Answering Your Sauna Questions

There is nothing quite like a great workout at the gym. Your muscles feel stretched and aching but you still feel good. You can enhance that experience even further by taking advantage of your gym’s sauna. Saunas are excellent ways to help rid the body of toxins. The steam from the sauna rises up, the air is hot and your body begins to sweat.

These little hot boxes are nothing new. They have been around for quite some time and can be found all around the world. If you have never had the opportunity to spend some time in a sauna, you are definitely missing out. In this article you can find out all you need to know about a sauna and how it can enhance your life.

What are saunas?

A sauna is a small room or building that is used by people to clear their body and minds of toxins that have accumulated. The room can either have wet or dry heat sessions to produce sweat. The person enters the sauna and will take of his or her clothes and rest in the room. The heat and the humidity help relax the muscles and clear the mind.

How have saunas changed over the years?

When you consider how long saunas have been around, it is natural to also make the assumption that the style has changed as well. Originally the sauna was dug into a pit or dug into the side of a hill and then using the dirt, a room was formed. As mankind became more evolved and more materials were available, the sauna changed as well. Many public bathing houses in Western Europe, Greece and Russia installed saunas as a way to help attract more visitors. The styles were more elaborate and were also far more efficient. The new designs would hold heat and steam in longer thus allowing the bather more time in the sauna.

How much does a sauna for my home cost?

The cost for saunas varies depending on how big you want the sauna to be, what type of heating source you select and what type of material the sauna will be constructed out of. You can find a 1-2 person sauna at Wal-mart for around $949.00. You can also find some at specialty stores that cost more than $2000. Before you go and purchase that sauna, you need to first decide what type you want and then you need to decide where you are going to put it. You definitely do not want to purchase a huge sauna if you live on a very small, cramped lot or live in an apartment.
Can I make a sauna myself?

Yes, you can make a sauna yourself provided you have the right tools and the right knowledge. If you can make a building, you can build a sauna. The key to building saunas is to figure out exactly what type of sauna you want as well as the heat source that will be used. You can find many plans on the internet and can even find books on building saunas in your local bookstore. You may not save a lot of money by doing it yourself but at least you will have the satisfaction of building it yourself and being able to custom design the sauna.

By Mike Selvon

Simple Bathroom Decorating Ideas

There are a number of simple bathroom decorating ideas that don’t require a line of credit but still add something fresh and beautiful to the home. These easy, do-it-yourself bathroom changes can turn a boring bath into a work of decorative yet functional art.

The most important of all simple bathroom decorating ideas is just that - keep it simple. The bathroom and its fixtures are necessary in every home, and the best way to keep them looking nice is to keep the decor simple. This is especially important because most bathrooms are on the small side. An over-done small room is not pleasing to the eye. It feels chaotic instead of calming - not the place for a relaxing soak in the tub.

Here are a few bathroom decorating ideas that reflect simplicity while adding color, organization and flair to any size room.

The Bathroom Mirror
 
Most bathroom mirrors are just a rectangle stuck to the wall - no frills at all - with plastic clips and screws. To add a finishing touch, build a decorative frame around the mirror using wooden strips of molding that can be purchased in a variety of styles, sizes and designs at any home store. Then simply paint or stain the wood in a color that is complementary to your bathroom décor and attach it to the mirror edges. It gives the room a finished feel and looks like you spent hundreds on a fancy, framed mirror.

Turn Towels Into Decorations
 
Get creative with towel storage by putting pegs on the wall to hang the towels instead of folding them. This is great for a bathroom with minimal storage as well as for houses with teens and kids (and adults too) who don’t want to fold their towels and put them away. All they have to do is hang the towel back on the peg, and the bathroom looks neat and picked up. Towels come in fabulous colors and this can be a great way to inject a burst of fresh color into a more neutral room.

Use Bins and Baskets for Storage Decor

There is no reason why bathroom storage cannot enhance the room’s décor. Get some baskets, bins and boxes that are colorful and spice up the atmosphere of the room. This can be as simple as taking some spray paint to any storage baskets and bins already on hand. A big basket is a great way to display those extra towels and transform them into a decorating tool. Storage boxes and bins can bring in a touch of color, and they also help keep things looking ship-shape and organized.

Which brings us to the easiest way to enhance any room in the house - keep it clean. A big mess never looks appealing, so be sure to tidy up the bathroom on a regular basis. A clean room always looks well decorated.

By Peter J Lee

Small Bathroom Design Ideas Involve Some Careful Consideration

Small bathroom design ideas are many but they all have to keep in mind the requirement of space. You cannot simply use every kind of design or color in a small bathroom design idea. There has to be simplicity in the design and color if you do not want your bathroom to look gross.

But even if a bathroom is small, it can be made to look elegant with the help of some easy ideas. Here are a few small bathroom design ideas to help you in this matter.

Visual accents have become a very popular means to accentuate the show of your bathroom. While bright wallpapers in general circumstances would add shine to your other rooms, in case of small bathrooms they become a little risky. A lot of designs or busy patterns tend to cover up the wall and makes the area look smaller.

Subtle wallpapers should be chosen. It is even better if you do not put any pattern on a wall. Take the largest wall of the bathroom and do not put any designs there. This will make your bathroom look much larger in size.

Just like the walls, floor coloring is important too. It is advised that you go for floor colors that are light or neutral. This makes the small bathroom look roomier.

Light blues, light shades of gray and tans are the best choices for this kind of bathroom. Light colored walls and floors give a new dimension to your bathroom. They make it appear more sophisticated and airy.

Lighting is a very important aspect of small bathroom design ideas. Light has the wonderful capability of making a space look bigger. So if you have a small bathroom, then it would be a good idea to light it up with additional lights.

If you don’t have space for additional lights, then you can use bulbs that have a high wattage. This makes the bathroom appear brighter and very inviting. This in turn gives the feel that the walls surrounding the bathroom have drifted further apart.

By Dudi Permana

Tiled Shower Stall VS Prefab Stall

Adding a tiled shower stall or prefab shower stall to a half bath increases both value and utility in a home. Which form of shower stall you should choose will depend on your space and budget.

he two types of shower stalls are prefab or tiled or custom stalls. Prefab is short for prefabricated, meaning that the shower stall comes in a few large pieces that can be easily and quickly installed. Prefab shower stalls are made out of a few different materials, but most ofen you will find them made out of acrylic or fiberglass. Custom stalls are usually made out of tile or a stone as granite or marble.

While prefab stalls have long been shunned by the design world because of their limited colors and styles, new manufacturing techniques have widened the options available to a home owner considerably. There are a large variety of colors and patterns now available, although the standard white or ivory remain the most popular color choices.

One of the largest advantages of prefab shower units are the potential cost savings. A homeowner with some previous home repair skills can usually install a prefab shower unit in a single afternoon. This can be a very attractive option for a do it yourselfer looking to save money.

Also, prefab units are often much cheaper than the materials used to build a custom shower units. They can often be purchased at a home improvement center for only a few hundred dollars and only require some caulk and some screws to complete the installation. They come in single piece and multiple piece units. Multiple piece units are preferred because they easily fit through doors.

Prefab units have a few disadvantages. First of all, because they are made to standard sizes, it may be difficult to install them in an older house where most of the walls are not square. Also, if your prefab stall get damaged in any way, chances are you will have to replace it. Although spot repairs are possible, cosmetically they are seldom desirable as anything more than a temporary fix.

By Amy Whittle

How to Install and Care For Your Shower Wall Traverine Tiles

Travertine tiles add a decorative feel to the bathroom. Bathroom installations are incomplete without this creative addition. This incredibly beautiful stone has a high maintenance issue. People love and hate this stone simultaneously. However, this issue doesn’t alter their decision to install the durable stone in their shower area.

The maintenance of travertine tile isn’t an issue, if you maintain them regularly. Their longevity is determined by the way you maintain them. Hence, a dedicated effort improves the endurance of travertine. So, how about replacing your old shower tiles with travertine? Just give it a try and I can assure you that you’ll be proud of your tiling decision.

You can remove the old tiles from the shower area very easily. Firstly, scrap off the grout with help of a chisel knife and hammer. Now, remove each tile at a time by hammering the tile with a chisel. Remove all the dirt and grit from the wall. After cleaning the tile, put a good quality mortar on the surface and paste the travertine tiles on it. You can also use a spacer to simplify your task.

After installing the tiles, keep the area untouched for 24 hours. Now, fill the gap between tiles with help of a grout. Prepare a grout mixture and put it on the trowel for easy application. Don’t forget to wipe the excess grout with help of a cloth. Select a portion at time and grout the tiles perfectly. These days, you can also buy colorful grout for the installation of your travertine tiles.

If you can’t install the travertine tiles yourself, then appoint a professional tiler to do the job. You can also seal the tiles so that they retain their shimmer. However, installation doesn’t end the job for you. You should maintain them regularly. Blot all the stains, dirt and spillage as soon as possible. You can also appoint a restoration expert to conduct the activity once in two to three months.

So, don’t think any more and add an extra edge to your bathroom with help of travertine shower tiles.

By Jason Colling

Shower Door Leak

I have responded to a lot of calls to look at leaky showers over the past 13 years. Almost all of the showers that I have inspected have leaked at the door or metal track that holds the glass. The leak itself is not always noticeable, but the damage it causes over the years is obvious.

The result is rotted baseboards, water damaged Sheetrock, and mold where the shower meets the floor just outside the glass door. The good news is that when faced with signs of water damage isolated to outside the shower door, almost all leaks have been the result of an original installation error. The error is in the way the shower trim was sealed with silicon caulk. The mistake is compounded over the years by handymen and DIY’ers adding more caulk to the inside of the shower as a repair or part of home maintenance. Don’t worry, it is a common impulse to keep adding caulk to the shower in anticipation that the leak will eventually stop. Not only is this installation error common, I have witnessed it in 100% of showers with the same water damage pattern.

The most important lesson when sealing with caulk is “less is more.” As it is very important to thoroughly caulk the outside of the metal shower trim, it is equally important not to caulk over the “weep holes” inside the shower. These are little drain holes in the bottom of the metal track inside the shower and on pre-made acrylic shower pans. These holes allow the condensation and water inside the metal track to drain back inside the shower instead of being trapped and eventually finding an alternative escape route. For the system to drain properly, I also suggest not caulking inside the track at the corners. The faster the water can flow down the track and out to the shower drain, the quicker the shower will dry. This reduces the chance of mildew and mold growth tremendously.

The type of caulk you use is also key to a long lasting sealed shower trim. 100% silicone caulk is the only caulk that has stood the test of time for me. It doesn’t shrink or crack unless it is in direct sunlight, and it stays flexible for a long time. Acrylic caulk hardens, cracks, and is less successful in keeping out mold and mildew. As a rule of thumb, it’s easier to match clear silicone to the metal trim and plumbing fixtures while white or grout color matched silicone is easier to match the corners of walls, shelves, and benches inside the shower.

Last but not least, check to see if all of the rubber seals are still in place and in good shape around the glass, the sides of the shower door, and the sweep at the bottom of the shower door. These are there to help shed water down the inside of the shower and help keep splashing through any gaps in the door to a minimum. These items can be inexpensively replaced at a glass supply shop.

By Chad Walker

Colored Marble Tile Flooring For Your Bathroom

All throughout civilization, there has been no doubt of marble’s eminence. One of the most popular places in the modern home for marble floor tiles is the bathroom.

Marble has retained its ranking as the supreme building material for vanities. A natural marble vanity or sink stands out as the one and only choice for many discriminating and aesthetically-inclined homeowners.

While marble has the characteristic of being etched and stained by water and chemicals, the use of modern sealants has significantly reduced this major risk.The stone that inspires poetry and has been used to create architectural wonders across the world is in fact a metamorphic rock, which was formed by the alteration of limestone or dolomite.

Marble is used for both interior & exterior flooring applications. Marble is available in many colors like milky white, red, black, mottled and banded, gray, pink and green. Some manufactures offer marble tiles in the form of green marble tiles, green marble slabs & green marble blocks.

New Technologies Have Reintroduced Marble Tiles As Bathroom Vanities

A more recent advance in tile fabrication technology has enabled marble floor tiles to be within the reach of many homeowners. A sink could be a bowl of polished marble which sits atop a vanity. A tall faucet empties water into the vessel. It is a simple, yet supremely artistic way to decorate a bathroom that will make all your houseguests green with jealousy.

Marble tiles on the floor of a bathroom are almost a commonly seen necessity, if a homeowner’s target is to create a luxurious bath. These tiles are available polished or honed. Honed tiles generally provide more traction. Polished tiles do provide a more elegant look, however they can be very slippery when wet, so bath mats need to be placed at strategic points in the bath or shower room.

Marble Could Also Be Used As A Shower Wall

Many professional interior decorators know the key to a luxuriously created bathroom is to utilize marble around the walls and the tub. Most Jacuzzi bath tubs and Roman tubs look far more elegant wrapped in stone. Marble is also a popular fixture in shower walls and in steam showers; again however, traction is a factor that need to be seriously taken into consideration.

Marble mosaic tiles are often used on shower floors, and the grout lines provide the necessary footing to prevent slipping.Hand-carved marble trim pieces are also good for use in framing bath mirrors, and a wide variety of marble accents will round off your ultimate dream bath.

Tumbled Marble Also Makes For A Rustic, Old-World Bathroom Feel

The current rise in the popularity of “tumbled marble” has seen an increased use in many homes. These rustic tiles look more like travertine, wherein they have a rough finish, and often have little pits full of crystal, as well as an an uneven edge which is usually rounded at the corners.
These varieties are available in many sizes and are good for backsplashes, showers, and flooring. The hand-carved look of these tiles helps provide an excellent method for counteracting the formal air which marble typically lends to a room.

By Vanessa A.Doctor