Archive for January, 2009

Watch the Bathroom Floors!

Friday, January 30th, 2009

While I understand that bathroom floors are intended to take the abuse of the bathroom, there is something about large puddles on the bathroom floor that makes me crazy. I am not talking about what happens after the person leaves the shower, or perhaps the result of a spill of something, I am talking about my daughter who refused to stop splashing while she is in the bathtub. I do not know if I would be angry if it were my house, but I understand that my landlord may not assess the damage caused by water that is happening.

It seems that my daughter has a memory block when it comes to following directions. I know that many parents say the same thing, and I know this is not just my daughter. I told her repeatedly that she can not splash water on the bathroom floor while she’s taking a bath. Of course, I am fully aware that  some splashing may occur, but my daughter makes a huge mess. Whenever she takes a bath,  the bathroom floors end up being soaked. She is five years, and there is absolutely no reason why I should have to sit in the bathroom with her to monitor her every move. Apparently, however, this could be something that I MUST do.

I realize she is  not old enough to understand what water can do to the bathroom floors. Yes, we have on our bathroom linoleum floors, which protect the wood below the water. However, the floor was not installed, as it should have been, and part of the water sheds on the ground, seeping down under the linoleum. No matter how many times I explained to her why she can not splash so she continues to act as if it was something new and exciting. I often wonder if  she is really that  resistant to age five.

My husband suggested that if I act as if the water in the bathroom floors meant nothing, she would soon stop.  Although this may be true with some children, this does not work with my daughter. I tried to be calm and tried to ignore certain situations, hoping they will correct, but it’s never worked for her. It simply does what it wants, and that includes the bathroom floor floods every time she takes a bath.

So how do I solve my problem? You’ll surely agree that  a little housekeeping must be in order. If I can’t control my five-yerar old, then I better do something to keep the bathroom dry and clean as well as free from mess and probable accident. Having a handy floor map near the bathroom area will seem proper so that I can easily wipe and dry whatever my child messes…

But then, I am still worried about the long-term effect of having water puddles in my house. The fact that the house isn’t newly constructed, I still wonder at night what the effect will be. I wouldn’t like to wake up one bright morning with the me and my family on the first floor because the top floors have collapsed! Do  you have any suggestion?

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Bathroom Basins

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Many of our friends are in the process of rebuilding their bathroom. We all have our houses built at the same time, it seems that we update at the same time as well. We are not planning remodeling  at this time. Last year, we took the wall paper that was in the bathroom since we moved and painted the walls a neutral color. I love what I do because the bathroom look different by switching out the color of towels and rugs. Our vanity and sink are in good shape. We have put a new coat of varnish on the vanity and decided that we did not need to do something else for a few years.

Our friends who live in the house next to us made a complete remodeling job in their bathroom. They have new lighting fixtures, they have put in a new tub surround and a new tile floor. They took their vanity and wants to replace with new vessel bathroom basins called bowls. She saw these  bathroom basins at several open houses and she likes how they look. Her husband has no idea because he feels they will go fast fashion and then they will have to replace it again. I had saw some basin bowls and I agree with him. I think they are a trend that will pass quickly.

Our other friends have decided to redo their bathroom because they have twin daughters that are thirteen years. Their daughters are constantly on fight against time in the bathroom. They removed the tub and put in a walk in shower. This gave them room to put in a vanity double bathroom basins. This gives the girls more room to prepare. In addition to the vanity of double basins, the  bathroom offers extra storage space for all items that teenagers need. They still have a bath tub in the master bath so that girls can take a bubble bath when they want. The walk in shower is glass, so cleaning is easy. I told our friend to get a squeegee to have in a  shower and to get the girls used to use it on the glass each time they are done in a shower. We do thios with ours, and it greatly reduces the cleaning chemicals, we have to use in it.

We laughed that we could make our own open house to present our new bathrooms. It is amazing how much new bathroom basins, tile and paint can change the look of a room. It is also amazing how long it will take again to redo the smallest room in the house.

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Backyard Fountain

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Backyard water fountains seems both extravagant and elegant to me. having a water fountain in your garden is ostentatious. Most home water fountain is extremely expensive, thus setting up water is usually a way to show how much money you spend. A backyard fountain, however, is more private. Not that the neighbors can not see  the fountains, but they are certainly not put there for display. When you build a garden fountain, you just have to save for your own contemplation, and as such it is much more tasteful.

When I decided to put in a backyard water feature, my wife thought I was crazy. She had seen many backyard fountain displays, and most of them looked very tacky to her. They usually have something like a little crazy cherubic angels dumping water bucket  continuously or a crocodile spitting up. She could not understand why I want this kind of backyard fountain. When I told her what I had in mind, however, she changed her mind.

I almost decided to build an indoor water fountain. You see it is very small and very subtle. The backyard fountain will not be one of those great things. It only use a gallon per day, and it could be run from a single solar panel. Basically, the rear spring is a little more than a small swimming pool with waterfall of runoff at the top. It was made of blue tiles, to make quieter trickling sounds.

The backyard fountain has not worked in many neighborheeods – there was too much background noise in order to take full advantage of its very strong. However, on where we lived, it was absolutely perfect. It is a bit rural and underdeveloped area, so there was almost no sound to disturb the backyard fountain, except for the chirping of crickets.

Although solar powered fountain has little effect on the site as a whole, when you sit next to it, it calms you down. I prefer to go through the backyard fountain and use it as an aid to meditation. The quiet trickling sounds , and the appearance of flowing water always calm me. It cost me very little to the design and construction for the backyard water fountain, and I had much joy for it.

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Posted in Outdoor | 208 Comments »

Lighten Up Your Bathroom

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

In many homes, the bathroom is just a bathroom. Bathrooms tend to be sterile at best and at worst, ugly and unsanitary. Many people are completely indifferent with bathroom design ideas they did not even bother to keep the bathroom nice. It might sound offensive but soap scum, mildew, and dirt can accumulate in the tiles anywhere making the site really unpleasant!

I think it’s a shame. We spend more time in the bathroom that we really think, and it pays to have an area that is clean, hygienic, comfortable and attractive. Many people never have the time to do the basics, and even fewer bathroom remodeling implementation of ideas. As a job,  I do small construction projects for friends and acquaintances of long standing, but only recently started using the bathroom remodeling ideas in my own home. Until then, it was all I could do to keep the old, decrepit pipes updated.

Everything changed when a friend asked me to put in a skylight in his house. Putting in a skylight is actually more work than you think. Installation is easy, if not on a roof. You must ensure that the skylight is installed correctly, or you’ll be infiltrating rain, causing all sorts of problems.

Anyway, putting on the lighting reminded me of the bathroom. In my house, the bathroom has only one window, and it is low. There is little natural light and little ventilation. I realized that the skylights would be a good idea of remodeling a bathroom. It is one of the best ideas in remodeling bathroom I’ve ever thought!  It gives the light and ventilation. I just have to  remember to close it when it rains so there won’t be problems.

Of course, all the bathroom renovations ideas must be as elaborate as that. It is very simple ideas for decorating bathrooms which can make it more comfortable. One of my favorite is to put a soft, cushy carpet in front of the toilet. That way, when you use the bathroom in the morning, your feet are not cold. You can also install classy, wrought iron towel racks to give your bathroom upscale look. This is one of the most simple and inexpensive remodeling bathroom ideas , but it will still make a big difference in how your bathroom looks.

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Posted in Bathroom | 5 Comments »