Bathrooms

Q: I love the look of marble bathrooms in hotels, but how can I maintain a marble bathroom if the material is porous?

A : We love the luxury of marble bathrooms, too, but marble is a porous stone and absorbs stains easily. If used in the wet area of a bathroom, soap, shampoo and other impurities can accumulate on the surface and make it even more slippery. “Most marble used in hotel bathrooms are treated with impregnators, but they will still have a certain lifespan. Impregnation only delays the effect of staining, and does not make the marble stain-proof,” says Terry Tan of tile company Rice. This means that any liquid left on the marble surface for more than an hour would still stain it. Bacteria might also build up beneath the stone surface.

Maintain marble surfaces by cleaning off any soap residue and wiping wet spots after a shower. A well-ventilated area will ensure that the marble surfaces dry quickly as well. If there is no window in your bathroom, you can install a mechanical ventilator. To enjoy a marble look without the required maintenance, Terry suggests using quality porcelain stoneware tiles that use digital inkjet technology to make it resemble the natural material. He adds: “Some leading Italian tile manufacturers even offer antibacterial tiles by partnering with Microban.” Microban is a global firm specialising in antibacterial technology. Such tiles might even be cheaper than using marble, too, says Terry.

Q: My master bathroom window is slit -like and set high in the wall, so hardly any light enters. Besides white tiles and sanitary ware, how else can I brighten up the dim space?

A : An all-white bathroom is the right way to start. But besides selecting white tiles for the floors, walls and vanity, think about multiplying whatever light comes in by reflecting it around the room several times. Use plenty of gleaming, reflective materials. Let the sunlight bounce off polished, stainless steel fittings and wall-to-wall mirrors. Splash out on classy, pearlised or glass mosaics to turn your shower area into a glimmering spa-like space. Instead of the usual white laminate for your cabinets, consider metallic “steel” laminates that are slightly reflective and offer a more luxe feel. Good functional lighting is also important to make a dim space feel cheerful. The minimum is a pair of spotlights or wall lights at the vanity-sink area, and a downlight in front of the WC. Use clear glass for panel dividers and the shower screen so the small space won’t feel cut up. The overall ambience will be sparkling and unusual.

Q: The report of the glass door of a shower cubicle that shattered and killed the homeowner, who fell on it, has me worried. How can I prevent this from happening?

A : This unfortunate incident has hopefully raised awareness of the importance of using the right materials in your home, especially when it involves the safety of family members. Untreated or annealed glass will break into large shards that can cut and even impale, causing death in some cases. This is not recommended for bathrooms, and should only be used in other parts of the home, such as for glass cabinet doors. They can also be used within aluminium frames. Tempered glass is glass that has undergone a highheat process, so that it crumbles into tiny pieces with no sharp edges when broken. Alex Kwan from Museum Homes says that this is the best option for bathrooms. For greater durability, he recommends using 12mm-thick tempered glass panels, instead of the standard 8mm ones. However, the price of the thicker glass is 40 per cent more than the former. “Tempered glass has a high tolerance to impact, but if the impact is at the corners, it might shatter. For bathrooms, the right way to mount glass panels for an L-shaped shower cubicle is to set the glass into an aluminium U-channel on the floor and wall, and secure it with silicone. There is a layer of rubber insulation between the aluminium and glass, but that should be kept to a minimum to reduce friction,” says Alex. Tempered glass may cost about 50 per cent more than regular untreated glass, but peace of mind is priceless. To check that you’re getting what you pay for, look for the manufacturer’s mark on tempered glass. 

Q: I want to conceal the exposed pipes in my HDB bathroom to make the space look cleaner and more hotel -like. How can I do so without flouting the HDB rules?

A : We all dream of that streamlined hotel-style bathroom, and you can definitely achieve such a look in your HDB property. While hacking into the wall to hide the pipes within is against the rules, using a false wall to conceal the plumbing is fine. Seamless surfaces also mean your bathroom is easier to clean. Designer Arjan Twilhaar of Aiden T. makes it a point to conceal all the water pipes in the bathrooms of his HDB projects. “We usually expose all the water pipes before concealing them with a calcium silicate board, which we then overlay with tiles. It is important that the contractor uses this type of board as it is waterproof; gypsum boards won’t hold up in a wet area. Then, we seal up the entire length of the shower stall to cover any pipes, before installing either a rainshower from the ceiling or from the wall.”

Q: I know the rules concerning HDB bathroom renovations are quite restrictive, so I can ’t just switch the location of my bathroom. What can I do and not do?

A : You won’t be able to move our bathroom from its original location because that means diverting your water supply from the original pipes provided by the Housing Board. Doing which might lead to water leakage, which could affect the unit below. What you can do the “increase” the bathroom’s size is to bring out the washbasin up to 60cm out from the original footprint of the bathroom, says Patrick Lai of Meter Square. You can also take down the connecting wall between two bathrooms if they are adjoining spaces, subject to the HDB’s approval. If you are renovating a new flat, you can only overlay new tiles over the existing bathroom wall and floor tiles, as waterproofing has already been done. However, three years later, you’ll be able to hack off the old tiles and replace them. Take note that only ready-made fiberglass tube are allowed to be installed in HDB flats. You can’t construct a water tank out of concrete as that might lead to loading issues.