How to Destroy your Bathroom

Some before pictures. I installed a better mirror and light fixture before this remodel. So the first picture is a few months older. At 6'1", I hated ducking to shave. This involved moving an outlet box to the left also.

We also have previously replaced all our windows, so that window is new.





















So, first thing's first. Start removing fixtures & appliances.







The next part was extremely fun. Take a hammer and crowbar, and start ripping the walls down. This house is a 1950's house, and back then, behind tile, there was wire mesh and about 3/4" to 1" of tile cement. The wire helped, I could grip & rip.


























Once I got the bathtub out, guess what was behind it??







I went to My Best Friend and found out how to kill it. Vinegar, Boric Acid, and Bleech. This mixture also kills the mold reproductive spores, which spawn when the mold is dying. Also, a respirator is recommended.







After getting the mold taken care of, the floor was next. I don't have any picutres of the floor, but here's how it was constructed. 1/2" subfloor, 1 whole freaking inch of tile cement with wire mesh, ceramic tiles, and vinyl tiles on top of the ceramic tiles. I cut it into managable size chunks with a diamond blade on a grinder. So after that, only the 1/2" subfloor remained.






Once the subfloor was visible, we checked out the weakness of the floor by the toilet, the whole point of getting into this mess. As it turns out, the wire mesh below the ceramic tile was the only thing keeping us from falling through the floor. The wood was as mushy as oatmeal.





Some more shots.










And finally, removing the remainder of the floor with a sawzall.










That one wall cavity with no insulation - this cavity was larger than 16", so all that cellulose fell out when I took the wall down. Nice to see the other cavities packed in nice. I detalied the insulation in a previous blog.

I bought 3/4" DryPly for the floor. The way the floor rafters were laid out, I needed to add support braces to the front and back.

















Next was a dry-fit of the beautiful Jacuzzi tub.

Next, Drywall. I chose the moisture/mold resistant.
























After the walls were up, I started preping the floor for ceramic tile. Cement board, which gets pasted down, and also screwed down. The gaps get pasted too.









More Drywall pics.











Dry-fit tiles, and paste 'em down.













Grout.

The whole reason the floor was so bad, the toilet flange was shot. It was basically a crumbled piece of tin. Each flush contributed a teaspoon of water to the floor because of this. All of the cast-iron plumbing below had to go.












A grinder and diamond blade can do wonderful things.









Calculated material, trip to hardware store. Dry-fit, then primer & cement them together.














Leak test.









Supply was good. Drains had a leak in the overflow tub outlet. After tightening that up, all was well.

We could now take a shower again at our house! Luckily, we have a half bath downstairs so at least we had another toilet in the house during this.

Drywall spackle & primer & paint.

























Time to install the throne.






Cabinet & sink top.











I had a little trouble with the water supply dripping from the wall. I found a handy substance called "Plumbers Goop", a clear paste-like stuff that hardens, to be very usefull. I applied this goop around the inlet seam, and after 15 minutes, turned the water back on, and no leaks. A quick fix, I suppose.

Just put the new door on, and we're pretty much good to go!

























I eventually get the base, door, window, & crown molding in there.







Mission Accomplished!

Currency is USD
---------------
Tub      $  800
Tile     $   90
Drywall  $   50
Plumbing $  120
Wood     $   50
Toilet   $  110
Sink     $  350
Dumpster $  140
---------------
Total    $1,710

The cheapest, most labor intensive thing I have ever done. I had fun, and I'm glad our floor is now safe.