What Lies Beneath

Last week we sent our Lead Installer down to Ann Arbor Michigan to do a job for a friend of the company's. Dan is one of the most precise, polite and hard working individuals you will meet. We are beyond grateful for not just Dan, but his work ethic and obsession for perfection. One thing we can always count on with Dan is that he will not only install the bathroom of your dreams, to your liking, but he will make sure that it looks perfect to him, as if it were his own. From the perfect, exact fit of the new tub, shower pan or liner and wall system, to the perfect slope for your soap dishes and shelves so water doesn't just sit on these areas.

I'm not trying to say that our other installer isn't a great installer or that his work isn't beautiful and precise, Mike does some of the nicest work you'll ever see in bathroom remodeling as well, in my opinion. Between the two, there are small differences, but none that would compromise your satisfaction. It's like any job, no one does it the exact same way as their counterpart, but the quality is the same.

Well, as Dan stepped into the home he took a look at the area he would be working in, he put down the floor runners so he wouldn't be walking all over the carpet with his boots and started to unpack his trailer of the tools he was going to need for the job.

As Dan began to pull the existing tub out he started to notice the familiar smell of mold. With many of our jobs, mold is just part of the job, so he kept moving along. After the tub was out he started on the old tile walls. The walls weren't in the worst shape, trust me when I say that we have seen really bad tile walls and this wasn't close to them. But as he pulled the first chunk of the first wall down he got a whiff of that familiar smell again and knew it was about to appear. As he tore down the walls piece by piece and got down to the structure he saw it. Behind those tile walls were walls covered in mold and walls that showed obvious stress. The entire wall behind the tile was a danger zone. Mold, has become one of the biggest, big/little problems we see in our industry.  SEE PICTURE BELOW

When many of us, well at least myself, think or hear of a situation like this, we picture a certain type of home. I always picture a home that may not be the newest or fanciest, or maybe the home is great but the bathroom is just in distress. But that's not what we had here in Ann Arbor and it's the same for many of the homes we see this in. They are very nice homes where they are kept up beautifully and the people are even great people. It's not a knock to the homeowner, it is a knock to the product that they had sold to them. I believe that I should be able to trust a product that is going into my home, especially one like a shower or tub, since it is being used on a daily basis and sometimes numerous times on a daily basis. It should hold up it's end of the bargain. 

That's one of the main reasons you will hear us and other people in our industry talk about one piece units and tile walls. It's the issue of what lies beneath.

The tile in your bathroom may look great and clean up fantastic, but if you've had any cracking or loss of tile that you just replace on your own easily, without making sure there's a solid seal, you leave your walls subject to water getting in behind the exposed area and then seeping down the wall. This, in return and as you probably already know, creates a breeding ground for mold and other spores or type of issues that can lead to rotting wood or damaged floors even. It is also this type of mold that can lead to and become black mold, which in the end will be one of the largest costs for you to cover within your home.

This also goes for the one piece shower units that we see at big box stores. If you were to get a crack on the flooring of your one piece system, or even along the walls somewhere, no matter how small it is, water can still find it's way into those cracks and areas. As I have stated already, we have seen the best and worst of these scenarios. We had an install where when we pulled the one piece tub unit, there was, I am 150% serous here, only a board left holding the tub where it was. If that board were to break, the home owner would have been dropped down into their crawl space. This is one of many situations you should look at when you're thinking of remodeling your bathroom.

In the end, as we know, you the home owner have the ultimate say so in this area of home improvement. We here at Luxury Bath by Mobility Remodelers have you and your home at the forefront of our business, it's you that matters most to us.

So when you are at home thinking of the quick fix, please take a minute, look at what you have at this time and ask yourself..."What lies beneath"

Bathroom Safety for Older Adults...The Secret Enemy

In our business we see many different age groups coming to us for certain needs in their bathrooms. We have the usual couple that just wants us to come in and transform their outdated bathroom into a more modern looking space. These jobs are great! It's so nice to see the before and after pictures and even see the look on the customers face when they see the newly transformed room become one of the most modern looking rooms they have in their home. Well next to the living room where they have that 70in flat screen mounted on the wall that is met with that great shag carpeting from the 70's. I am kidding about that, well kind of, but it is great to see that transformation and gracious response. But that isn't mine, nor our, favorite response.

We see many couples and singles, that come to us looking for a solution to their main problem. Reaching the peak and descending down the treacherous terrain of their tub. You may laugh, I did at first to, but it is seriously the number one issue we see here in our business. As we walk through the steps of the product, installation and the other choices the customer gets these days in remodeling this room, you begin to see the weight lift off of their shoulders. But nothing beats the look they get when they are brought into their new bathroom and instead of staring at the wet area they depend on to bath in as Mount Kilimanjaro, they see it as a simple step, or in some cases, no step at all.

This main reason is why today I am sharing the following article from About.com http://seniorliving.about.com/od/fallingfallinginjurie1/a/bathtub_safety.htm . Take a look at it and think about yourself, your partner, parents or loved ones. To us younger folks, bathing is nothing, but to some it is a 3 hour experience. If you have any questions regarding this article or anything else at all, please comment or call us at (810) 385-1700.

Shopping Local

When we opened Luxury Bath by Mobility Remodelers, we were here in Port Huron fresh from Chicago. Granted we understood that we were in a complete different market from what we were used to, but at the same time we were not too familiar with how business was for a local small name like ourselves.

John, our Marketing Manager, was born and raised in Port Huron, so he knew a lot about the area and the best ways to reach our audience and get to the eyes with a smaller budget than our big box competitors. What John would always talk about was what Port Huron used to be like when he was younger and even when he was in his teens before moving away. He would speak with such excitement and detail about Sperry's, Arden's, the Sport Shop and Full Moon Records downtown, you could tell that it must have been some downtown shopping district. But when it came to talking about the mall and the North End where the big box stores were that excitement went away and you could just tell that the memories he has of all that aren't horrible by any means, but like in most of America it's just what happens.

In a town like Port Huron when you bring in the malls and the big box stores that have those "Low Low PRICES!!!" that you have plastered all over your TV, you are driven to leave behind the department store that Mr. Wilson down the road has owned since you were a baby and you bought all of your school clothes there growing up along with your children's as well. I have done the same things, we go where we see them saying they can go lower than any other store and we really do like the products and at the price, we start shopping there but swear we'll be back at Mr. Wilson's shop next month. But next month turns into the next month and so on. Then we are at the new restaurant up on the north End having breakfast and read in the paper "Mr. Wilson's department stores going out of business sale. Everything MUST go!!!" and we think fondly of the memories, turn the page and grab the ad in the paper to see what is on sale at our new favorite department store.

But here in Port Huron, there's something stirring up downtown and in our community. You can feel it in the air, see it when walking down the street and see it in the eyes of the people on a daily basis. Things are starting to pick up downtown and it's not just new businesses all at once. One after another they are opening and staying open. They are filled with people on a regular basis and you are hearing about others experiences there and those experiences are what drive us to keep going back. With this happening it is a good sign for most of the businesses, even us. What it means is that people are realizing and seeing the difference in shopping from those big box stores and shopping from a store that Joey, that you watched grow up from down the street, just opened. It's the personal relationship. That's what drives us to choose the local stores overt the large retail. Yes, price, is a factor too but if you can be more of a dollar sign and know that you are more than just another number, a little more in price isn't the end of the world.

That, is what drives us here at Luxury Bath by Mobility Remodelers. We like to have a relationship with our customers that goes on after the last thing is packed back into our installers trailer and you are about to enjoy your new bath. Believe me that it happens more often than not. We have customers/friends, that after we installed their new bathroom have invited us to cook outs, events and even will just stop by to visit and talk about life or see what's going on. The connection that we can have with our customers is one that you don't and won't get at one of the big box stores. It is all because we care.

When it is all said and done, yes we are a business, but we are also people. People that care. People that are concerned about your happiness and people that want to let you know that you are more to us than just another dollar sign. You are one of the main supports in keeping our community afloat by shopping local. 

The Everlasting Gaze

When we moved into our current location here at 1222 Water Street in Port Huron, we moved into a building that used to be a bait and tackle shop. Through the years it was also a motorcycle repair shop, an ebay store and second hand resale shop. So, needless to say, the shop wasn't the most up to date and beautiful site, but it was the vision that Jim and the rest of us had that made it feel like the right place to call our second home.

After cleaning, building walls, covering walls, carpeting, flooring, new lighting and a lot of lengthy conversations about office layouts and other details, we finally got it looking more like a showroom and office than an old worn out building. But still after all of this was done, we knew something still was missing. It wasn't a new track lighting system or a new walk in tub display from Therapy Tubs. In the end we realized it was an area that everyone that came to visit us saw. From our customers, employees, friends, delivery drivers and even ourselves, we all saw the exterior of our building. The exterior has been painted and we clean it regularly, but we overlooked a simple detail. That detail? Flowers.

We have, for the past few years, had two potted flower arrangements outside by the door but there was this big empty space in front of the building and after another conversation between Jim and myself, we decided to have two flower beds built under each window. So, while Jim was out of town on business I went out to one of the local "Big Box" stores and purchased some soil and flowers. As I planted these flowers and talked wit ha friend that was helping me I didn't really pay much mind to the task at hand. I just went along and made sure everything measured up and was symmetrical. When finished I took a step back and looked at what the end result was and what I saw was unbelievable. I didn't just see some flowers or some color added to the grey of the building. I saw a new building. Just by adding flowers to the front of the business, it made the building look like new. Fresh. Relaxing and inviting.

The next day after a handful of people commented on the change I realized that a detail like that changes the whole feel to what we have here. This, in turn, made me think about our customers and the stories they have told me.

Many of our customers, you may be able to relate to this, have told me how they used to shutter at the thought of friends or family coming over to visit and seeing their tub or shower. How they would always make sure the curtain was closed and pray that no one would just happen to take a look behind it. But after they decided to have Luxury Bath by Mobility Remodelers come in and give them a new look, it wasn't just the tub or shower that changed, but everything in that room changed. This change would spill over into their confidence and comfort of having people come over.

That is another reason why we do what we do. Why should you ever feel fear, shame or just feel like you should never have people over, just due to the condition of your bathroom. When we restrict ourselves like that in life, we take away our freedom and in return we are limited. Limitations, to a degree, should never spill over into whether or not we celebrate life in our own homes.

So when you are looking at the older tub or shower that you have, remember the little things that change everything and a good thing about that is that we are always here for you to help you with that. Yes, I mean always. I love talking with customers about more than just their bathrooms and am more than willing to converse about basically anything, so come on in. Lets talk about your bathroom or your celebration of life...as we look at the flowers I planted of course.

If We Only Make One

One chance, one life, one choice, one opportunity, one person, one soul, one place, one rhyme. One moment, one second, one order, one child. One home, one job, one love, one life. One day, one time, one mistake, one apology. One season, one trial, one hour, one smile....One difference.

Luxury Bath by Mobility Remodelers started from an experience our owner Jim White went through with his aging Grandparents. Jim was the one who helped with his Grandparents as they aged and struggled to stay in their homes. With the experience he went through with people telling his loved ones that they would have to leave the home that they worked so hard on, they raised their children in and they considered their safe haven, he had an idea. Why do people have to leave their homes? What if someone was able to help in the process of giving these people an option? Not just an option to stay in their homes, but an option for the family to save money on the costs of a traditional nursing home or senior living community.

Jim took this idea and worked on it within his head for years. As Jim worked in the home improvement industry for years, spending time working in the window industry and then moving on to working within the bathroom industry working with Luxury Bath products. It was here that Jim was able to finally see the idea fully and had the opportunity to act upon this idea and bring it to light and begin to make a difference.

At this time Jim moved to Port Huron Michigan, from Chicago, and took over a franchise of Luxury Bath from a owner that was retiring. Taking over the franchise and researching products and looking over options, Mobility Remodelers began to come together. With hours of remodeling a new office, researching what products were not only the top of the line for his customers but also cost effective for them, he was able to get a solid line of product to present to customers and hope to make the difference to even just one persons life.

I am not sure if you have ever opened a business or even been around a friend or family member that has, but when you first open the doors, you don't open the doors with your own energy, but you use the energy from a wish. Jim began advertising the local area and using all marketing skills and tools he and his staff had. With a lot of hard work, the phones started ringing, the appointments began to fill the calendar and the familiar ring if the door opening began to interrupt my music, but it was a joyful interruption.

We are coming up on three years since Jim opened up the doors here at 1222 Water Street with a dream and a prayer and to this day I still come here and my key works, so I know we are doing something right. But in the end it doesn't matter how often the door chimes or the phone rings, what matters is that there is a difference being made. Hearing the stories of people who were looking at the options of senior living and alternative ways to live with assistance but now are able to stay home. Yes, I know, we only work on the bathroom area of the home. But when you think about it, the bathroom is the main area that gives you a challenge in a home as you get older. As the years go by, even from my experience, it seems like the tub gets a little higher each year. But in all truth I know it's just me getting older.

But as I am here every day the phone rings and when I pick it up to the joyful sound of a customer thanking us for giving them a new freedom it makes me realize. When we started this all we wanted to do was make the difference in one persons life and as I look back, we've done that and are continuing to do so every day.