Bathroom remodel

[Jimhart]

Just bought a condo near my daughters college.

The bathroom has a 25 year old acrylic tub that's very faded. The tub surround is dated ceramic tile. My wife never brought up any of this until we were driving home from the closing ;-).

Rather than prying off all the tile and cutting the drywall out about 8 inches above the tub, I'm thinking of just removing the drywall and tile in the whole surround and replacing it with cement board after replacing the tub.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

 

[robtonya]

Sounds good to me. You can check for any mold that way, and it will probably be just as fast. I recently did my bathroom, and if I had to do it over again, I'd probably go with the cast iron tub. I put in an acrylic one, it's fine I just like the cast iron one better.

 

[mattfc]

I would rip it out and re-board.. lack of squareness etc makes for a long job when it comes to re-tiling, as I have learn't from bitter experience having to scribe each tile. I think you will save time starting from scratch, and ensuring its all square, waterproof and mould free. Cement board is good, else marine play and paint on tanking is you expect lots of water (e.g. shower head over bath)

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Jim

If would install either a cast iron tub or an American Standard Americast tub.  I wouldn't use an acrylic or steel tub in this sitution.

Cement board is good, as long as you cover it with either a paint on waterproof membrane or install a sheet membrane.  There are other installation details that are good practice for cement board, such as holding it above the tub deck slightly and filling the gap with sealant (to prevent wicking), using the proper fasteners and proper tape for the seams, using thinset rather than mastic, and so on.  There are some boards that can be installed per manufacturer's instructions and will result in a waterproofed installation without the need for additional work.

Let me know how bullet-proof ;D you'd like to make this, and I'll offer advice to help you get the project finished.

Matt, you must live in the UK or in Australia? I have learned "tanking" for waterproofing from my tilesetter friends in the UK and Oz on internet tile forums.

 

[mwhafner]

I would agree with everyone else.  Take it down to the studs.  Make sure you read the installation instructions of the cement board you choose.  Each manufacturer and product series seems to have a little different requirements. 

I just finished our bath remodel a few months ago, and I second Rob Z's Americast tub recommendation.  Feels almost like cast iron, at a fraction of the weight.

 

[mattfc]

Matt, you must live in the UK or in Australia? I have learned "tanking" for waterproofing from my tilesetter friends in the UK and Oz on internet tile forums.

UK... now to show that I practice what I preach.. a little horror story for. I went away for the weekend and when I cam back, to my horror, my mrs had chiseled off the tiles from the bathroom wall and stated it was time to update the bathroom (it did need it).

Now I am not sure what was worse, the fact she just went ahead and removed the tiles without consulting me, giving me no chance of excuse, or that she used my nice Marples wood chisels to remove the tiles.

In any event, the house is and old workers style cottage built around 1900, thus no a single or square wall to be found.

So work I had to do,
1) Cut all the old horse hair plaster out, make good brickwork and put back ne cement board
2) Decided to put a shelved recess, so cut through the wall into the back of a built in wardrobe (using the thickness of the wall, only protruded into the wardrobe by and inch or so).. notice the wattle and daube where the recess has been cut.
3) New ceiling, old one deviated by more than 3 inchs and was bowed so would look a mess with the floor to ceiling tiles
4) New floor, was very restricted with levels, so used ply, the routed for the elec underfloor heating, followed by a self leveling screed and tiles
5) And or course tile it all, round the toilet was a bitch. The tiles where 10mm solid (tumbled) marble, the mosaics where so heavy they would slide down the wall as the adhesive wouldn't hold them
6) Custom big mirro down one side of the bathroom with hidden lighting.. this worked well and was cheap, build a wooden frame, mounted the lighting on it, then finished it with a ply front (backing for the mirror) and then glued the mirro on. Mirror was about 2m by 0.8m, cost ?70.

So some pics.

 

[Jimhart]

Thanks much for the advice. I'm working alone on this one and intend to sell the unit when my daughter graduates. Had planned to use a steel tub for weight and cost. Do you all just like the feel of cast iron, or are there other reasons for the preference?

Matt,

Great looking work. Maybe it's the age of the house or things are done a bit differently in the UK, but it's typical in the US to remove the toilet then replace it back on top of the new underlayment and tile. Makes it easier to fix or replace down the line.

30 some years ago I worked summers as a grunt for tile setters. The plumber jumped ahead of us and installed 80 toilets in an apartment complex before we had the tile down. Spent most of the summer removing the toilets, then putting them back in after the tile guys were done. Was the type of sh***y job that made me work harder when I went back to school in the fall.

Jim

 

[mattfc]

Matt,

Great looking work. Maybe it's the age of the house or things are done a bit differently in the UK, but it's typical in the US to remove the toilet then replace it back on top of the new underlayment and tile. Makes it easier to fix or replace down the line.Jim

No.. its not the UK, just me being lazy, as the toilet was already there, and changing the plumbing would be a pain (experience has taught me that old stuff can be a nightmare.. go to do something simple and you find out that its brittle and cracks etc.. then a small job turns into a big one!

 

[mwhafner]

Thanks much for the advice. I'm working alone on this one and intend to sell the unit when my daughter graduates. Had planned to use a steel tub for weight and cost. Do you all just like the feel of cast iron, or are there other reasons for the preference?

That is the advantage of the Americast tubs.  They are steel with a foam sprayed on the backside, which gives them the feel of a cast tub.  They also have a great finish, so any misplaced grout or caulk comes off easily.  Another plus, they are only a little more expensive than a Acrylic tub or steel tub.

 

[polarsea1]

We're in the middle of a bath remodel and installed an Americast tub. Cost was not much different than cast iron but they are insulated and if someone is inclined to take baths that's a big deal. Cast iron tubs take a lot of heating up.