AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO BUYING BATHROOM PRODUCTS
Tips and advice for buying your bathroom equipment:
Your bathroom is probably the most intimate room in your home. Many people invest too much in renovating their bathroom, believing that the expression of their personality video Gegensprechanlage can be found in the bathroom design. When your guests use your bathroom, they take the time to look around and examine the style and accessories that decorate the bathroom. Her richness and style are reflected in the perfection of the work and the material used.
Below are some tips and advice when you are considering buying bathroom amenities or adding accessories.
CERAMIC:
- Also known as sanitary ware, ceramics, porcelain and tableware.
- There are four basic areas that affect the quality of ceramics and their expected lifespan:
- The depth of the glaze:
- The glaze is the glass-like surface coating that is fired onto the ceramic in the kiln during manufacture.
- The glass makes the pot waterproof and protects it from chemicals like bleach etc throughout its life.
- The thicker the glaze, the longer the lifespan. Once this glaze wears off, the pot becomes porous, absorbs water and eventually cracks.
- The more you use and clean the pottery, the faster the glaze will wear off.
- To make the glaze thicker, you need to apply it layer by layer, firing in the kiln each time. This process leads to cracks inside the furnace.
- For example, if I fire 100 pot pieces once, I might get 99 back in one piece, so the 99 pays off for the 100.
- Then if I fire the 99 again, I might get back 80 in a row, so now I have to pay 80 for 100.
- Then if I fire the 80 I might only get back 50 in one piece so now have to pay 50 for 100. You have now understood the essentials.
- If you assume that each layer of glaze lasts about 5 to 7 years, you can quickly see how the system works.
- Glazing once gives you a less expensive manufacturing cost, but the product doesn’t last as long in a home. The thicker the glaze, the longer the pottery will last.
Sound quality:
- The quality of the clay used to make the pottery is very important.
The reason for this is that the finer the clay, the smoother the finish will be on the item being made. - If you use an inferior clay, it will contain more grain and the surface will look more wavy.
- You may also find that due to the increased grain content, the pottery is heavier than an item of the same size made from a finer quality of clay.
The finer the clay, the more tons of raw clay you have to use to refine it. - It is therefore cheaper to produce pottery with a coarse clay quality.
The overspray or paint:
- The white paint, or whatever color it may be, is applied to the pottery before glazing.
- Each manufacturer mixes their own paint to match the color of the acrylic tubs.
- The white color of the acrylic tub is a worldwide standard of acrylic manufacturers.
- You need to be aware of this when your client is trying to mix and match ceramics from different manufacturers.
- It’s usually acceptable to have a toilet and sink from one supplier to match the bath, but if you put a sink
from one supplier and a toilet from another and then the bath together, it will stand out like a thumb. - The thicker the paint is applied, the less fading will occur around the edges and the color will be even throughout the item.
- As with glaze, the paint is applied in layers and then has to harden before the next layer can be applied.
- The fewer layers, the faster the product can be made and the lower the cost.
The design of the item:
The more complicated the design, the more expensive the mold is to make and the greater the likelihood that you won’t always be able to remove it from the mold without damaging it.
Simpler forms are usually cheaper. Please also note that washbasins, toilets and bidets are manufactured as coordinated sets.
You will often find that the foot of the pedestal on the sink fits the foot of the toilet bowl and the back of the sink fits the toilet cistern lid.
A general note is that pottery is often sold in what is known as a four-piece set.
This is a basin, plinth, pan and cistern. Unfortunately, the retail video Gegensprechanlage customer sees the set as two parts: the sink and the toilet.
When you use the term “four-piece set” to a retail customer, they may think you mean a sink, toilet, bath and bidet.
So always explain what you mean by four pieces if you should use the term.
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