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Tales of the
Trade
The
Itsy Bitsy Bathroom Remodel
Hi, I'm Steven, I would like to
tell you about a bathroom remodeling job for a very nice lady. And I
want to tell you about this job to help you with any remodeling
projects that you may have. There were a lot of unexpected
surprises when we did this. I would like very much for you
to learn and understand how unforeseen things can happen
with any job of any size, especially in a 58 year old house
This, at a quick surface
inspection, seemed like a fairly simple job. It was a five foot by
six foot bathroom with a total of 30 square feet. The remodel
included a new tub, vanity, fixtures,
 new
floor and paint.
As you can see it's a "very"
small bathroom that needs help some real help.
This was estimated to be about
a three day job at approximately $3,200
Most of the job cost is
in the materials: $900 tub, $230 vanity, and so forth.
Now, to get started on the job,
when we took the vanity, toilet, and plastic shower lining out, we found a heater vent behind the vanity that was in
need of some help, the toilet flange had rotted away, and there
was a lot of mold behind the shower liner.
(REMEMBER! When doing any
remodeling work you need to wear a mask, dust and mold spores
can make you very sick.)
When we got to the point of
removing the tub, we found out that the flooring was old concrete
tiles 1" inch thick and that it went around the tub in a way
that that removing the tub impossible without doing something
about the floor. We had to
remove the flooring down to the original floor to get the tub
out of the bathroom. At this point we also found out that the
toilet was leaking and the floor around it was rotten and would
not support the toilet properly.
Once the tub was removed, there
was loads of debris behind the tub (we believe from an earlier
remodel), with the mold getting worse
the closer to the floor we got. Then, we found out that there
was a termite issue in the wall with the tub faucets on it.
 The floor, base plate, studs,
and even the door jam had the little fellas in them,
thankfully they had been absent for quite some time. We shored up the floor by adding two layers of 1/2"
plywood screwed eight inches apart, we added studs to the wall to
help shear up the existing termite-eaten framing. We also
cleaned out the mold and rot before putting the new floor and studs
in (when cleaning mold, you should use a bleach mixture,
normally one part bleach to four parts water, but if there is a
chemical sensitive person who is doing this, you can also use
vinegar, which is not quite as effective as bleach, but it will do the
job.).
After the new floor was in, we
re-textured the walls including going over the brick wall
that was one wall, giving it a smooth finish. We replaced the toilet flange,
re-attached the existing sheetrock to the studs, and we
started laying the new floor.
Now that the floor is installed, we
painted the room (normally, you would paint the walls before
installing the floor, but this is overall quicker and we were
pressed for time.), then installed the new tub, the
toilet, and last, the vanity.
The tub surround was
the flooring material, so as that was being installed, electrical for the new
Jacuzzi tub was going in, a new medicine cabinet and light
fixture were being placed at the same time.
The tub surround
took some time to install since we could only go up so far then
had to stop and wait for the glue to set up. Doing the covering this way
was much like you would do tile, starting at
the bottom and then setting a few rows in glue, then needed to
wait until the glue sets up (if you don't wait for the glue and
just go up with them, it is more than likely than what you are
using will fall off the wall).
So now, pretty much most of the
hard work is done, all that is left is small stuff, and man
the small stuff can kill at times.
We have installing: the shower
head and handle, the shower curtain rod, the vanity faucets,
toilet paper holder, a flexible vanity mirror, touch-up
painting, and some other miscellaneous items.
And ta-da!!!
We have a completely new
bathroom!
We are looking forward to
telling you more of our adventures in the building field, so
check with us once in a while and see when we add more stories!
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