When you’re a homeowner, the prospect of saving a few bucks by undertaking a DIY project can be alluring. Between the excitement of putting some elbow grease into your very own home and the feeling of accomplishment you’ll have when the project is all done, it’s enough to make anyone feel like the king or queen of their castle! But, be careful as to which projects you take on as DIY ventures and which ones need a true professional to handle them—the difference could mean more work for you and more money out of pocket if something goes awry.
Porcelain repair in Phoenix is one of those jobs better left to a professional. You’ve probably seen cheap repair kits in the store or DIY guides floating around the online home repair forums, which is great—these resources will help people make very minor repairs to their tub or shower all by themselves! But be warned, anything larger than a hairline crack and a store bought kit and some handy advice won’t be enough to save you from making a potentially costly mistake!
The trials of porcelain repair
The number one reason to avoid store bought kits when undertaking porcelain repair in Phoenix is because they’re not as easy to use as you might think! Some come with chemicals that need to be mixed, others come with epoxies that can get very messy very quickly and even more won’t harden into a material that’s up to scratch. You may feel confident buying one of these kits off of the rack at the store, but we’re betting that once you crack it open, you’ll quickly feel as though you’re in over your head!
Porcelain isn’t easy to repair unless you have years of experience doing it. Knowing the right way to fix a chip or gouge, versus knowing how to properly assess a fracture or crack, means all the difference in the world when you’re talking about how the finished repair is going to turn out. You might use one method for re-molding a corner that has chipped off, while another is used for meshing together two parts of a crack—but when applied incorrectly, your bonded repair material may actually exacerbate the issue!
Technique and method
One major issue with DIY porcelain repair in Phoenix is the technique that many homeowners adopt. For quick fixes, you’ll probably find that “paint on” kits would be the best to use—however many homeowners take the “paint on” concept literally and attempt to apply it like paint! This isn’t going to yield desirable results, however, since adding coats that are too thick will yield bumps in your finished product. Along with this, if you attempt to sand down your patch after applying too many costs, you could damage the existing porcelain and end up with a faded, spotty patch.
In the end, there are many projects worth a DIY approach, but porcelain repair isn’t one of them. Leave your porcelain fixes to a professional if you value the longevity of your fixtures and you’ll find that paying a small price for a professional fix with yield lasting results that are well worth the cost!
Tile floors in a bathroom are a luxury in and of themselves—they look great, last an exceptionally long time and can provide added resistance against water damage. Many homes today experience the benefits of tile flooring on a daily basis, however over time and without proper maintenance, these tile floors can lose some of the splendor that they once had. Aside from obvious blemishes, such as cracks and chips in the tile, grout contamination can render the spaces between your tiles dirty and gross. To make matters worse, regular at-home cleaning might not be enough to restore the sparkle to your tiles, which can be disheartening for any homeowner who works hard to maintain a pristine home.
If your bathroom tiling in Glendale is experiencing a noticeable drop in appearance or is damaged in an obvious way, it takes a professional touch to bring it back to the superior aesthetic that it once held. Take a look at a few simple ways that a professional can help you get the most out of your tile flooring, for longer:
Grout cleaning: The grout between your tiles is a tricky area to clean. Simply mopping over it or using a generic floor cleaning solution isn’t going to do the trick and bending over your grout for hours with a toothbrush and some bleach is sure to take a toll on your body and your day. A professional service will employ heavy-duty cleaning solutions that are safe, yet highly effective at removing contaminates from your grout, while at the same time restoring the shine that you’ve been missing from your tiles.
Minor tile replacement: You may have noticed that there’s a crack or chip in a couple of the tiles in your bathroom. These minor abrasions can come about at virtually any time and they’re usually the result of something being dropped on the floor. While a small crack or chip in your bathroom tiling in Glendale may not seem like something to worry about, if left unchecked, water saturation in these areas can cause damage to the flooring underneath your tile. Minor tile replacement by a professional repair company can unearth these few broken tiles and replace them with exact copies, giving you the look and protection that you deserve from your flooring.
Major tile replacement: Moving into a home where the bathroom tile has been neglected can be a frustrating experience. Luckily, if you enlist the help of a tile professional, you’ll be able to make quick work of this poor flooring situation and replace it with a brand new surface that’s luxurious and highly water resistant. Major tile replacement generally means ripping up entire sections of the existing tile or even the whole floor, where resealing and re-grouting needs to be undertaken in order to ensure a complete overhaul.
Believe it or not, tile is often much easier to service and repair than linoleum or wood, making it an exceptional choice for bathroom flooring. Whether you’re simply seeking to restore your existing tile or you’re on track for a brand new flooring experience, be sure to choose a tile professional who can help you get the look you desire from your bathroom.
Thinking of selling your home in the near future and investing in a new place to live? If so, there are a number of simple home repairs that you can undertake to improve both the aesthetic of your home, as well as its value. Many of these basic improvements are inexpensive and don’t take up a lot of time, but they’re not always things that will come to mind when trying to bolster the value of your home for the housing market. Porcelain repair in Phoenix is one of these things and addressing your home’s tubs, sinks, countertops and other bathroom fixtures should be on your priority list if you’re getting ready to sell.
Showmanship
When you’re showing your home to potential buyers, aesthetic is one of the most prevalent determining factors on whether or not a potential buyer is considering throwing their hat into the bidding ring. If your home is clean, organized and free of damage, it’s going to hold a certain standard that’s far above a home that looks worn, lived in or dirty. And while it’s common sense to pick up your clothes, vacuum and scrub your tile, people don’t always think to repair their porcelain.
The fact of the matter is this: you can clean the soap scum out of your shower, clean up the toothpaste marks in your sink and make your bathtub sparkle, but if there are cracks, chips or gouges in the porcelain, they’re always going to show. Having a professional treat these spaces and undergoing porcelain repair in Phoenix will erase the flaws that you can’t fix yourself, making your freshly cleaned bathroom look like new.
Care and value
A common practice of people viewing potential homes is to seek out the flaws that they can see, so that they have an idea of what types of home repair they’re in for before they buy a home. Seeing damage to porcelain throws up a red flag for many home seekers because they automatically associate the cost of porcelain repair in Phoenix to be much higher than it actually is. Conversely, if they are able to estimate the repairs themselves, they may hold this cost over a seller as leverage when it comes to negotiating on price.
If you’re able to present a bathroom that’s nearly pristine and free of any porcelain damage, however, this bargaining chip comes off of the table and you’re able to confidently stand by your home as a homeowner who takes care of their living space. Potential homebuyers are more apt to reason with a homeowner who they perceive cares about and values their living space, because it breeds confidence in the rest of the home’s condition.
Updated amenities
Even if you’ve never replaced the porcelain in your living space, that doesn’t mean you can’t project the existing facilities in a near mint state. Many potential homebuyers assume that amenities are newly installed or recently refinished if they look better than expected—which is exactly the case when it comes to porcelain repair in Phoenix! A quick visit from a porcelain specialist can have your home looking better than you ever dreamed, giving it a better position on the housing market over those homes that show obvious wear and tear.
The next time you’re taking a shower or a bath, do yourself a favor and really look at the porcelain around you. Does it sparkle when the water hits it or is there a yellowing effect to it? Is it perfectly clean or are there visible spots that have been there for months? Chances are, the latter is true for both of these questions and your bathtub isn’t quite what it used to be. Your first instinct after inspecting your tub may be to haul out the heavy cleaners and take a brush to it, but the solution could be much simpler: just call a professional company for a bathtub refinishing in Phoenix, AZ!
Bathtubs are one of the most frequently used amenities in our homes (or at least they should be). Whether you’re a morning bather or a nighttime shower aficionado, there’s a good chance that you’re making use of your bathtub at least once each day. After such constant, heavy wear and tear, is it any wonder that your tub is showing signs of aging?
Think about this: no matter what your job is or where you go each day, your body gets dirty. When you hop in the tub to clean yourself off, you’re stripping all of that dirt, grime, sweat and any other grossness off of you. Where? Right down into the basin of your bathtub of course! And while you may make it a point to wash all of your soap, water and dirt down the drain, there’s no doubt that at some point in time, you missed a spot. Over time, these little collections of dirt and grime build up and before you know it, you’ve got yellowing spots all around your tub!
Even if you’re a regular clean freak who washes their bathroom from top to bottom constantly, you’re still not going to see the perfect shine. Why? Because many household cleaners may do the trick when it comes to removing germs, but they also strip away the sheen of your porcelain. In essence, you’re trading clean for shiny and vice versa! If you really want to beat the system and have a clean AND shiny bathtub, you’re going to need to invest in a bathtub refinishing in Phoenix, AZ once in a great while.
Another common reason that bathtubs become so dirty may not even be attributable to you! If you have pets or small children that run rampant around your home, there’s a good chance that they’ve ended up in the bathtub at one point or another. Cats and dogs will often jump into bathtubs to lick up the excess water in the basin, bringing with them whatever’s clinging to their fur or paws. Children, on the other hand, could bring with them any number of dirty particles, meaning that these particles will sit there and fester until the water is turned on again.
It’s easier than you think for a bathtub to become dirty, especially if you’re not accustomed to cleaning it as often as you should be. Fear not, however! Just because your bathtub is showing its age, doesn’t mean that it’s doomed to a life of discoloration and filth—all you need is a good bathtub refinishing in Phoenix, AZ to bring it back up to par.
Bathrooms are one of the most, if not the most, heavily used rooms in our homes. Everyday we visit our bathrooms for a variety of different reasons and if there are multiple people living in your home, this constant foot traffic can show on the integrity of your bathroom over time, no matter how hard you try to keep it looking new. To compound matters, bathrooms can be difficult to clean: with so many small spaces for dirt and grime to build up in, it might take you all day to clean a bathroom from top to bottom: time that most people just don’t have to dedicate to one space.
Never fear, however: there are a few small tricks that you can rely on to keep your bathroom sparkling, no matter how old or frequently used it is! Check out these simple tips and try them out in your home:
Borax for Bath Tubs: Is there soap scum in your bath tub? How about other stains or grime? Bath tubs in Glendale are meant to be a place where we can clean ourselves, however if your tub is dirty, how can you feel clean after using it? Most homeowners spend hours and hours scrubbing away at their tubs with different chemicals, to no avail. Put down the expensive cleaners and hazardous chemicals and pick up an inexpensive Borax product: you’ll be amazed at the way it works to obliterate soap scum and stains! In the end, you’ll be left with a pristine tub that’s safe to use and sparklingly clean!
Baking Soda for Countertops: Counters face the daily wear and tear of everything from brushing your teeth to doing your makeup. After a while, it’s easy to see how countertops can become stained or spotted with residual chemicals. Just like bath tubs in Glendale, your countertops need a little bit of hard-hitting cleaning to get them back to their pristine state. Mix some baking soda and water into a paste and rub it in small circles around your countertops to make stains a thing of the past! The best part about this is that the slightly abrasive nature of the baking soda concoction works on marble, laminate, cement and other types of counters, making it a great “one size fits all” cleaning solution.
Vinegar for Toilet Odors: Let’s face it, nothing regarding your toilet is pleasant when it comes to cleaning it, least of all the smell. If your toilet has a smell that you just can’t shake, try blasting the bowl with a little bit of vinegar to eliminate both stains and odors. Vinegar acts to neutralize stains and odors in such a way that after scrubbing your bowl with a brush, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the odors disappear and are replaced with a neutral scent. Give that toilet a clean with your usual bowl cleaner after the vinegar and you’ll have a brand new toilet in no time!
A few, safe household chemicals are all you need to whip your bathroom back into shape. Just follow our cleaning tips above and you’ll see a shine from your bathroom that you haven’t seen in years!
