We are glass and hardware specialist, please call us before you build, so we can make sure your build goes smoothly.
After being in business for nine years now and working on thousands of jobs sites…. we have seen all different types of builders and remodelers. Not all builders and remodelers are created equally. Please due diligence, prior to hiring a builder or Remodeler. Please sign a detailed, line item, contract to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting.
The number one mistake we see in any wet area, interior or exterior, is that the slope or pitch on flat surfaces are not great enough, do not exist at all, or are sloping the wrong way. In reference to the FL building code, a one quarter inch fall over a 1 foot run is the correct slope. This type of slope will allow water to drain into the areas it is supposed to, and not puddles. A puddle will create a failure in any type of structure. BASICALLY WATER RUNS DOWNHILL AND NEEDS TO BE DIRECTED. Any flat area that is going to get wet needs to have a slope.
The number two biggest mistake that builders make is poor framing. Framing is the installation of wood 2×4’s to create walls and etc. A level, square, and plum bob, need to be used in order to make sure your walls are straight, flat level, and perpendicular to each other. This will allow adjoining structures doors, windows, mirrors, and etc. to be installed properly and look the best. Secondly a stud needs to be in every doorjamb in your house or building. This is so doors can be hung in the door jams. Shower and tub areas also have door jams. Code requires wood studs in these type of door jambs also. The wood studs need to be and direct line with where the door and other glass will touch the adjoining wall. These studs need to be installed form floor to the ceiling and are to be supported by adjoining studs. In addition door jams need to be perpendicular to the curb or threshold, also door jams need to be parallel to each other…. basically door jams need to face each other.
Water softeners take hard elements out of our water which makes life easier for our shower glass, and intern makes cleaning a lot easier.
Sealers protect and seal the surface of glass, metal, porcelain and any hard surface. Here in Tampa we have hard water we recommend sealers to protect against the hard water. Good sealers will protect these surface form oxidation and increase its life. We offer the best glass sealer in the United States. The product is called Diamond Seal. The manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty against chipping cracking and fading, and the warranty states that your Glass will be forever brilliant if you continue to use their Diamond Blue wash…read below… Basically what the sealer does is fill up the last open standing molecule on the surface of the glass, with a carbon hard bond to the chemical sealer; intern after the sealer is applied properly the glass will be protected from oxidation…
It’s smart to seal other surfaces also Diamond Seal XP is also a stainless steel and porcelain. Other sealers may work, but Diamond Seal XP we have test along side of other sealers and choose to represent this chemical for our customers and our own use.
Note: all sealers are created equally, please due diligence prior to sealing surfaces by yourself, or even based on the product recommendations…some don’t work!
(80% of glass manufactured for building purposes)
Material W.T %
Silica (SI) 73
Sodium Oxide (Na) 14
Calcium (Ca) 9
Magnesium (Mg) 4
Basically, glass is 73% silica and the rest is magnesium, calcium and a little iron. The molecules of the glass are under tremendous stress and these molecules can move and shift over a period of time; this will diminish the effectiveness of the coated surface. This is where the Diamond Blue Wash comes in, repeating cleaning with Diamond Blue Wash will continue that original molecular bond between the glass and the sealer surface when the molecules shift.
Diamond Seal makes the glass easy to clean because it makes a molecular bond at the atomic level with the glass, and the Blue Wash will make it last.
Water has calcium and magnesium in it and those elements are in the glass also so they bond easily, creating corrosion; basic chemistry. Understanding the science and taking a real-life approach to the issues is key. Diamond Seal is all about the science. Regardless of the coating that you use, you will always have water spots. The question is, how easily can they be removed and how often do they accumulate to become a visual nuisance? The better the bond of the coating the longer lasting the hydrophobic effect, and the cleaner the glass will stay. The glass also becomes anti-static as well as hygienic INSERT leaf ICON with the Diamond Seal XP.
Redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions include all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed; in general, redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons between species.
This can be either a simple redox process, such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide (CO2) or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane (CH4), or a complex process such as the oxidation ofglucose (C6H12O6) in the human body through a series of complex electron transfer processes.
Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.
We use the best silicone available. It costs us twice as much as the cheepo stuff. GE Silicon II