Floor Talk!

New carpeting can be elaborate and elegant, cool and contemporary or tasteful and traditional. It’s one of America’s most popular floor covering choices, enhances virtually any room and it can add value to your residence. Keeping that feeling, and your carpet in beautiful condition, is a challenge if you don’t know the proper steps of maintenance. And that’s why we created this section. We want you to know that, with the care guidelines below, your new carpet can stay attractive for many years, and many bare-foot crossings, to come.

DO’s

• Place walk-off mats wherever there are entrances to your home from high-soil areas like backyards, garages and so on. A few dollars invested in these mats can prevent a lot of dirt and grime from being tracked across your beautiful new carpet.
• Buy a quality vacuum and use it regularly. There have been significant improvements to vacuum cleaners in the past few years, making them easier to use, and better at doing their job. They’ve gotten lighter in weight, stronger in suction and loaded with convenience features. A good vacuum cleaner can be your carpet’s best friend so vacuum as often as you want! Thorough vacuuming removes loose dirt and dust from the fibers. Over time these particles dull your carpet’s appearance; frequent vacuuming maintains the beauty of your floor covering and extends its life.
  

• Use a machine with a good beater bar and maximum suction. High traffic areas may need more vacuuming more often. Also, get attached to using the cleaner’s attachments. They make it easier to clean the tight spots – along walls and up and down the stairs. Be sure to set your vacuum settings to the proper carpet height.

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Because of the success of What Feeding the Bears and Ruining Your Hardwood Floors has in Common, today will begin a series of maintenance guides for all types of floor covering. Stay tuned for more!

Tile Maintenance

Sooner or later, time and traffic, life and living, will take its toll on any floor covering. Ceramic tile is no exception. But take heart, keeping your tile as clean and beautiful as its first days in your home just takes know-how. In fact, understanding the best methods to care for your ceramic flooring will help maintain its beauty and keep it close to its original condition. Plus, knowing what’s expected of you regarding upkeep can be a determining factor in which type of ceramic tile to purchase. Knowing how to care for and maintain your ceramic floor will help keep your investment beautiful, durable and a source of pride for years to come.

§ It’s important to sweep a tile floor regularly. Dirt can adhere to the surface of tile, particularly styles with a textured surface. Regular sweeping loosens and removes most of this dirt. Vacuum attachments are useful to collect dirt along edges or in between tiles.

§ Use walk-off mats at all exterior entrances. This helps to minimize and contain dirt being tracked in at entryways.

§ Remember to shake the mats often to remove the dirt. If the dirt is not removed, it will be tracked back in and may scratch the floors. This reduces the amount of dirt being tracked across the tile floor, and reduces the wear to the finished surface. Also, be aware that black rubber mats can stain floors.

§ Ceramic tile floors should be damp-mopped regularly using the manufacturer’s recommended grout and tile cleaners. For heavier soil, you can spot clean the floor with a sponge or clean cloth using the recommended cleaners. Rinse well and wipe dry for more shine.

§ Textured tiles may require mild scrubbing with a soft brush or electric polisher/scrubber. After cleaning with a mild detergent rinse thoroughly with clean, warm water to help remove any leftover residue. If needed, wipe dry with a clean towel to remove any film.

§ For soft water situations you may need to use an all-purpose cleaner. Apply to the floor, let stand for 3 - 5 minutes, lightly scrub with a sponge, rinse well and you’re home free – dirt free too.

§ Use cleaning products available from your local grocery store or flooring retailer for heavier cleaning tasks. Products are available that can be used to remove soap scum, hard water deposits, and mildew stains.

§ Consult the cleaning product’s instructions to make sure the cleaning product is compatible with your type of tile. The wrong type cleaning product can do more damage than good.

§ After cleaning, rinse well and wipe dry. This is important for optimum shine and maximum pride.

§ Avoid using steel wool, scouring powders, or other abrasives. These can scratch the finish of the tile. Also, do not use vinegar as it is an acid.

§ Don’t use bleach or ammonia based cleaners. These products can permanently discolor your grout if used too often.

§ Do not clean glazed tile with oil-based cleaners. This can leave a hazy film on the tile.

§ Try to clean up spills as quickly as possible. This is important so that the grout or tile doesn’t become stained.

§ Tile can crack under extreme force or pressure. While ceramic tile is considered very durable, it’s not indestructible and may crack or chip under extreme force.

§ Take the proper precautions when moving heavy objects across your tile floor. Get a small army to help you move that grand piano. Once the damage is done, it cannot be repaired.

§ Cover furniture and table legs with protectors. This will guard your floor against damage.

§ Keep extra tiles after the installation. Keep in mind that if a repair is necessary in the future, the replacement product may be a slightly different dye lot and/or texture than the initial installation. However, the good news is that, with time and usage, the repair will blend in with the original product.

§ Areas exposed to water need to be caulked on a regular basis. Once the tile has been laid and grouted, it’s your responsibility to maintain areas exposed to water by caulking. Caulking will prevent expensive subsurface damage, as well as keep the tiled areas looking their best. Depending on your lifestyle, sealing new tile and grout may be an option.

§ Seal your grout for added protection. After the installation process is complete and the grout has had ample time to cure, sealing the grout and tile can provide protection from dirt and spills by slowing down the staining process. Please note that sealing is not required on glazed tiles.

§ Grout colorants are available for stained, damaged or undesired colored grout. Today there are also innovative grout colorants you should be aware of. These products can transform the original color of grout and in some cases can act as a form of sealant. Please be aware that non-epoxy grout joints should be treated with a silicone sealer.

§ Consult the manufacturers’ recommendations. For more maintenance information specific to your ceramic tile flooring, remember to ask a professional or the manufacturer.

For more information on how to clean ceramic tile, click here.

Choosing the right grout color can change the way your whole tile project looks. The grout color helps tie in each tile to appear as one complete floor. The function of grout is to protect the edges of the tile from being chipped or cracked. When trying to choose a grout color, it is helpful to look at the sample on all four corners of the tile, preferably in the space where the tile will be installed. It is also helpful to place several different colors near the sample you are considering. This can easily help rule out some colors while making some colors a clearer choice.

When choosing a grout color, there are several different approaches you can take.

Blend - Choosing a grout color that compliments or almost matches the tile will make the floor look more even and uniform overall. In this case, the grout almost disappears. The way I look at it is, you paid for the tile and not the grout, so let the tile stand out instead of the grout. Don’t worry if the color doesn’t match exactly. As long as it blends and is in the same family, you are ok.

Contrast - Contrasting grout is sometimes a desired look, but will make the floor appeared more checkerboard. This is unavoidable when intentionally choosing a checkerboard pattern tile. When using a multicolored mosaic tile, you can’t possibly choose one color. In this case, a contrasting grout can simply serve as a neutral background. Choosing a specific color could change the overall color appearance of the mosaic.

Accent -With today’s popular styles of tile, they are no longer a solid color. This can make choosing grout a little bit more challenging. Often, these tiles have a lot of range of color. In this case, any color grout that matches or blends with the family of colors in the tile will look great. Sometimes, there will be a more solid color along the edges of the tile. In this case, you can choose to highlight or accent that color by choosing a grout color similar to the color along the edge. This will make that border more visible. Most of the time, it is more desirable to choose a color with in the color ranges of the tile rather than the color on the edge of the tile.

Another way to accent with grout is to intentionally use a color that is not in the floor tile, but perhaps the wall color. For example, a black and white checkerboard floor can have a deep red grout to compliment red walls or red accents in the room.

Things to consider:

• White grout can be bleached and should mostly be used only with pure white tiles
• Light colored grouts should be sealed in heavy traffic areas
• Darker colored grout hides more dirt
• Dark grout can fade from sunlight and harsh cleaners
• Sealing grout can help protect the color as well as provide protection from mold and mildew
• Epoxy grout keeps stains from penetrating the grout, more so than a sealer and does not need to be reapplied. It’s great for countertops.
• Faded or discolored grout is not ruined. It can be re-stained.
• Different grouts are needed for different jobs. Unsanded grout is used for smaller grout joints such as natural stone joints. Sanded grout is used for normal and larger grout joints. Mexican tile or Saltillo has special grout for it’s larger than normal grout joints. Your flooring professional will guide you on what to use. For DIY projects, check the back of the bag for more specific instructions.
• Areas where a tiled surface meets a perpendicular surface should be caulked and not grouted. This may require you (not the tile setter) to recaulk annually in areas like the where the wall tile meets the bath tub or where the countertop meets the backsplash.
• It is always a good idea to keep grout from the original installation in case of repair. Grout from a later batch might not match exactly. If a repair happens and your new grout doesn’t match, remember you always have the option of staining the whole floor to a uniform color.

Well first of all I would like to say thanks to Shannon Bilby for not only writing such a wonderful and informative blog, but also for letting me write a guest post about something I am passionate about, recycled rubber flooring. Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Mark Rollings and I am a co-owner of Rubber Flooring, Inc.. We specialize in marketing and selling commercial weight room flooring and home gym flooring on line. Well enough about me. Let’s talk flooring.Perhaps the latest and hottest craze in the building industry is “green building” and getting LEED points. I have even heard of a new phenomenon called “green investing” where investors are considering investing a portion of their portfolios in companies which focus on creating and marketing “green products.” Why has this become such a hot topic? I personally believe it is because the general public is slowly becoming more and more socially conscious about how our actions and practices affect the environment. Plus, we feel that if we can even do something small like buying recycled goods, we are doing our part to protect the environment for ourselves and for our kids.

This leads me to rubber flooring. There are many types of rubber flooring products on the market. Some of it is made of virgin rubber that is either harvested from rubber trees or made synthetically. Other types of rubber flooring are in fact made predominately from recycled automobile tires with an added mix of virgin rubber to add color to the product. This is the kind of rubber flooring that we sell and market at www.rubberflooringinc.com . Not only do we feel that we are doing our part environmentally, we also feel that we are creating a great product for our market and offering it at a great price compared to 100% virgin rubber flooring products.

Some examples of recycled rubber flooring can be seen below:

Just to show how our growing market is contributing to the green building craze, let me explain the history behind our market. Twenty years ago, most used tires sat in landfills like this one:Obviously this was not the best situation since tires have a degradation period estimated to be in the thousands of years and could lead to environmentally devastating landfill fires. I have heard many estimates about the amount of tires once stored in landfills but the general consensus was that there were around one billion tires in landfills at one point in time. Today there are around 250 million. That’s Progress!

Now those tires were not all used for flooring but were also used to make rubberized asphalt concrete for roads, anti slip mats for the shipping industry, synthetic turf infill, and even as a fuel derivative by pulp and paper mills. Nonetheless, recycled rubber flooring is an excellent outlet for those used tires and can help lead not only to LEED points, but also to saving the environment one tire at a time.

How important is it to clean your hardwood floors with the proper cleaning agent? I assumed that every flooring salesperson made this information abundantly clear at the point of sale, that every client listened and followed their instructions diligently. Then I got my reality check - on the Internet. After a little web surfing on how to clean hardwood floors I found discussion after discussion that proved my fear that countless hardwood flooring crimes were being committed. At first, I thought, “How could people do this?!?” Then, I came to terms with a few simple realities.

Take this True/False quiz to test your knowledge. I’ll bet you are not alone. Below are the answers and my theories on why these are common misconceptions.

1. I should mop my hardwood floors at least once or twice a week regardless if I have spills or scuffs with a liquid cleaner.

Answer: False. One of the main benefits of hardwood flooring is that they are low maintenance floors that require only a little more maintenance than sweeping on a regular basis to remove dirt. Cleaners are only needed when cleaning spills, removing scuff marks or major cleanings like spring cleaning. Cleaners should be applied with a terry cloth head mop rather than a sponge mop because you don’t want too much liquid applied directly to your floors. Too much liquid can cause your floors to expand and crack. You can and should, however vacuum your floors daily with a vacuum without a beater bar to remove dirt that can scratch your floors. Use a vacuum attachment to access those hard to reach areas. (more…)

With over 22,800 in attendance and more than 850 exhibitors at this year’s Green Build Expo in Chicago it was clear that this green movement is here to stay and getting some serious attention.

It was no surprise that the expo was held downtown at McCormick Place, a building that is LEED certified. As you walked into the building there were a series of signs mounted to the wall explaining what it meant for the building to be a LEED certified building. Throughout the expo there were educational stations, recycling stations and many other efforts to educate on ways to become more “green” as well as ways to participate. It was also encouraging that throughout the city there were advertisements for new lofts and condos bragging that these new residences were “green” residences.

The expo kicked off differently than most trade shows. It began in the evening with a cocktail reception. Guests arriving the first day were allowed to spend a few hours getting a sneak peak of the show before the masses showed up to stand in the registration line the next day. Some people waited over 2 hours just to get into the show! I was fortunate enough to arrive the first day. It was helpful to be able to get an overview of the exhibit with less people before the aisles became crowded. It was exciting that some booths were so crowded that I had to come back a few hours later to try to get information.

Like The Remodeling Show in Las Vegas there were exhibitors from every category of the building process. The difference here was that not only were you given the opportunity to learn about the products, but also the chance to learn about the focus of each company’s efforts to protect or preserve the environment. It was interesting to hear each company’s angle. For example, some companies were advertising that their products contained recycled content. Some companies wanted you to know about their efforts to save energy during the manufacturing process. Other companies wanted architects and designers to know how many LEED points they could receive for using their products. The companies that caught my attention the most were the ones that have been practicing “green” for decades. Now that “green” is getting so much attention and has so much value to consumers they are not changing their practices to incorporate “green”, but are simply adding these practices into their marketing.

It was also no surprise to me that the first booth that I saw front and center was from the flooring industry. If I were giving out awards like the awards given for The Remodeling Show, Shaw Industries would take the prize for the most exciting booth, the most creative exhibit, the most energetic staff and the best first impression.

Shaw used several different methods to grab your attention. Their booth’s exterior was made of huge green circular walls with different stations set up inside. One area explained the recycling process with the chemist on hand to break down each stage. Having not been a science whiz in school, I asked the chemist to explain the process in layman’s terms. In 30 seconds or less, she explained the process to me. She used the example of baking a cake to simplify the explanation of the process. So, imagine taking a baked cake and returning it to its original components- flour, eggs and sugar. This is what’s happening with carpet through Shaw’s Cradle to Cradle recycling efforts at their Evergreen Facility in Augusta, Georgia. Through innovative technology, post-consumer carpet is converted into the raw material used to make virgin nylon, which is indistinguishable from first generation material. The unique process allows for endless recycling, diverting carpet from landfills and saving valuable natural resources.

Next, Shaw used large view finders to show the logistics of the recycling process explaining how customers who used their EcoWorx commercial products close to a decade ago have contributed to its recycled content tomorrow because the products will be reused. The images in the view finders showed how products, once they are returned to Shaw, are deconstructed through a process called elutriation. The backing is then returned to the manufacturing process to be made into more EcoWorx. The EcoWorx recycling facility can recycle 1.8 million square yards of carpet per year.

Another station outlined their carpet collection centers. Shaw is actively building the largest carpet reclamation network in the country!! Currently, they have a collection center within 50 miles of 40% of the population and are expanding weekly! Shaw is collecting 100 million pounds of post-consumer carpet waste to supply their Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility which diverts waste from landfills while reducing the amount of raw materials used in their manufacturing process. They even make it easy to participate. All you have to do is flip over any commercial carpet tile with EcoWorx backing, call the toll free number printed on the back and Shaw will reclaim the material and transport it to their manufacturing facility in Georgia to be made into new EcoWorx!

Shaw’s Cradle to Cradle certification evaluates building and interior products for their human health, environmental and life cycle attributes. Architects and Designers can earn an Innovation in Design point within the LEED Green Building Rating System for using Cradle to Cradle certified products found in EcoWorx tile, EcoWorx Performance Broadloom, Eco Solution Q nylon and Anso nylon. All of Shaw’s carpets are Green Label and Green Label Plus Certified. CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) Green Label or Green Label Plus Certification ensures that a carpet meets stringent requirements for low chemical emissions and contributes to good indoor air quality.

Shaw’s efforts begin with the design process, carry on through the recycling process, remain strong through the reclamation process, but they don’t stop there. Did you know that carpet waste can be used to generate electricity? Shaw’s waste to energy facility is the only one of its kind in the carpet industry. Through an innovative gasification process, carpet and wood flour waste replaces oil usage in the flooring manufacturing process. This process diverts 22,000 tons of waste from landfills and reduces oil usage by 90% at their dyeing facility.

Wait, there’s more. Shaw operates the 15^th largest transportation fleet in the nation. They use biodiesel fuel to run their trucks because it burns cleaner than petroleum based diesel creating less carbon dioxide emissions; it is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as quickly as sugar. It is produced in the USA from renewable resources such as soybeans which decreases our dependence on foreign oil while contributing to our own economy. Each year, Shaw uses 46,800 gallons of pure biodiesel fuel. Shaw’s participation in the SmartWay Partnership (a voluntary collaboration between the US EPA and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gasses and air pollution) will help eliminate millions of tons of emissions per year - the equivalent of taking up to 12 million cars off the road. As a bonus, instead of returning to Georgia with empty trucks after making carpet deliveries, Shaw picks up used carpet from the collection centers!

Shaw doesn’t stop there, they even go to the extent of providing inter office recycling for its 31,000 employees in case recycling is not available where they live.

If you are an architect, designer or builder interested in Shaw’s products that can help you earn LEED points or looking for a faster more straight forward way to specify LEED certified products, Shaw offers a LEED calculator on-line that provides accurate information outlining the environmental attributes of the products as well as their contribution to the USGBC LEED Rating System. You can review and compare products and print, download or email LEED Specification Sheets.

Stay tuned for more from the Green Build Expo 2007!

Exotic hardwood flooring is becoming increasingly more popular because buyers seem to constantly be searching for products for their homes that are more unique than what you find at your everyday big box store. These floors are a symbol of style and provide greater diversity from hardwood’s reputation as a traditional flooring choice.

The word exotic is defined as:

ex·ot·ic (g-ztk)

adj.

1. From another part of the world; foreign:

2. Intriguingly unusual or different; excitingly strange:

About Exotic Hardwood

Like traditional hardwood floors, exotic hardwood floors have styles offering different widths, species, grain, colors and types of construction. You can find exotic hardwoods that are unfinished, pre-finished, solid or engineered. Most of the floors come from South America, Australia, The Far East and Africa. Click here to see a selection of domestic versus exotic samples from the National Hardwood Association. It is also important to keep in mind that not all species of exotic hardwood are available as flooring. The ones listed here are all available for flooring.

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Most Innovative Product: GranitClad Natural Granite Resurfacing is a patented process that allows any countertop to be resurfaced with granite or mable without removing the existing countertop. In fact, they can also resurface showers, tubs, boats, RV’s and fireplaces. They do it by using a fiberglass and resin reinforced thin slab of granite that is 7 times stronger than traditional granite. Not only are the slabs stronger, but they are 9mm thick offering the advantage of being 70% lighter than typical 2 or 3cm slabs. This also helps with faster installations. I thought there would be a catch of limited colors, but they offer 25 standard colors and 8 special order colors. All of this and a limited lifetime warranty.

Hands down this goes to Green Glue. Green Glue is the simple and easy answer to sound proofing floors, wall and ceilings in new construction or remodeling. You simply apply the product with a caulk gun between two sheets of standard drywall or plywood. There is no exact measuring (other than 2 tubes per 4×8 sheet of plywood) or specific coverage pattern - you just apply it randomly all over the board.

This product is great for home theaters, recording studios, condos, apartments, impact noise (footstep noise) and squeaky floors.

Green Glue has been tested and found to:

• Be the most thoroughly of any sound isolation material available

• Be able to be inserted into any fire rated assembly according to the International Building Code

• Not form a vapor lock

• Be environmentally friendly with almost no V.O.C.’s

• Not contribute to mold growth

Thank goodness for the FAQ on their website. Below are a few:

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For The Installer:


Custom Building Products has a new line of lightweight setting materials that help tackle the issues of load factors, vehicle wear and fatigue on the body. These products are equal to the traditional products in strength and coverage – they just weigh less. A major benefit to this new line is that they are made with recycled materials that contribute to LEED’s certification! Click on the pictures above or below for the complete specification sheet, MSDS sheet and brochure.

For The DIY (Do it yourself-er): Custom Building Products has come out with a full line of pre-mixed tile setting products so if you want to tackle your own tile installation project you can avoid the potential disaster of spreading thin-set from your ceiling to your floor! If you’ve never tried setting your own tile or mixing your own thin-set, it’s a lot harder than it looks! The line offers a floor leveler, floor patch, ceramic tile thin-set mortar, and another for natural stone. For small jobs and repairs, there is a premixed adhesive and grout – all in one! All have the added protection of Mold Guard Technology , an environmentally sound method designed to keep moisture out and neutralize the food source that mold and mildew thrive on.

For those of us out there that like to be SPOILED or like to spoil ourselves, this award showcases products for you!

Watts Sun Touch Floor Warming Systems -I got to spend some time with the guys at Sun Touch. After posting the last blog on radiant heat flooring I stopped to chat to see what else they had to offer. They were kind enough to confirm that all of my concerns were valid, and that I had nothing to worry about. I also learned of a few other benefits that heated floors offer such as the floors drying faster, cats will stay off the furniture and rest on the floor, plants thrive better (especially when the sun goes down) and for the truly spoiled…. you can even warm your shower bench! Sun Touch and Warm Wire are the most requested radiant heat products in North America and takes a lot of pride in the support network they provide to their dealers, end users and installers. No matter what type of application you have or system you want, they have a solution to offer. For added reassurance, they have a product called “Loud Mouth” that sounds an alarm during the installation process if there is any damage to the heating element so it can be easily repaired before the finished flooring is installed.

To be fair, I also have to tell you about another radiant heat flooring company that impressed me quite a bit called Danfoss. They set themselves apart by offering a product that is simple to install while maintaining the highest quality standards. They offer a self adhesive mat that adheres directly to the sub-floor which in some cases can save an entire step during installation. The heating cables are pre installed in the mat reducing installation time, potential errors while also giving you balanced heating. The connections to the thermostat save time and money thanks to twin conductors that are built over the entire surface of the mat. Time is again saved with the benefit of no need for custom orders with this product.. All size adjustments can be made to the mat on site by cutting with scissors, even in rooms with curves and angled walls. Danfoss offers comfort and peace of mind with their unmatched warranty of 10 years that is transferable and their tool called “The Little Buzzer” that acts like the Loud Mouth product mentioned above. To me, these are signs that a company stands behind their product.

This award is for The Green Junkie. It was very reassuring that it seemed almost everyone had something green to offer. There were too many to mention, but I wanted to highlight a few.

One product that stood out was from LG Hi-Macs. LG Hi-Macs, a member of the US Green Building Council introduced the Eden Collection of countertops. These countertops are the first acrylic countertops that are gentle on the environment. These countertops are made with 12% recycled content and come in a variety of beautiful earthy, warm colors.

Another product that I saw was from a leader in the industry. Every Whirlpool product helps people save energy, reduce water consumption and protection of the quality of the air we breathe. They feel their responsibility is global. GO WHIRLPOOL.

Warmboard Radiant Heating System was recognized for being included in the Top 10 Green Building Products for 2007 by Sustainable Industries. These awards recognize companies that are innovators, pioneers and proven performers in creating high quality, high value, resource-efficient products. Winning products may also help builders earn credits toward certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program.

This award is FOR THE GURU. I couldn’t decide if this product was better suited more for the end user, retailer or the installer, but Custom Building Products has come up with a product that will make customers, retailers and installers all smile. They have taken their top 18 colors and created a product called Prism Sure Color Grout that eliminates some of the nagging problems with grout like shading and that chalky residue known as efflorescence. As a bonus, it is stain resistant right out of the bag. (which is now in a 17 pound bag instead of a 25 pound bag covering the same square footage) You can even walk on it in 4 hours rather than typically having to wait until the next day. For the retailer, it cuts down on your inventory eliminating the need for sanded and unsanded grout because it covers joints from 1/16” to ½” and obviously less call backs. So, the customer gets great results from their grout installation the first time and the installer doesn’t have to go back for service calls. It’s nice to see a great product being improved upon by a company that doesn’t stop with a good product, but continues to find new ways to improve their products to make them even better.

Most Homeowner Friendly Product:

This award goes to Moen’s Mirrorscapes. These guys have solved a problem that all designers run across at some point. When helping a remodel client or a client on a tight budget, one of the easiest suggestions to make in a bathroom is to replace the flat sheet of glass with a beautiful framed mirror. The problem is, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Typically, these mirrors are huge and glued directly to the wall with an adhesive like Liquid Nail. If you have ever tried removing one of these mirrors you know that it takes half of the sheet rock wall with it and generally ends up in a lot of unsafe pieces. This leaves the homeowner aggravated and with the unexpected costs of wall repair and new glass.

Moen has come up with “a custom look without cutting corners”. These quick and easy to install mirror frames give you a custom framed mirror look without expensive custom framing or carpentry. There are no miter cuts involved and your old mirror stays in place so you can upgrade your bathroom yourself! The adhesive mounting brackets glue right on top of your existing mirror providing a guide for the decorative corners and straight cuts. Then, all you have to do is apply to frame to theo mounting strips and you have a transformed vanity. Moen does a great job of offering a variety of styles and finishes such as metallic and wood that coordinate with today’s faucet finishes, accessories and cabinetry.