Mike Foti asked:
Finding the right type of bathroom window in remodeling or new construction can be tough. Here are two problems many homeowners have with their bathroom windows:
1) A remodeling bathroom window challenge – Your existing window is sitting right in the middle of a bathtub or shower area and the window frame is rotted or rusted out. You want privacy, you want the window to look good, and you don’t want the constant maintenance of having to re-caulk the window or rework the wood framing around the window.
2) A new construction bathroom window challenge – You’re building a new home with a soak tub or Jacuzzi in the corner of the master bathroom that has windows above the tub at eye level which are clearly visible from your neighbors property. You want a high privacy and good looking contemporary style window, but don’t really want to invest in expensive blinds.
How can you solve these two problems with style while maintaining your budget? One answer – bathroom glass block or acrylic block windows. This article will explore the benefits of these types of windows for your home.
Glass Block Window Benefits for your new home or remodeled bathroom
Here are the 8 benefits you’ll realize by replacing your existing bathroom windows or installing blocks in your new home bathroom window:
1. Increased privacy – With homes being built closer together as land costs continue to escalate finding a cost effective window that provides privacy in your hall bath or master bathroom window can be difficult. With block you can pick a high privacy pattern like Icescapes or Delphi from Pittsburgh Corning or Ice or Pristal from Mulia to let light in, yet maintain the privacy you need.
2. Reduce your heating and cooling costs – Most existing bathroom windows have old aluminum frames or deteriorated wood frames with a single pane window glass inside. They are inefficient windows which frequently fog up, required a lot of effort to maintain, and cause your heating and air conditioning costs to be higher. Block glass windows are 10 times more energy efficient than single pane glass and provide a combination of obscurity and style many vinyl replacement windows do not.
3. Increased Security/Ease of Gaining Entry into the Home – Existing window are flimsy, usually held in with caulk and are an easy target for break ins. New glass brick windows are mortared in for most remodeling projects, making them difficult and time consuming to attempt to break through. New construction glass block windows come with a vinyl frame and nailing fin providing excellent security.
4. Cut Maintenance takes time, money and energy – Single pane metal and wood windows need to be repainted and caulked to keep the elements out and to prevent rust and deterioration. With block bathroom windows there is no maintenance needed since the windows are either mortared in or nailed into the framed walls in the property.
5. Easy to clean – These windows can be cleaned with soap and water or window cleaning solution.
6. Windows will become easy to operate – Existing bathroom windows are sometimes rusted shut, or cannot easily be opened making a bathroom retain excessive amounts of moisture, allowing mold spores to grow. New block windows can be combined with fresh air vents or power exhaust fans to make your bathroom healthier for your family and friends.
7. Easy to open- Acrylic block windows can open completely (there is a casement window available in multiple frame and glass styles for bathrooms) and glass windows can be combined with vinyl hopper style air vents which open very simply as well.
8. Old Windows don’t fit your new design style – Glass block bathroom replacement windows now are available in colors, different tints, satin finishes, decorative patterns, beveled edges, and many custom architectural designs to match a contemporary, traditional, or transitional design style.
Your master bathroom or hall bathroom window no longer needs to be an eyesore. With a new glass block bathroom window you can get an easy to clean, easy to maintain, cost-effective/ energy saving window, and add to the style and value of your home at the same time.
Christine B asked:
My landlord just had the “Bathroom Fitter” people come in and re-do our tub/tub walls with an all-one-piece acrylic wall and tub thing-a-majig. Anyway, on my old regular tile/grout walls I used to use Comet, Tylex and Clorox Cleanup to get it clean and kill any mold, but now I don’t know what to use. I don’t want to ruin the finish. The paperwork says to make sure you use a product that is safe for acrylic, but I was checking out some of the labels in the store today and hardly any of them specify whether or not they’re safe for acrylic. Help!
Kathy Burns-Millyard asked:
If you’re like most of us, the most difficult rooms in the house to decorate nicely seems to be the bathroom. This is especially true when you have a large family and your kids are still small. Things just seem to be messy and disorganized more often than not.
It’s not too difficult to decorate this area though. You probably don’t want to go all out with an ornate decorating theme and make your bathroom look like a showcase… at least not until the kids are grown… but there are several things you can do now that will really spruce things up.
1. Put in matching bathroom accessories. Technically these don’t have to match completely, they just need to compliment each other somehow. And by accessories, I mean things such as a soap dish, trash container, towel holder, and toothbrush holder. You can even add mirrors and wall shelves if you’d like, but just putting in new soap dishes and towel holders often makes a drastic difference in the look of your bathroom. Don’t forget the toilet paper roll holder too, having a nice looking one really adds a finished, polished look to your bathroom decorating theme.
Bonus Tip: If you buy accessories in a solid, natural material you’ll have more versatility with your color scheme. Buying wood or brass accessories for instance, makes it easy to have multiple decorating themes to switch around with throughout the year, without having to change all the accessories each time.
2. Get some new towels and washcloths. These should either be a matching set, or individual ones that compliment each other too. And they need to tie in somehow with the new accessories you’ve put in.
If you’ve gone with the flexibility of wood, brass, or other universal accessories, your towels and washcloths can be virtually any color – or color combination – you’d like.
You don’t have to buy tons of towels and washcloths at once either. In fact, you can start with just one or two of each to use for display on your pretty, coordinated towel rack. You’re going for a decorating theme here, so making things pretty is a large part of the goal. If you’re able to buy multiple towels – or even entire sets at once, this will make you feel as if your new decorating theme is more complete. But it’s not required to start with, just buy enough to put on display if you’re short on money.
Also: Don’t forget the hand towels. These add a bit of polish and upscale elegance to any bathroom, particularly when they’re on display.
3. Put some potpourri or fake flowers around. These small touches are easy and inexpensive, but they really give your bathroom a more professionally decorated look. Pile a bit of potpourri into an extra soap dish that matches or compliments your other accessories, or lay flowers and greenery on a shelf beside a fluffy stack of towels. You can even weave greenery around various bottles that are on display in your bathroom, or around containers holding cotton balls and swabs too.
4. Put in a small area or throw rug. Even a tiny bathroom can use a rug… they’re almost always functional, and they can be quite pretty too. It’s a good idea to make sure the rug you choose is made of absorbent materials… particularly if you plan to place it in front of the bathtub or shower. If your bathroom is large enough, consider putting down several rugs. I personally prefer to have one in front of the toilet because the floor is cold, and one in front of the tub and shower too. You can also simply put the rug in the middle of the room as an accent piece.
When choosing rugs for your bathroom, be sure they match or compliment the color scheme somehow. If you’re primary color in the bathroom is sky blue but you have small amounts of midnight blue mixed into other things, it’s ok to choose a midnight blue rug. It’s even ok to choose a cream colored rug even if nothing else in your bathroom is cream colored – just make sure there’s a small amount of the sky or midnight blue in the rug and it’ll tie into the decorating theme almost automatically.
