Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 07:07:04 -0700 (PDT), Ivan Vegvary
wrote:

Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.


HD or Lowe's, in the past, have had remnants in small rolls just for
this purpose. A carpet store may have them also.

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.


Sometimes you can find some end of the roll pices that are much cheaper than
buying just some off the roll. A while back I needed about as much as you
do. It was about $ 300 for that, but I found some end of roll pieces that
was less than $ 100 for enough to do the job.

Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive
(have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges
start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Home Depot and Lowes sell 6' x 9' sheet vinyl in case that helps. But then
you have the install issue. It is hard to get the cuts right. If it is new
construction, and you can do the floor before putting in the fixtures and
door, that can make it a lot easier.

Or, you could do vinyl tiles as you suggested. I don't think it will be any
particular problem with curling etc.

Or, even better, since it is a concrete floor and a basement bathroom, would
be to do ceramic tile. You would have to know how to do that work, cut the
tiles, etc., but I think that would be the best option. If you are a little
adventurous, you could learn how to do it on http://YouTube.com etc. It
would probably pay to have someone else do the installation if you aren't up
to trying it yourself.

Good luck.

On 09/01/2013 10:07 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary


TrafficMaster Allure is the easiest flooring I've ever installed...
and since it's not glued down, it will be an easy floor to replace.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...0053&langId=-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZpiieM-gSs

"TomR" wrote in message news:kvvm6u$8sb$1@dont-
Home Depot and Lowes sell 6' x 9' sheet vinyl in case that helps. But then
you have the install issue. It is hard to get the cuts right. If it is
new construction, and you can do the floor before putting in the fixtures
and door, that can make it a lot easier.


One easy way to make sure you get the cuts right on a small area is to use
some paper. You can get a roll that is made to be a painters drop cloth.
tape 2 to 3 pieces of it together to get what you need to cover the floor.
Cut the paper to fit the room and then use it as a template to cut the
vinyl.

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 07:07:04 -0700 (PDT), Ivan Vegvary
wrote:

Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary


Ceramic tile. Will outlast you and done right, will be trouble free,
easy to clean.

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 11:57:58 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"TomR" wrote in message news:kvvm6u$8sb$1@dont-
Home Depot and Lowes sell 6' x 9' sheet vinyl in case that helps. But then
you have the install issue. It is hard to get the cuts right. If it is
new construction, and you can do the floor before putting in the fixtures
and door, that can make it a lot easier.


One easy way to make sure you get the cuts right on a small area is to use
some paper. You can get a roll that is made to be a painters drop cloth.
tape 2 to 3 pieces of it together to get what you need to cover the floor.
Cut the paper to fit the room and then use it as a template to cut the
vinyl.


....in addition, keep in mind that the vinyl will have a pattern of 2
or 3 ft. on center. Ensure the vinyl is cut so the pattern is
straight and does not run off in one direction or another.

Just sayin'.

On 9/1/2013 9:07 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary

Another thing to keep in mind with sheet vinyl is trapping moisture
coming thru the concrete and allowing mold/mildew to grow under vinyl.
Just sayin' and another thing to throw into the mental gymnastics.

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:42:30 -0500, NamPhong
wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind with sheet vinyl is trapping moisture
coming thru the concrete and allowing mold/mildew to grow under vinyl.
Just sayin' and another thing to throw into the mental gymnastics.

Think _"RedGard Sealer"_. Rolled on, even used before setting tile on
walls in showers... elastomeric waterproofing membrane

"RedGard® is a liquid-applied elastomeric waterproofing material that
cures to form a monolithic membrane"

http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/surface-preparation/membranes-underlayments/redgard.aspx

On Sunday, September 1, 2013 7:07:04 AM UTC-7, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.



Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.



Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.



Which is best



Thanks,



Ivan Vegvary

If you don’t want to install ceramic tile then go with sheet vinyl but I recommend that you:
1. Take out the toilet first.
2. Get some thick paper and cut out a pattern.
3. Use commercial vinyl which is five times thicker.
4. Caulk around the edges when you’re done.

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:42:30 -0500, NamPhong
wrote:




Another thing to keep in mind with sheet vinyl is trapping moisture
coming thru the concrete and allowing mold/mildew to grow under vinyl.
Just sayin' and another thing to throw into the mental gymnastics.

Take a sheet of plastic a couple feet square. Tape it down to the
floor and seal on all four sides. Check back in a few days to see if
it is dry under the plastic.

Ivan:

I agree with recyclebin. If you take out the toilet, sheet vinyl is the easiest flooring to install except for painting the floor.

After you take the toilet out, remove all the old flooring down to the underlayment.

1. Plug the toilet drain pipe with a 7-11 Big Gulp cup to prevent sewer gasses coming up the toilet drain pipe and smelling up the bathroom.

2. Buy $1 per roll wall paper at any paint or wallpaper store.

3. Make a pattern of your bathroom floor out of wallpaper. You will probably need to use a compass to scribe the contour of the tub onto a piece of wallpaper.

4. Buy a SIX FOOT WIDE piece of sheet vinyl or linoleum (like Congoleum or Marmoleum)

5. Put the wallpaper pattern on top of the sheet vinyl or linoleum and trace the pattern with a felt pen.

6. Cut out the pattern on the sheet vinyl or linoleum.

7. Loose lay the flooring in your bathroom and do any final trimming to improve the fit.

8. Put something really quite heavy, like a spouse, on one side of the flooring to hold it securely in place, and fold back the other half of the flooring.

9. Spread your flooring adhesive on the exposed side of the floor, wait the recommended time for it to get tacky, and then spread the flooring into the tacky adhesive. Press down with your hands or a rolling pin.

10. Remove the weight and do an encore performance on the other side of the flooring.

11. Reinstall your baseboards, and caulk along the tub and around the floor flange.

12. Reinstall the toilet.

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 07:07:04 -0700 (PDT), Ivan Vegvary
wrote:

Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary

They sell pattern kits. With a grid printed on the paper. You trim
that to fit the floor and then copy the shape to the vinyl. I forget
what other parts the kit has, but I think the only thing you really
need is the paper. Maybe that is sold separately, or maybe any big
piece of paper, without a grid, would work.**

I have tile in what might be called the family room in the basement.
After many 1/8" "floods" in the laundry room, the water finally
reeached the family room once, and the tiles along the wall came
unglued. about 12 of them. When they dried they weren't even flat
anymore. So get extra tiles in case this happens.

OTOH, the toilet tank in the powder room off the front hall started
pouring out water when I was away for two hours, and the vinyl tile
glued to the plywood (or something) came unglued too, but I left it
alone, and even walked on it carefully, and after it dried, it all
seems stuck in place like it was before. Different pattern tile
maybe different kind, and stuck to plywood, not cement.

**Save your sheet scraps too, just in case.

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:39:53 -0400, devnull
wrote:

On 09/01/2013 10:07 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary


TrafficMaster Allure is the easiest flooring I've ever installed...
and since it's not glued down, it will be an easy floor to replace.

What keeps it down?

--
croy

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 11:57:58 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"TomR" wrote in message news:kvvm6u$8sb$1@dont-
Home Depot and Lowes sell 6' x 9' sheet vinyl in case that helps. But then
you have the install issue. It is hard to get the cuts right. If it is
new construction, and you can do the floor before putting in the fixtures
and door, that can make it a lot easier.


One easy way to make sure you get the cuts right on a small area is to use
some paper. You can get a roll that is made to be a painters drop cloth.

There may be two kinds of that. I had a paper painter's drop cloth,
and the texture was rough and would have been difficult to write on,
and there may have been two layers to the paper too, to make it
absorbant. IIRC, the top layer didn't rest directly on the bottom
layer so writing on it would have been doubly hard, would have been
like rolling out a pie crust.


tape 2 to 3 pieces of it together to get what you need to cover the floor.
Cut the paper to fit the room and then use it as a template to cut the
vinyl.

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 09:56:40 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:42:30 -0500, NamPhong
wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind with sheet vinyl is trapping moisture
coming thru the concrete and allowing mold/mildew to grow under vinyl.
Just sayin' and another thing to throw into the mental gymnastics.

Think _"RedGard Sealer"_. Rolled on, even used before setting tile on
walls in showers... elastomeric waterproofing membrane

"RedGard® is a liquid-applied elastomeric waterproofing material that
cures to form a monolithic membrane"

http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/surface-preparation/membranes-underlayments/redgard.aspx

And it will keep out the Communists, too.

People should be aware that many sheet vinyls come in 6 foot widths as well as 12 foot widths. You don't need to buy a 12 foot width of sheet vinyl to do a bathroom. Any flooring store will order it in a 6 foot width for you if it's available in a 6 foot width.

"micky" wrote in message
...
One easy way to make sure you get the cuts right on a small area is to
use
some paper. You can get a roll that is made to be a painters drop cloth.

There may be two kinds of that. I had a paper painter's drop cloth,
and the texture was rough and would have been difficult to write on,
and there may have been two layers to the paper too, to make it
absorbant. IIRC, the top layer didn't rest directly on the bottom
layer so writing on it would have been doubly hard, would have been
like rolling out a pie crust.


The one I was thinking of comes on a roll about 3 feet wide. YOu may have
totape 2 or 3 pieces together to get it as wide as the room. It is similar
to the old paper bags. There is no real need to mark on it. You take it in
the room and lay it on the floor and cut the paper to match the room. It
should be very easy to do if there is nothing in the room.. Then you take
the pape and lay it over the vinyl and cut the vinyal to match.
If careful , Christmas wrapping paper or anything like it could be used.

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 15:42:48 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"micky" wrote in message
.. .
One easy way to make sure you get the cuts right on a small area is to
use
some paper. You can get a roll that is made to be a painters drop cloth.

There may be two kinds of that. I had a paper painter's drop cloth,
and the texture was rough and would have been difficult to write on,
and there may have been two layers to the paper too, to make it
absorbant. IIRC, the top layer didn't rest directly on the bottom
layer so writing on it would have been doubly hard, would have been
like rolling out a pie crust.


The one I was thinking of comes on a roll about 3 feet wide.

You did say roll. I think mine was folded, like a sheet or blanket.
I should have said that. They could decide to roll my kind, so the
OP should look closely or poke open a hole in the wrapper and check.

YOu may have
totape 2 or 3 pieces together to get it as wide as the room. It is similar
to the old paper bags. There is no real need to mark on it. You take it in
the room and lay it on the floor and cut the paper to match the room. It
should be very easy to do if there is nothing in the room.. Then you take
the pape and lay it over the vinyl and cut the vinyal to match.
If careful , Christmas wrapping paper or anything like it could be used.

With a brand new home I would wait perhaps a year before installing any sort of floor covering to make certain the basement has no water problems.....

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

Your Truly
Hot-Text

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

**And two tiles at the base of the stairs which eventually got
damaged when I threw hard heavy things down the stairs and hit the
tiles.

***If you had said tile will get wet in a bathroom, I wouldnt' have
argued with you, but you say it's bad for the whole basement.


For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.


Your Truly
Hot-Text

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 07:07:04 -0700 (PDT), Ivan Vegvary
wrote:

Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

For a bathroom? No question; tile, ceramic style. It's not hard to
install (it's a lot of work but it's not difficult). It's the *only*
flooring for a bathroom.

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:28:29 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 09:56:40 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:42:30 -0500, NamPhong
wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind with sheet vinyl is trapping moisture
coming thru the concrete and allowing mold/mildew to grow under vinyl.
Just sayin' and another thing to throw into the mental gymnastics.

Think _"RedGard Sealer"_. Rolled on, even used before setting tile on
walls in showers... elastomeric waterproofing membrane

"RedGard® is a liquid-applied elastomeric waterproofing material that
cures to form a monolithic membrane"

http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/surface-preparation/membranes-underlayments/redgard.aspx

And it will keep out the Communists, too.

Does it work for newsgroups?

On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 19:52:11 +0200, nestork
wrote:


Ivan:

I agree with recyclebin. If you take out the toilet, sheet vinyl is the
easiest flooring to install except for painting the floor.

After you take the toilet out, remove all the old flooring down to the
underlayment.

"Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new
construction."

No old flooring to remove. No underlayment.

However, since it is a concrete slab, don't screw it up with vinyl.
Ceramic tile will be perfect for this application. It likely won't be
any more expensive than good vinyl and it'll last a lifetime.

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

That's "expensive" stuff. I've seen decent looking stuff at the BORG
for as little as $1/safe.

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

I have it in two bathrooms and the laundry (the other two baths are
ceramic - don't know why the builder did that). All three need to be
replaced (none are on a slab). The house is only six years old. Vinyl
is crap for bathrooms.

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!

**And two tiles at the base of the stairs which eventually got
damaged when I threw hard heavy things down the stairs and hit the
tiles.

Ceramic probably isn't appropriate here, either, but it's not the
bathroom, under discussion.

***If you had said tile will get wet in a bathroom, I wouldnt' have
argued with you, but you say it's bad for the whole basement.

I agree with him. For a finished basement floor, I'd probably not use
ceramic either but I certainly wouldn't use vinyl.

For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.

For a bathroom? No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone. If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:34:44 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.

Some would say that a slab has to rest near the surface and have the
entire house above it. But I gave Hot-Text the chance to agree that
from the pov of floor covering, that distinction doesn't matter. I'm
glad you don't think it matters either.

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!

Hot-text was making recomendations for the whole basement. I would
think you would have deleted this line after you read the footnote
below.

**And two tiles at the base of the stairs which eventually got
damaged when I threw hard heavy things down the stairs and hit the
tiles.

Ceramic probably isn't appropriate here, either, but it's not the
bathroom, under discussion.

***If you had said tile will get wet in a bathroom, I wouldnt' have
argued with you, but you say it's bad for the whole basement.

I agree with him. For a finished basement floor, I'd probably not use
ceramic either but I certainly wouldn't use vinyl.

For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.

For a bathroom?

Yes, for a bathroom.

No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone.

Give me a break. It's clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.

If his bare feet are cold, or he's taken a shower, that's what bath
rugs are for.

"micky" wrote in message Give me a break. It's
clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.



For me, I will never have the ceramic type of tile in a house again. I
guess that I was too lazey to reseal the tile, but could not seem to keep
the mold from forming in the spaces between the tile.Had to really stay
after it to keep the mold out. That floor had tiles about 1 inch square and
the tub/shower had about 4 inch tiles.

When I moved several years ago I remodled the bathroom. Had a good quality
of sheet goods put down on the floor and a shower installed that was made
out of the plastic stuff that passes for man made marble.

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:50:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:34:44 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.

Some would say that a slab has to rest near the surface and have the
entire house above it. But I gave Hot-Text the chance to agree that
from the pov of floor covering, that distinction doesn't matter. I'm
glad you don't think it matters either.

No, a "house built on a slab" indicates that there is no basement but
that doesn't change the fact that a basement floor is a "concrete
slab".

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!

Hot-text was making recomendations for the whole basement. I would
think you would have deleted this line after you read the footnote
below.

You just can't read. Try again.

"Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new
********
construction."

snip

For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.

For a bathroom?

Yes, for a bathroom.

Dumb. Really dumb.

No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone.

Give me a break. It's clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

Tile isn't at all expensive, particularly on a concrete floor and it
will last a *lot* longer.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.

Irrelevant. It can be put in the mud under the tile. It doesn't
change the issue, though. Vinyl is a *poor* choice for bathroom
floors. It isn't a good choice anywhere in the home, IMO.

If his bare feet are cold, or he's taken a shower, that's what bath
rugs are for.

That's my choice, too but other people have different opinions. Some
like warm tootsies.

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 15:31:59 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"micky" wrote in message Give me a break. It's
clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.



For me, I will never have the ceramic type of tile in a house again. I
guess that I was too lazey to reseal the tile, but could not seem to keep
the mold from forming in the spaces between the tile.Had to really stay
after it to keep the mold out. That floor had tiles about 1 inch square and
the tub/shower had about 4 inch tiles.

Fix the problem not the symptom. I haven't had a mildew problem in
the last three houses. The one before had problems with mildew on the
bathroom walls and ceiling but none on the tile or grout. Fix the
water problem and mildew is a thing of the past.

When I moved several years ago I remodled the bathroom. Had a good quality
of sheet goods put down on the floor and a shower installed that was made
out of the plastic stuff that passes for man made marble.

IOW, you installed a down-grade.

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 16:02:11 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:50:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:34:44 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.

Some would say that a slab has to rest near the surface and have the
entire house above it. But I gave Hot-Text the chance to agree that
from the pov of floor covering, that distinction doesn't matter. I'm
glad you don't think it matters either.

No, a "house built on a slab" indicates that there is no basement but
that doesn't change the fact that a basement floor is a "concrete
slab".

I know you agree with me. But thanks for agreeing again.

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!

Hot-text was making recomendations for the whole basement. I would
think you would have deleted this line after you read the footnote
below.

You just can't read. Try again.

"Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new
********
construction."

snip

For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.

For a bathroom?

Yes, for a bathroom.

Dumb. Really dumb.

This would bother me if I didn't know how you react to most people
here.

No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone.

Give me a break. It's clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

Tile isn't at all expensive, particularly on a concrete floor and it
will last a *lot* longer.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.

Irrelevant. It can be put in the mud under the tile. It doesn't
change the issue, though. Vinyl is a *poor* choice for bathroom
floors. It isn't a good choice anywhere in the home, IMO.

If his bare feet are cold, or he's taken a shower, that's what bath
rugs are for.

That's my choice, too but other people have different opinions. Some
like warm tootsies.

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 16:29:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 16:02:11 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:50:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:34:44 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.

Some would say that a slab has to rest near the surface and have the
entire house above it. But I gave Hot-Text the chance to agree that
from the pov of floor covering, that distinction doesn't matter. I'm
glad you don't think it matters either.

No, a "house built on a slab" indicates that there is no basement but
that doesn't change the fact that a basement floor is a "concrete
slab".

I know you agree with me. But thanks for agreeing again.

Once you get your head out of your ass, perhaps. However, it's not
evident that's happened yet.

As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all

The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.

You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!

Hot-text was making recomendations for the whole basement. I would
think you would have deleted this line after you read the footnote
below.

You just can't read. Try again.

"Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new
********
construction."

crickets

snip

For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.

For a bathroom?

Yes, for a bathroom.

Dumb. Really dumb.

This would bother me if I didn't know how you react to most people
here.

With a statement of fact? It *is* dumb. Perhaps it wasn't fifty
years ago but it certainly is today. Tile is cheap and the tools
don't cost a fortune. This is a udoit group.

No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone.

Give me a break. It's clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

Tile isn't at all expensive, particularly on a concrete floor and it
will last a *lot* longer.

crickets

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.

Irrelevant. It can be put in the mud under the tile. It doesn't
change the issue, though. Vinyl is a *poor* choice for bathroom
floors. It isn't a good choice anywhere in the home, IMO.

crickets

If his bare feet are cold, or he's taken a shower, that's what bath
rugs are for.

That's my choice, too but other people have different opinions. Some
like warm tootsies.

crickets

No, it's apparent your head hasn't moved.

I have 21 bathrooms, all of which have ceramic tile on the walls around the bathtub/shower, and I have less mildew in all 21 bathrooms put together than you'll find in most single family homes.

You minimize mildew problems primarily by minimizing the amount of grout you have. I like to use 6X8 tiles because they're the largest tile that you can comfortably hold in one hand, while you back butter it with thin set with the other hand. By using 6X8 tiles in the landscape orientation instead of the more usual portrait orientation, not only do you get a custom look to your tiling, but you also reduce the length of grout line you have to seal to 1/3 of what it would be if you'd use 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 inch tiles. So, when the time comes to re-seal the grout, the job takes two days instead of a week.

You should also be aware that no all grout sealers are equal. Most places will peddle silicone based grout sealers. The problem is that when you want to reseal your grout, nothing will stick to a silicone based grout sealer, not even more silicone based grout sealer. So if you use a silicone based grout sealer, you're limiting the life span of your tiling because you can't effectively re-seal the grout lines to add more protection without stripping off the old silicone based grout sealer first, and that's a lot of work. ACRYLIC grout sealers don't have that problem, and I've been using nothing but acrylic film forming grout sealers on all the bathroom tiling in my building since 1986. In fact, I'm going to be resealing a bathroom in an empty suite tomorrow. The last time that bathroom grout was sealed according to my records was 1998, or about 15 years ago.

The above paragraph applies to "film forming" grout sealers which simply form a clear plastic film over the grout. Penetrating sealers supposedly last longer, but my experience with them is that I got conflicting indictions as to whether the penetrating sealer was being absorbed properly when I tried to apply it, so I lost confidence in them. When it comes to having mildew growing rampant all over my bathroom tiling, I much prefer a simpler technology that I fully understand than a newer technology that I don't. That way, if there's a problem, I can solve it myself.

Mildew growth on your bathroom painted walls and ceilings is NOT usually a water problem. It's a paint problem. If you use a paint made specifically for use in bathrooms, it will have a powdered mildewcide added to it which gradually leeches out of the paint film fast enough to kill any mildew spores that land on the paint but slow enough to keep the paint mildew-free for a long time. Zinssers guarantees their PermaWhite Bathroom paint will keep your painted bathroom walls free of mildew for 5 years, but if it only lasts that long, you got a defective can of paint, or you shot yourself in the foot by putting on only a single coat. If I've taken the trouble to mask off my tiling, my door frame, my toilet paper dispenser and my light fixture, then I'm gonna put 3 or 4 coats of bathroom paint on to ensure I have a HUGE reservoir of mildewcide on that wall which will gradually leech out, giving me 15 to 20 years of mildew free; not just 5. After all, once all the masking tape is on, how much work is it to put on another coat or three if you do all your corners with a 3 inch roller and the walls and ceilings in that tiny room with a 10 inch roller. Hint: Getting the bathroom ready for the first coat takes a full day of removing towel rods and taping off what you can't remove from the walls and ceilings. Putting on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th coats and removing all that masking tape can be done the following day.

"Man made marble" is called "Corian" if it's made by DuPont, and other trade names depending on who made the stuff. It's actually a thick slab of Plexiglas to which natural clays have been added during manufacture to give it a "marbled" appearance. So, man made marble is really just adulterated Plexiglas. Never use nail polish remover at a Corian bathroom counter top. That's because nail polish remover is acetone, and Plexiglas is polymethyl methacrylate. Acetone dissolves polymethyl methacrylate. The good thing is that polymethyl methacrylate is a soft enough plastic that you can polish damage out of it much more easily than you could with a granite counter top.

"micky" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:34:44 -0400, wrote:
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:16:04 -0400, micky
wrote:
On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 00:02:19 -0600, "Hot-Text"
wrote:
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.
Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive
(have
to buy the full 12 foot width.
Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges
start
to curl up, etc.
Which is best
Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary
Ceramic Tile is $3.50
and the only way to go on a concrete slab in a basement

You way overstate the situation. I don't have a cement slab, but I
have a cement floor in the basement. Same thing as a slab from the
pov of floor covering, right?

He only "overstates" it because there is no need to spend $3.50/sf. It
can be done for less (or more). A "cement" (it's not "cement", rather
"concrete") floor *is* a concrete slab.


if it was my basement bathroom
I would go with natural stone
it would look good on that
cold slab of concrete


Some would say that a slab has to rest near the surface and have the
entire house above it. But I gave Hot-Text the chance to agree that
from the pov of floor covering, that distinction doesn't matter. I'm
glad you don't think it matters either.


But it matter
A slab can be 1'x 1' x 1"
it call a 1' slab
be it above the house or
below the house it will always be
a 1' concrete slab
true

But where the surface of
the concrete slab is always matter

Would you put vinyl Sheet or vinyl Tile
on a surface of the concrete slab
above the house
You know we call it
the Roof

Now a basement bathroom
is below the house
not in the house

Now I know you not doing
to roof the basement floor

is it matter and always will



As for vinyl Sheet or Tile
these edges will start to curl up in no time at all
The vinyl tile in the den/club-room is 34 years old and in perfect
condition except for the ones along the edge near the laundry room,
which got wet** *** When they were 24 years old, they were in
perfect condition too.
You somehow think a bathroom floor won't get wet? Sheesh!
Hot-text was making recomendations for the whole basement. I would
think you would have deleted this line after you read the footnote
below.

Yes the whole basement
Not the whole house
Quality control

the den/club-room is in the house and above ground "right"
Not in same Environment as a basement or roof


**And two tiles at the base of the stairs which eventually got
damaged when I threw hard heavy things down the stairs and hit the
tiles.
Ceramic probably isn't appropriate here, either, but it's not the
bathroom, under discussion.
***If you had said tile will get wet in a bathroom, I wouldnt' have
argued with you, but you say it's bad for the whole basement.
I agree with him. For a finished basement floor, I'd probably not use
ceramic either but I certainly wouldn't use vinyl.
For vinyl sheet, one can either use quarter round to keep the edges
from curling up, or use adhesive near the edges, or conceivably for
all I know, nothing is necesssary.
For a bathroom?

Yes, for a bathroom.

No, it should be some sort of ceramic or maybe
natural stone.

Give me a break. It's clear the guy doesn't want to spend much money
or put in much work. Some of the folks here are always recommending
things that cost much more than others want to spend.

If it's in a cold climate and the bathroom is used as
a full bath (the tub or shower is really used), perhaps some heat in
the floor, too.

Thje floor is in place already. The last thing this guy is going to
do is tear it up to put in heat. And again you're spending time and
money he doesn't want to spend.


it's ok he spending time
and money in about two year
to tear it up and put new floor

For Quality control all surfaces



If his bare feet are cold, or he's taken a shower, that's what bath
rugs are for.

On 9/1/2013 10:07 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Small basement bathroom (5' x 8') on concrete slab, new construction.

Sheet vinyl = no seams, harder to install (for me), more expensive (have to buy the full 12 foot width.

Tile = easy install, but seams. After many years will these edges start to curl up, etc.

Which is best

Thanks,

Ivan Vegvary


IMO, sheet vinyl is, by far, easiest to install. I have never seen
vinyl tiles that looked good, and those with pre-applied adhesive stick
once they touch the floor. I seemed to recall that sheet came in 6'
widths, so did a google search. Lowes here sells it, not very
expensive. If sheet is difficult to install, then you probably don't
want to consider ceramic, which would be a great choice. Gotta make sure
the concrete is without lumps or ridges.

clipped

Mildew growth on your bathroom painted walls and ceilings is NOT usually
a water problem. It's a paint problem. If you use a paint made
specifically for use in bathrooms, it will have a powdered mildewcide
added to it which gradually leeches out of the paint film fast enough to
kill any mildew spores that land on the paint but slow enough to keep
the paint mildew-free for a long time. Zinssers guarantees their
PermaWhite Bathroom paint will keep your painted bathroom walls free of
mildew for 5 years, but if it only lasts that long, you got a defective
can of paint, or you shot yourself in the foot by putting on only a
single coat. If I've taken the trouble to mask off my tiling, my door
frame, my toilet paper dispenser and my light fixture, then I'm gonna
put 3 or 4 coats of bathroom paint on to ensure I have a HUGE reservoir
of mildewcide on that wall which will gradually leech out, giving me 15
to 20 years of mildew free; not just 5. After all, once all the masking
tape is on, how much work is it to put on another coat or three if you
do all your corners with a 3 inch roller and the walls and ceilings in
that tiny room with a 10 inch roller. Hint: Getting the bathroom ready
for the first coat takes a full day of removing towel rods and taping
off what you can't remove from the walls and ceilings. Putting on the
1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th coats and removing all that masking tape can be
done the following day.

I've never used "bathroom" paint, only alkyd semi for
baths/kitchens/doors/trim. We had a very mildewy shower stall until we
put a timer on the exhaust fan. Previously, it operated on/off, and if
we left it on, we would forget to go back to turn it off. At the same
time, we had some pin-hole defects in the 35 y/o grout (neighbors in our
condo, all with same tile jobs, had major wall damage due to
deteriorated grout) so I regrouted the 1x2" grout. Don't remember what
sealer I used. Made a point to leave the shower curtain open on both
ends, and spread out loosely, which allows better ventilation.

I'm not arguing with your method, but my logic tells me that mildew is
far less likely to grow on a smooth, dry surface. Alkyd is pretty
impermeable, so a bleach wash/rinse prior to painting is good insurance
to not paint OVER mildew.....it is the universal method of painting
exteriors in Florida where mildew grows in about 5 min. without direct
sunlight.

Four coats? If two don't do the job, two more won't help at all.

"Man made marble" is called "Corian" if it's made by DuPont, and other
trade names depending on who made the stuff. It's actually a thick slab
of Plexiglas to which natural clays have been added during manufacture
to give it a "marbled" appearance. So, man made marble is really just
adulterated Plexiglas. Never use nail polish remover at a Corian
bathroom counter top. That's because nail polish remover is acetone,
and Plexiglas is polymethyl methacrylate. Acetone dissolves polymethyl
methacrylate. The good thing is that polymethyl methacrylate is a soft
enough plastic that you can polish damage out of it much more easily
than you could with a granite counter top.

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 10:22:46 +0200, nestork
wrote:

Penetrating sealers
supposedly last longer, but my experience with them is that I got
conflicting indictions as to whether the penetrating sealer was being
absorbed properly when I tried to apply it, so I lost confidence in
them.

I used a penetrating sealer on grout in my house. I was skeptical,
too. A few days later, my wife's friend was helping her paint some
wall accents. Sure enough, she spilled a partial container of _RED_
paint that landed in the grout line. I cleaned it up with water and a
cloth. It came out and to this day, I cannot tell where it happened.
YMMV

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 10:22:46 +0200, nestork
wrote:



For me, I will never have the ceramic type of tile in a house again. I
guess that I was too lazey to reseal the tile, but could not seem to
keep
the mold from forming in the spaces between the tile.Had to really stay

after it to keep the mold out. That floor had tiles about 1 inch square
and
the tub/shower had about 4 inch tiles.

Fix the problem not the symptom. I haven't had a mildew problem in
the last three houses. The one before had problems with mildew on the
bathroom walls and ceiling but none on the tile or grout. Fix the
water problem and mildew is a thing of the past.

When I moved several years ago I remodled the bathroom. Had a good
quality of sheet goods put down on the floor and a shower installed that
was made out of the plastic stuff that passes for man made marble.


I have 21 bathrooms, all of which have ceramic tile on the walls around
the bathtub/shower, and I have less mildew in all 21 bathrooms put
together than you'll find in most single family homes.

I've had none in two decades. It's a ventilation or insulation
problem. If those two are done correctly, no mildew. There is no fan
in the main part of the bathroom in my other house and I never use it
in this one. No mildew.

You minimize mildew problems primarily by minimizing the amount of grout
you have. I like to use 6X8 tiles because they're the largest tile that
you can comfortably hold in one hand, while you back butter it with thin
set with the other hand. By using 6X8 tiles in the landscape
orientation instead of the more usual portrait orientation, not only do
you get a custom look to your tiling, but you also reduce the length of
grout line you have to seal to 1/3 of what it would be if you'd use 4
1/4 by 4 1/4 inch tiles. So, when the time comes to re-seal the grout,
the job takes two days instead of a week.

No, you minimize it by making sure the walls/ceiling don't stay wet.
High gloss surfaces help (tile is about as mildew resistant as it gets
- unfortunately, grout isn't so good).

Tile is done for aesthetics. ISTM that 6x8 landscape will look odd. Is
"Subway tile" 2:3 or 1:2? I prefer larger tile (12x12 or even 18x18)
but the room has to be big enough to handle it.

Back-butter? Whatever for?

You should also be aware that no all grout sealers are equal. Most
places will peddle silicone based grout sealers. The problem is that
when you want to reseal your grout, nothing will stick to a silicone
based grout sealer, not even more silicone based grout sealer. So if
you use a silicone based grout sealer, you're limiting the life span of
your tiling because you can't effectively re-seal the grout lines to add
more protection without stripping off the old silicone based grout
sealer first, and that's a lot of work. ACRYLIC grout sealers don't
have that problem, and I've been using nothing but acrylic film forming
grout sealers on all the bathroom tiling in my building since 1986. In
fact, I'm going to be resealing a bathroom in an empty suite tomorrow.
The last time that bathroom grout was sealed according to my records was
1998, or about 15 years ago.

If there is sealer there, why would you want to add more? If there
are holes in it, then it'll take more sealer.

The above paragraph applies to "film forming" grout sealers which simply
form a clear plastic film over the grout. Penetrating sealers
supposedly last longer, but my experience with them is that I got
conflicting indictions as to whether the penetrating sealer was being
absorbed properly when I tried to apply it, so I lost confidence in
them. When it comes to having mildew growing rampant all over my
bathroom tiling, I much prefer a simpler technology that I fully
understand than a newer technology that I don't. That way, if there's a
problem, I can solve it myself.

I've always used the penetrating type.

Mildew growth on your bathroom painted walls and ceilings is NOT usually
a water problem.

It's *ALWAYS* a water problem. No water = no mildew.

It's a paint problem. If you use a paint made
specifically for use in bathrooms, it will have a powdered mildewcide
added to it which gradually leeches out of the paint film fast enough to
kill any mildew spores that land on the paint but slow enough to keep
the paint mildew-free for a long time.

If that were the case, mildew would never form on grout, or tile (it
rarely does).

snip

"Man made marble" is called "Corian" if it's made by DuPont, and other
trade names depending on who made the stuff. It's actually a thick slab
of Plexiglas to which natural clays have been added during manufacture
to give it a "marbled" appearance. So, man made marble is really just
adulterated Plexiglas. Never use nail polish remover at a Corian
bathroom counter top. That's because nail polish remover is acetone,
and Plexiglas is polymethyl methacrylate. Acetone dissolves polymethyl
methacrylate. The good thing is that polymethyl methacrylate is a soft
enough plastic that you can polish damage out of it much more easily
than you could with a granite counter top.

Huh? Why would I ever use acetone on Corian and what does either have
to do with mildew? OTOH, I would never install Corian, so...