The bathroom is the second most expensive room in the home to remodel, costing around $10,000 on average. With all the plumbing, electrical, and fixtures packed into a small space, there are many problems a bathroom can hide. Therefore, it’s very important to do a thorough bathroom inspection when shopping for a new home, especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer.

Some signs can be obvious, like a cracked sink or toilet. But others aren’t so easy to find here's your guide to finding the problem spots before you buy!.

Red Flags in the Bathroom: What to look for

Mesh in Walls Behind Tile

Older homes are known for causing headaches when it comes to the bathroom. One of the biggest is an old technique for installing bathroom tile: using wire mesh. The wire or metal mesh holds together the mud that the tile lays on, creating a sandwich of wires and a concrete-like material.

If you ever need to install new tile, you’ll have to sledge hammer, pry off, and cut piece by piece all of the material. This is not an easy task and some people resort to using air-powered hammers or saws. Tearing down a bathroom could take days instead of hours.

Check the Sink Overflow

Probably one of the most overlooked problem areas for first time homebuyers. A clogged overflow drain can be a sign of a larger problem. Older sinks tend to be made of cast iron and cause drainage problems as they rust over time. If that rust extends to the sink overflow, it can clog and create a foul odor. If a sink is too old and rusty, it will need to be replaced.

Look For Water Damage

If a seller is trying to get away with anything, it will be trying to hide water damage. So it will be your job to hunt down it down. The best detection tool you have is your own nose. Don’t be shy and take a big whiff in every nook and cranny. Mold has a pungent smell that permeates through walls.

Mold is caused by moisture in the walls, floor, or ceiling. This moisture can cause walls to stain and paint to peel. These are signs to look for too. A huge warning sign is noticing a single wall has been painted over. This is a way of hiding stains for potential buyers. If a bathroom is on the second floor, go downstairs directly beneath it and check the first floor ceiling for water stains.

Signs of Bugs and Other Pests

Don’t be afraid to look inside the bathroom vanity either. But take a really good look. See any dead bugs lying around inside? Maybe some rat droppings? If you see either of these, there's a good chance that the bathroom has a pest problem that requires solving.

Mice tend to gnaw on surfaces with their teeth. Look for tiny scratches along edges and corners. If it’s a solid wood vanity and you notice what appears to be sawdust in the corners, there may even be a termite problem in the home.

Sloppy Work Done Recently

This is a good sign that the owner of the home quickly made repairs to the bathroom without caring about the quality. From their point of view, they just want the house to sell, no matter the condition. So they will invest the least amount possible to get the bathroom looking good enough to sell.

Look for:

• Poor tile work (not level, symmetrical, or evenly spaced)
• Sloppily applied caulk on shower and bathtub seams
• Cracks in the grout between tiles (shown above)
• Peeling paint
• New fixtures that leak

You may need to replace some of the existing fixtures, appliances, and furniture. There are many bathroom vanity and bathroom partitions retailers out there.

The experience of shopping for a home for the first time should be a memorable one. But not the kinds of memories filled with regret and remorse. Avoid unnecessary headaches by doing a thorough bathroom inspection.

 

 

 

June 23, 2016
Wayne Foreman

When considering the necessary accessories and hardware for installing successful toilet partitions, it's difficult to find an item more integral to restroom functionality than the grab bar.

They may be easy to forget about due to size and nature. They may be even easier to neglect altogether when ordering bathroom stall materials. These seemingly small inclusions will ensure that your commercial bathroom is up to code and fully accommodating for all visitors.

Accessibility

Grab bars are especially important to handicap accessibility, and are a requirement in ADA compliant stalls. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that mandates equal access to goods and services. When designing a layout and installing hardware, prioritizing the accommodation of public restrooms under this law is paramount.

This is why we have added grab bars and grab bar reinforcements as a new offering.  It’s our goal to make ordering fast partitions and all the right hardware as easy as possible. Finding a third party distributor and ordering the parts separately is a thing of the past. We’ll take care of it for you with the help of our supplier, ASI Group.

Importance

The importance of grab bars is versatile in public restroom spaces. Placing them in both shower and bathroom stalls to meet standard ADA requirements is necessary. Realistically speaking, install grab bars and partition walls with wheelchair accessibility in mind.

Typically, people install grab bars behind and directly beside the toilet. They come in three lengths: 18 inches, 36 inches and 42 inches. Install these within the range of 33-36 inches above the floor. The exact mounting height should be based on the age of majority users (i.e., install a grab bar 33 inches above the floor in the ADA stalls of elementary school bathrooms).

Measure the heights of grab bars from the top rather than the center line of the bar. These exact measurements also apply to ADA compliant shower stalls.

Installation

Installing grab bars is simple, but you should consider the type of installation before ordering your partition walls. For stalls with previously built walls on either side of the toilet, you'll need to install grab bars via through-bolting. Standard grab bar reinforcements won't suffice. This method will ensure that the bars maintain maximum support for each bathroom patron.

When mounting grab bars onto a partition wall, advance planning becomes crucial. To ensure the partition wall can support weight pressed down on a grab bar, it requires reinforcement. This involves adding reinforcing properties to the partition’s internal structure, allowing later connection of the grab bars.

Since reinforcing the partition wall deals with its internal structure, this step will need to be done before the item is shipped. Making it integral to let one of our sales associates know you need grab bar reinforcement on a particular partition wall before the order is finalized and processed. Keeping the delivery and installation process problem-free is something our team strives for every day.

Why Fast Partitions?

To get started on your bathroom partition project, visit our website at www.fastpartitions.com to get a quick quote. Also, email our sales team directly at [email protected] to communicate specific needs. Make sure all your hard work goes anywhere but in the toilet (figuratively speaking, of course)!

June 16, 2016
Wayne Foreman