Stop Renos from going down the Drain

Marble, porcelain, nickel sound way sexier than cement board or shower pans. But should that lead to ripping out a bathroom only a year or so after it was re-done?

According to Servisol Home Improvements, about half the calls they get about bathrooms are from devastated and frustrated homeowners who have to fix a gorgeous bathroom, because it looks good, but it leaks. Usually it means it all goes to waste.

“It’s very upsetting for them,” comments Bruce Maisels, principal of Servisol Home Improvements, a Toronto bathroom renovation specialist for over 50 years. “Homeowners feel cheated, and it’s a tremendous waste of good materials.”

What goes wrong?
Showers are the worst, most often because the wrong materials were used or not installed properly. Consumers sometimes get romanced by the aesthetics and leave the technical mechanics up to their renovator. For some unprofessional contractors, that’s when corners get cut---and eventually leaks happen.

“We were so disappointed,” says Mrs. Slavins a Toronto homeowner who had to rip out a shower only a few months after it was installed. “We thought we had hired a good bathroom renovator, but the job was badly done. We were so disappointed.”

Education is prevention
Servisol takes the unusual approach of informing and educating their customers on the materials and installation methods they use. For example, how a corner of a shower pan (the liner) is fitted is key.

“Sometimes we find cuts in the corner—an invitation for water to get in," says Maisels. While in other cases, just using the wrong wallboard for shower enclosures or tub surrounds is the culprit. “It might only cost $100 more, but if its not used, eventually water will get in and cause rot behind tile.”

It pays to learn.