Sterling Shower Door

A first look at all of the parts and pieces that comprise a garage door can understandably intimidate you. The huge chunks of pieces of metal tracks, hinges, rollers, springs, cables, handles, struts, door panels and a heap of nuts, bolts and screws are enough to overwhelm even a hardened mechanic. We all know that the garage door is the biggest piece of equipment found in the average home. So a degree of apprehension is unavoidable when you first embark on a home improvement project involving installation of garage doors.

To help you deal with the job of regular assembling your garage doors, some eminent garage-door manufacturing companies have started to market user-friendly door kits. These come with easy to comprehend instructions. If you go through the instruction manual thoroughly and make an effort to understand the entire procedure before actually starting the work, it will be easier for you to complete the task successfully. Get yourself familiarized with all the terms; learn to recognize all the parts and the hardware, and your job will become simpler to execute.

However, one word of caution – do hire professional help for removing an existing garage door. The powerful springs that control the maneuverings of the door are under a lot of tension when the door is closed and can cause serious injuries. You must not even attempt to cut the cables attached with the spring or the spring itself on your own.

After the old door is removed, you would need to scrutinize the wood framing around the garage door opening. Ensure whether there exists any wood rot. The door track needs to be fastened with bolts to a solid framework. So any rotten wood should be promptly replaced.

Smooth operation of the door requires the tracks to be level and parallel. All the sections of the garage door are stacked over the first one. The first section of the garage door must be faultlessly level. If the new door is made of wood, cut the excess wood and sand the bottom of the door so it matches the slope of the garage floor.

Always make sure that you use permitted and standardized hardware provided by the garage door manufacturer. The bottom brackets that fix to the bottom corners of the first section must be firmly secured to the door. However, over-tightening might strip the bolts. Do bear in mind that the cables that hoist the door are connected to these brackets. The brackets are put through enormous lifting forces. Hence this can tear away from the door be hurled like missiles if not fastened properly.

The weight of a garage door, amassed with all the hardware components can easily reach 400 pounds or more. Hence, it is vital to make certain that the overhead track is strongly supported and in faultless configuration. Otherwise, when the door begins to go up the track may fall or the door may come out of the track and fall, causing critical injuries.

Installing a Shower Pan Membrane Liner for a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower

Installing a custom ceramic tile shower in your home is something a do it yourself homeowner can do with a little upfront knowledge. The most important aspect of a successful custom ceramic tile shower installation is properly installing a shower pan membrane liner. The shower pan membrane liner is used to ensure a leak-proof shower.

Shower pan membrane liners are used to funnel any water that seeps through the floor or wall grout to the shower drain below. The shower pan membrane liner is made up of a flexible type of plastic material that sits below a bed of mortar, and the tile, in the shower floor area.

Prior to installing the shower pan membrane liner, the floor of the shower needs to be pre-sloped to ensure that the water will flow towards the shower drain assembly. The pre-slope is accomplished by applying a layer of mortar to the floor of the shower unit area. The layer of mortar is troweled in such as way as to create a gentle slope from the shower wall edges to the center of the shower where the drain resides.

Once the pre-slope mortar has cured, the flexible shower pan membrane liner can then be installed. There are a couple of types of shower pan membrane liners on the market, with each having their own benefits. With either type of membrane, the homeowner needs to form and fold the material into the base of the shower area and secure it to the sides of the shower wall frame with staples and/or nails. In addition, an opening in the membrane should be cut out to allow the adjustable shower drain assembly to slip through.

With the shower pan membrane installed, the cementitious ceramic tile backerboard can then be secured to the framed shower walls. The backerboard is a rigid material that is ideal for attaching tile in wet areas such as a shower stall.

After installing the ceramic tile backerboard, a final coat of mortar needs to be applied on top of the membrane to protect it and to provide a solid base for laying the ceramic floor tile.

With the final coat of mortar cured, the ceramic tile can then be installed in the shower.

Once the tile and grout have been installed, the shower drain assembly should be adjusted so that the drain height sits flush with the finished ceramic tile floor.

For more information on installing a shower pan membrane liner, see the Shower Pan Membrane Liner Installation EBook from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Shower Pan Membrane Liner EBook will quickly teach you the step-by-step process for installing the shower pan membrane liner correctly. It includes instructions on framing the shower stall, pouring the pre-slope and shower base mortar, and installing the shower pan membrane liner.