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PVC Moulding as floor baseboard material

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fwp51

Hi Everyone!


I will be moving to the DR soon and need a waterproof material in all my rooms at the base of the walls for moisture prevention.  I would prefer to have this look more like wood "baseboard" material like we use in the US, instead of tile and grout.   I am not able to locate this in the DR.   I will be in Santiago. 


Does anyone have an ideas where I could find this?  It is usually 2.5 to 6 inches high and there are variations in the US for contemporary as well as traditional styles.


Any direction would be so helpful!  Thank you in advance!


Suzanne

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planner

That just doesn't sound right.


As far as I understand we don't use tile or other things for moisture prevention, the walls get sealed properly.

UncleBuck

I have never seen that here.  As Planner says, about 4 inches of your floor tiles get cut and laid on the wall as the "baseboard".  That is the best protection from water you will find, and the cleaners love to use lots of water cleaning floors.  They slop it on by the mop full, swish it around, and then mop it all back up.  I'm not sure anything PVC would take that kind of treatment.  I've even seen a hose come into the house for extra extra cleaning.

planner

Imagine the fights at my house over anyone throwing water inside!!! I have fired more than one  cleaner for doing this! 

Papito NL

There is a reason why certain materials are preffered and that has to do with climate and local practice. I wouldn't want tiled floors in my european house nor laminate floors in my dominican house. While vice versa they are the best solution for the location. A suape (swappy!) is the dominican version of a vacuumcleaner and it is wet!


There are a few options though for the look you want, when going for PVC avoid anything that has a (wood) MDF core inside. When moisture gets in it will swell and ruin the piece. Simple hollow profiles will be to flimsy.

There are sturdy 'PVC' planks (madera WPC/sintetica) available in the DR. Many are used for outdoor wall finishing and jacuzzi decks/pool finishing. Metriatools.com and rooftec.do have a selection, there are many more if you search.


Other option: tiles! Those with a woodprint. These are long and shallow sized like laminate pieces  and are used a lot here in bathrooms and patio's. Cut them in half lengthwise for the right height.

CHRISTOPHER DAVID56

@planner.  LoL , yes drives me crazy...I am like what the H$LL!

fwp51

Hi Papito NL,


Thank you so much for you're post!  Yes, I am familiar with MDF and I know not to get that.  You are absolutely correct that this application would warp and become destroyed with repeated moisture. 


What I was able to find through my amazing Realtor was true PVC moulding.  The company is in Santiago and called:  "CIELOS ACUSTICOS", (translates to acoustic ceilings).  The mouldings are by:  NOEL &

MARQUET Design Elements.  It is my understanding that most are 6 ft in length and can be applied on the wall with the seams tight like that of real wood.  They are completely waterproof and the material that adheres them to the walls insures a sealed application.  Since they are PVC they can also be painted with any finish (like eggshell, matte or glossy) and any color but the paint needs to be acrylic latex which because PVS is  much less porous than wood, takes a longer time to dry. 


Originally I didn't want any mouldings at al, going for a more contemporary look.  I was notified  recently by one of the building engineers that I had to have a waterproof application going up the sides of the walls that didn't have floor to ceiling tile (like te bathrooms and laundry room) at least 2.5 inches to 6 inches.   The most I expected was to do a quarter turn if necessary.  When I was notified that I had to have a moisture barrier,  I really wanted a wooden baseboard look, not the tile that I chose for the floors, which is a textured porcelain that looks like authentic pickled wood.  I am so thrilled to have found this moulding and wanted to share. 


Thank each and everyone of you for your input. 


Have a nice weekend all!


Suzanne

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