Philadelphia Bathroom Tile: Refurbish or Replace?

Long before modern sealants and synthetic materials came along, tile was known to be the best material to use in places that would be exposed to a lot of moisture. It is inexpensive, looks great, and can hold up for decades. It's no wonder that, in a city as old as Philadelphia, bathroom tile is found in almost every house. In fact, if you want to see a true testament to the durability of bathroom tile, Philadelphia is a good city to examine. Some tile in Philly homes is still functioning as well today as it was half a century ago.

Bathroom Tile Refurbishing
Though some of that classic Philadelphia bathroom tile is still working, that doesn't necessarily mean that it looks good. Its appearance, however, can be brought back to life if you don't mind putting in a little effort.

When trying to enhance the look of bathroom tile, removing and replacing stained grout is usually a good first step. While the surface of the tiles might actually look pretty good (even after decades of use), grout, especially grout installed many years ago, can only hold up for so long. Cleaning it, no matter what a product claims, gets to be nearly impossible after enough time has past. Replacing grout, on the other hand, makes a dramatic difference in appearance, and will provide better stability for your classic bathroom tile.

When dealing with cracked tile, you pretty much have only three options. You can remove the damaged tile and replace it with a matching one, you can seal up the crack, or you can take the cracked tile as a sign, and redo your entire bathroom. Since it is rare to find a matching, 50 year old replacement for the original bathroom tile, Philadelphia homeowners are likely to be left with only the latter two options. Each option has its benefits, but totally redoing a bathroom gets surprisingly expensive (even for a small bathroom). Sealing up a crack, however, is only a good solution if there are not too many; if half the tiles are cracked, you've probably got some moisture issues behind them that should be addressed.

Installing New Tile
Replacing bathroom tile in Philadelphia is a bit of a double-edged sword. Installing all new tile is more expensive than fixing the tile you already have, but the finished product will last a long time. Keeping the original tile lends the room a feeling of authenticity that new tile will not be able to mimic, but since many bathrooms are so old, an underlying problem might necessitate replacement anyway.

If you do decide to replace it all, it is a good idea to purchase some extra tiles and store them in an attic or basement. If one of the new tiles gets damaged in the future, you won't need to worry about finding one that matches for a replacement.

Bathroom Remodels
One of the sure-fire ways to increase the value of your home is to remodel the bathroom. Unfortunately, Philadelphia bathrooms seem to be built particularly small in older sections of town. In many cases, a bathroom remodel in Philly could be more expensive than in other cities because it will require a lot more structural alteration (like pulling up the floor to replace old, narrow pipes or knocking down walls to create more room). For some homeowners, all the trouble is worth the end result; for others, it is way too much of a hassle for more elbowroom when you brush your teeth.