Whether you want to keep your just-installed marble shower free of leaks, mold, and stains, or you need to find the best options for natural stone and marble shower maintenance in NYC, the first step is protecting it from inevitable water infiltration.
“But,” you may be saying, “my shower was sealed properly at installation.” That’s probably true, but the grout that holds marble and natural stone showers together will always get tiny fissures—almost from day one—due to structural shifts in the building itself!
And those fissures allow water to begin to creep under your tiles, and to infiltrate the stone, causing discoloration, mold, mildew and more.
This is a problem anywhere, but in NYC, where labor and material costs are high, and many people need to be concerned with leaks causing problems for downstairs neighbors, it’s a particularly serious concern.
The good news is, it’s also very preventable!
Proper protection and marble shower maintenance will stop the water from infiltrating under the tiles, and ensure your luxury bathroom continues to give you joy for many years to come.
We’ve broken the action steps into those for NEW showers, and those for EXISTING ones.
Preventive Measures to Protect your NEW shower
Many people, installers and homeowners alike, still believe that the only way to prevent water from getting behind your shower walls and floor is to seal the marble shower surfaces. But after years in the field, working with marble artisans and other experts, we have learned that while this IS an important step, it’s not the only one. Water infiltration mainly occurs through grout fissures.
Here’s the process we use and recommend to prevent damage:
Once a reputable artisan has completed a new shower installation, we perform a thorough inspection of the shower structure, using a variety of methods including a structural-borne sound test. We identify evidence of any minor fissures where the water will infiltrate under the tiles once the shower is used.
We inject our premium epoxy resins into any vulnerable spots, stabilizing the natural settling movement that’s inevitable after new shower structures are installed. Our process is the only one available in the industry that can secure the joints, and ensure grout repairs will not break or crack.
Once the repairs have been cured and completed, the surface treatment purifies it with gentle organic solutions, followed by a premium impregnating sealer application.
This 3-part process leaves your new shower investment impervious to water and to impurities infiltrating under the tiles. Reapplying sealer every other year will then protect your shower from future issues.
No more fears of mold, mildew, and discoloration from the effects of water getting behind your beautiful natural stone.
(Often, interior designers and architects in NYC who are familiar with our shower protection solutions refer our services to their clients, giving them an opportunity to protect their investment from day one. If yours has done so, congratulations—they have your best interest in mind!)
Many people, installers and homeowners alike, still believe that the only way to prevent water from getting behind your shower walls and floor is to seal the marble shower surfaces. But after years in the field, working with marble artisans and other experts, we have learned that while this IS an important step, it’s not the only one. Water infiltration mainly occurs through grout fissures.
Here’s the process we use and recommend to prevent damage:
Once a reputable artisan has completed a new shower installation, we perform a thorough inspection of the shower structure, using a variety of methods including a structural-borne sound test. We identify evidence of any minor fissures where the water will infiltrate under the tiles once the shower is used.
We inject our premium epoxy resins into any vulnerable spots, stabilizing the natural settling movement that’s inevitable after new shower structures are installed. Our process is the only one available in the industry that can secure the joints, and ensure grout repairs will not break or crack.
Once the repairs have been cured and completed, the surface treatment purifies it with gentle organic solutions, followed by a premium impregnating sealer application.
This 3-part process leaves your new shower investment impervious to water and to impurities infiltrating under the tiles. Reapplying sealer every other year will then protect your shower from future issues.
No more fears of mold, mildew, and discoloration from the effects of water getting behind your beautiful natural stone.
(Often, interior designers and architects in NYC who are familiar with our shower protection solutions refer our services to their clients, giving them an opportunity to protect their investment from day one. If yours has done so, congratulations—they have your best interest in mind!)
Essential EXISTING Shower Repairs and Protection by TERSO MR®
If your marble shower has been in place for a few months to a few years, it’s likely that there is already some water infiltration under the substrate. If you see early signs of water damage, it’s certain that action is needed.
Some contractors may tell you the only solution is to gut the shower and begin again, but that’s not necessarily so! We have resolved countless showers that others were prepared to write off. Here’s our process for restoring natural stone and marble showers, and subsequent basic maintenance.
The Essential Repairs consists of a preliminary shower inspection, to identify where water is coming in, and the areas requiring stabilization. Among the processes we use is a structural-borne sound test.
Once the owner approves the repair, we will place a dehumidifier and/fans in the shower to draw out trapped water, moisture, and any musty smells.
Then we will inject our premium epoxy resins to stabilize the natural settling movement that has occurred throughout the years. As noted above, ours is the only process in the industry that secures the joints and ensures grout repairs will not break or crack.
Next, we will completely repair any broken grout that has cracks or fissures.
Once the repairs have been cured and completed, our surface treatment purifies the surface with gentle organic solutions, and we follow it up with a premium impregnating sealer application. Your existing shower is left impervious to water and impurities.
This 5-part process brings your shower back to its natural beauty, makes your environment healthy once more, preserves your investment, and requires no demolition!
Future shower maintenance then involves simply reapplying sealer every two years (depending on your shower usage), to protect your shower from future issues. You can read more about the process here.
Marble Shower Maintenance in NYC by TERSO MR®
Shower maintenance should only be implemented once you’re certain that no water has already infiltrated behind or below the panels. But our unique combination of restoration (if needed), protection, and maintenance can easily be performed on your NYC shower—even in the most prestigious high-rise buildings (where delicacy is a must).
Our procedures are demolition- and mess-free, even during the work process. TERSO MR® Prestige Shower Solutions are available in NYC & Northern New Jersey and come with a lifetime warranty. See our warranty.
If you have questions about the process, or need help evaluating your needs for shower maintenance in NYC and surrounding area, please contact us right away!