Home Improvement Info

Archive for the ‘Bathrooms Design’ Category

Bead board is a style of paneling. It is usually used to decorate the bottom 3 to 5 feet of a wall. In bathrooms, white bead board is most common. Installing bead board on bathroom walls is a smart way to add some architectural details to the room without having to do any remodeling. Bead board is inexpensive, adds a dramatic impact for little effort and even novices can install it.

How to Decorate a Bathroom with Bead Board

1. Add bead board to the lower part of your walls to create a cozy feel. Cut the board to the width you need and glue or nail it to the walls. The bottom of the bead board should touch the top of your base board. Add crown molding to the top of the bead board for a finished look.

2. Cover a wall from floor to ceiling with bead board. Doing so will add texture to your walls without having to wallpaper them.

Do just one wall if your bathroom is small. You could also cover every wall with bead board. You can even cover old or ugly tiles with bead board.

3. Attach bead board to the outside of your bathtub to give it a custom made look, or even on top of the ugly tile in your shower walls. Synthetic bead board is waterproof.

4. Install bead board on the ceiling of your bathroom to cover up textured or popcorn ceilings. Try gluing bead board to the front of outdated bathroom cabinet doors.

5. Add bead board to small portions of the wall, such as behind a mirror, to add depth to the bathroom.

A bead board wainscoting helps give a more upscale look to a bathroom’s walls, vs. plain plaster or drywall. Before you begin this project, you must decide the height of the bead board to create the look you want.

While you are getting bead board at your hardware store, choose trim to add underneath the cap rails that fit on the top of the bead board wainscoting to give the project a customized look.

Paint the bead board, cap rail and molding or trim any color you desire.

1. Cut the pieces of bead board, using the miter saw, to the length you have decided to use in your bathroom. Place a piece of bead board on the floor and up the wall in the bathroom, then place a level on the top of the piece of bead board to ensure it is level.

2. Draw a line along the underside of the level, using a pencil. Repeat this process throughout the room until you have a continuous line on all of the walls.

3. Cut two pieces of bead board at an angle so they fit together in a corner of the room. Apply a coating of construction adhesive to the back of the two pieces so they stick to the wall.

4. Apply more construction adhesive to the wall, then slide the tongue of the other pieces of the bead board into the groove of the piece that is already installed. Drive finishing nails through the tongue-and-groove section of every fourth board to ensure the bead board stays up. Read the rest of this entry »

If a lid that’s been left up is your pet peeve and you’re tired of asking roommates, friends or loved ones to put it down, a seat alarm may be a good solution. A toilet lid that beeps when left open can provide a blaring reminder for the men in your household to put it down after they use the toilet. You can purchase beepers that are designed for this purpose at household supply stores or online.

1. Purchase your seat alarm. Some use sensors that start beeping when the lid has been left up and they are unable to detect sound around them, while others beep when exposed to light for more than a few minutes due to the lid being left up. Purchase an alarm that will fit your toilet and meets your needs. Most toilet-lid alarms cost less than $10.

2. Install the alarm according to manufacturer instructions. Most alarms adhere to the underside of your toilet’s lid using double-sided adhesive. Clean the surface of your lid and dry it completely before applying the adhesive. Then attach the alarm to the adhesive.

3. Test your alarm to be sure it works. Put the lid down for a few minutes, then lift it up. Leave it up for several minutes. The alarm should start beeping. If it doesn’t, consult the instructions that came with it. The sensor on your alarm could be blocked or defective. Re-read the installation instructions to ensure you installed the alarm correctly.