Carrying Out Building Work Around Your Home

Waterproofing a bathroom involves adding special barriers and boards over the subfloor and wall studs to keep the room free of dampness and humidity. This is a good choice for any home, as even a strong fan or an open window is often not enough to quickly remove steam from a shower and remove the water droplets that make their way from a shower to the rest of the room! If you've never thought about waterproofing a bathroom, note a few reasons why this can be the right choice for your home.

Insulation

The barriers and boards added to a bathroom for waterproofing also add insulation to the space. This is an important consideration, as many bathrooms are constructed along an outer wall so that windows can be added and ventilation fans can easily reach the home's exterior. However, this also means that bathrooms are exposed to outside heat and cold. When you take a hot shower during summertime, this can raise the temperature in that room significantly, causing the air conditioner to run more than it would otherwise. The tile in a bathroom may also hold cold during wintertime, causing the furnace to engage more often. However, by waterproofing the space, you help to insulate the room and keep out that exterior heat or cold, potentially saving money on your utility bills.

Infestation

You may know that pests are attracted to a food source in your home, but you may not realize that they follow sources of water as well! If your bathroom is not waterproofed, any condensation that builds up behind the walls or under the floors can then attract a variety of insects and rodents. Not only are these pests very unhygienic for your family, but they can also cause damage to the home itself, chewing on wires, insulation, wall studs and other such materials. Waterproofing a bathroom reduces the potential for water to collect in the home, also reducing the risk of pest infestation.

Maintenance

When a home has lots of moisture behind the walls, under the floors or trapped inside any bathroom, this can allow the growth of mould and mildew, softening of the wood and resultant cracks and chips in studs and joists, peeling paint and loosened floor tiles. Repairing all these issues can become very costly over time. By investing in bathroom waterproofing, you reduce the risk of this damage and help keep your home in good repair throughout the years.