a functional and pleasurable experience for your household members and guests.
Comments on this Materials For Your Next Bathroom Remodel article are welcome.
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