Fireplaces

As cooler weather makes an appearance this time of year, many people turn to their fireplaces as a source of comfort. Whether indoors or outdoors fireplaces offer a warmth to both our bodies and our souls. Starting a fire instantly creates an inviting atmoshpere. We feel compelled to gather around a fire. Nothing compares to the peaceful trance enduced by staring into the flames while feeling the warmth blanket your body. Conversations seem to need no words when sitting around a fire.

Fall signals a return to our fireplaces. It also signifies a time for change. Out with the old - make room for the new. This can apply both on a personal level and in our surroundings. One great change in our surroundings is to update a tired, worn or dated look of your fireplace. Tile and stone are great options to give new life to your fireplace.

Options are plenty. The timelessness of a stone fireplace can completely change the feel of a room. Tile can offer a quick & easy way to update a fireplace surround. Accent tiles can be used to give a personal flare or design element. Limestone, travertine, granite, marble, coral, glass and porcelain are some of the many choices available in materials to update your fireplace. Hearths and mantles in either the same or complimenting materials can be used to provide both function

and artistic details.

Regardless of your tastes, we can help you design and install a new tile or stone fireplace. Call us today for an estimate and get yours scheduled in time for your new look to be completed before the holidays.

Chiseled edge travertine & KerdiBoard waterproofed shower

This post is to share a project we recently completed using a chiseled edge travertine with black pebbles in a Schluter Shower Sytems waterproofed shower. We had previously done a Kerdi shower for this customer 3 years ago in the kids bathroom. Now they were looking to update the master bathroom.

When we started demolition we discovered wet, rotten & moldy drywall and framing. The previous shower was installed over greenboard with the shower pan liner installed incorrectly. The liner did not have the required pre-slope and had cement board nailed thru it on the curb. Additionally there was a bench seat made from block with no waterproofing at all. In fact, the bench had negative pitch - meaning water puddled at the bench to wall connetion instead of draining back into the shower. This allowed water to penetrate thru the grout connection and seep into the wall cavity. This moisture provided the necessary food to feed the mold and rot the framing.

Once demolition was complete we installed KerdiBoard on the walls. This product made by Schluter is part of a shower system that once installed will let you shower before any tile is installed without the risk of water damage. This system is comprised of the KerdiBoard for the wall underlayment, a KerdiDrain and Kerdi fabric to cover the floor mud and make the drain connection. Kerdi is also used to seam the wall to floor connections, board to board connections and fastener penetrations. A 2" thick board was used to construct the new seat. A couple of the many benefits the board provides are that it allows us a creativity when forming the seat, in this case a corner radius seat and because it is made from a closed cell foam material it is not affected by water, unlike a wood framed seat. A niche was also built with KerdiBoard to create a water tight recessed shampoo niche with soap shelf.

The homeowners elected to re-use their current tub so we removed only the tub face and splashes before using the KerdiBoard again for a perfectly flat substrate.

The choice of a black pebble stone for the shower floor brought the various darker colors out of the stone. Utilizing the same stone as a decorative band for the tub face, tub splash and at the top of the radius shower seat and back of the niche really tied everything together.

The job came out great and the customers are thrilled with their new shower. Equally as thrilling for us is that they now have a properly functioning shower that will last them a lifetime.