Have a blast with glass

Monica Watrous

Thursday, October 09, 2014

The material was touted for its versatility and as a lighter, more durable alternative to marble. And compared with today's glass tile - thinner, clear and often back-painted - Vitrolite has a richer, more polished appearance.

"The depth of tone is different than if you just have a piece of glass over paint," said Tim Dunn, a Vitrolite specialist. "There's a vibrancy and a lusciousness that you don't get with back-painted glass. It stays nice and fresh and glossy."

So, why don't more of us have this material in our homes? Well, for starters, it hasn't been produced since 1947 in the United States.

Dunn is one of a handful in the country who salvages, restores and installs the obsolete material, which he describes as the siding of its time.

And thanks to this elite cluster of experts, folks who already have the glass in their homes can keep it.

Like Valerie Schroer, who, about five years ago, had to remove part of the Vitrolite in her bathroom due to a plumbing problem.

"We tried to save the tile but couldn't," Schroer said. "We did a search on the internet to find replacements, and we found Tim Dunn."

Dunn restored the tile in the cream- and-black bathroom of the Schroer house, which was built in the late '30s.

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Have a blast with glass