Build Bath & Shower

INDIANAPOLIS , July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Would it surprise you to know that one in five adults leaves the washroom without washing their hands? The busiest room in the house may also be the least efficient, according to a recent study conducted by Delta Faucet(1). The popular faucet brand recently teamed up with Savvy Mommy® Victoria Pericon to launch a nationwide survey to uncover Americans ' bathroom behaviors . According to the survey, nearly 75 percent of households have at most two bathrooms, which each person uses more than 5-10 times each day. Recent U.S. Census data shows the average American household has 2.6 residents, meaning those rooms are visited 13-26 times daily. Suffice it to say, the bathroom is one of the most frequented places in the whole house. "People forget that the bathroom is an integral part of their at-home experience," said family lifestyle expert Savvy Mommy® Victoria Pericon . "Whether it serves as a private sanctuary for mom,...

Older homes often lack bathroom exhaust fans . In the old days, if the bathroom was smelly or steamy, you were supposed to open a window to air it out. This isn’t a very logical ventilation method , especially when temperatures are below zero, or when the weather is 90°F and humid. Yet this time-honored method of bathroom ventilation is still enshrined in our building codes. According to the 2009 International Residential Code (sections R303.3 and M1507.3), a bathroom with an operable window does not need to have a bath exhaust fan . Why do we need exhaust fans? In spite of the code’s archaic loophole, builders should install an exhaust fan in every bathroom or toilet room — even when the bathroom has a window. A bath exhaust fan can perform several functions: It can exhaust smelly air , allowing fresher air to enter the bathroom. It can exhaust humid air , allowing dryer air to enter the bathroom. When operated for 24 hours per day or when controlled by a timer, it can act (in so...

Ted Marules' new bathroom is neither subtle nor cheap. "We had visions of grandeur," he says of the $20,000 renovation to his Houston-area home. "We planned to have some wonderful moments in there." Marules and his wife sprung for all the frills: special- order Spanish tile , marble floors, gold faucets and the Texas- sized whirlpool bathtub . "We got some really nice, fancy stuff, and we spent the damned money for it," says the 53-year-old accident reconstruction expert . "Looks like a Roman whorehouse, but it's beautiful." The centerpiece of Marules' marble palace is the hourglass tub, a 10- jet Jacuzzi mounted like an acrylic altar at one end of the room. It set him back $1,897.70. In its promotional materials, Jacuzzi says the tub Marules bought , the Real model, "surrounds the bather in sumptuous curves for an exceptional bathing experience ." Through the Magic Touch controls and PowerPro jet system , it promises ...