Why Advanced Waterproofing Systems are Crucial in Bathroom Design

When you’re planning a bath remodel, there are many practical things to consider as well as the style of your new design. One of the most important factors in a bathroom design is waterproofing. A poorly planned and executed bathroom remodel, or one that attempts to cut costs by cutting corners can result in leaks. Water dripping through a ceiling or getting into your walls can quickly escalate into a major incident, damaging the structure of your house. Your bath design expert takes waterproofing into account when planning and budgeting for your remodel.

The more you invest, the more effective protection you will have against moisture, leaks, and flooding. Tile can be and unfortunately far too often is installed straight onto plasterboard or cement board by many “professional” tile installers. Without adequate protection from the constant water flowing around your bath design, problems will soon rear their head and will cost you much more in the long run.

How is waterproofing done in bath design?

There are different types of waterproofing systems. Often, a membrane is sprayed, painted, or laid as a sheet before floors and walls are finished. Silicone then goes into the gaps between walls and floors. These steps help to ensure your bath remodel is waterproofed and ready to use.

What are the benefits?

Waterproofing is a highly technical procedure that should only be undertaken by an expert. If it is not done correctly, it will cost you even more if unseen leaks slowly destroy your bath design and surrounding spaces in your home. There are many additional benefits to waterproofing, including:

• Effective waterproofing prevents mold and mildew, which carry serious health risks.

• It also reduces much of the time needed to keep those spaces clean and looking like new.

• Carpenter ants and termites are less likely to survive in a bathroom that has been properly waterproofed.

• Shoddy workmanship could lead to water-rusting steel reinforcements or rotting the structural timber of your home, and waterproofing will help prevent this.

Take waterproofing seriously at the bathroom design and remodeling stage to avoid these issues!

There are additional benefits in your bath design to installing a waterproofing layer.

With properly constructed and waterproofed stud walls, you have more design options available to you. Why not go for a wall-hung toilet or basin? Niche storage and built-in shower seating options are stylish and functional touches but can provide an easy pathway for unwanted water penetrations. Effective waterproofing allows you to add these design features while maintaining the waterproof integrity of the room. Another benefit of advanced waterproofing systems is better insulation. A bath design with external walls can feel cold. Extra layers of waterproofing help to insulate your remodel and keep energy bills down.

Take a whole room approach.

Instead of looking at certain areas, treat your entire remodel as a wet room. Your design should use a system that acts as a complete barrier all around the design, so any escaping water will be contained in this “tanked” space. This allows you greater flexibility for what you can do with your bathroom design now, and future proofs it for changes you may want to make at a later stage. If you end up having to sell your home, a fully tanked bathroom would increase its value, so is always worth the investment.

What do we do at Haile Kitchen & Bath for waterproofing?

Here at Haile, we install only the highest quality bathroom remodels, protected by the best-advanced waterproofing systems on the market. We typically use either Schluter or Laticrete Hydroban products to ensure 100% waterproof bonding for a range of materials and surfaces in every corner of your bath remodel. The suite of Schluter products includes KERDI and KERDI-DS waterproofing membranes such as their pliable, sheet-applied, bonded waterproof membranes and vapor retarders. A combination of waterproofing strips, membranes, bonding compounds, seamless corners, prefabricated seals for pipes, and more are applied to your remodel as required to ensure it is fully waterproof. Take a look at their full range here and then contact us to learn more about the waterproofing systems we install. Many systems also allow us to offer a limited lifetime warranty on your shower, giving you peace of mind against leaks or hidden damage.

Talk to our designers today about affordable, yet luxurious bathroom designs that have waterproofing as a priority. You can rely on our bathroom remodeling expertise to give you the best value with impeccable results, saving money down the line.