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Removing concrete floor in very old bathroom

14 years ago

I recently purchased an old brick home with tons of character. That's a nice way to put it. My soon to be wife wants a new floor in the bathroom and didn't care much for the green toilet.

So I tear out three tile floors to get to six inches of concrete. I've removed almost all of concrete and I see some of these joist are notched down below the level I want the floor. My question is if I sister these joist and try to make the floor level, will the floor be supported properly if the sister joist are a little above the tops of some of the joist but not all? I hope that question makes sense. Also, what size board should I use to sister.

One more thought, I've read a lot of post re: bath floors and what is the order from bottom to top, ply? then paper? then what quick set? what? The walls are Vitrolite which is ok and we are trying to keep the house true to the time so I want to keep it. Should the floor tile be set under or level to bottom of border. I've never tiled before....help please

Thank You

Comments (2)

sombreuil_mongrel
14 years ago
If:
You were going to use stone tiles, and the original joists were notched deeply for plumbing, and you had no obstacles (wires, pipes, etc.) in the way;
Then:
You could sister the joists with new stock of the same size, doubling the built strength and resistance to deflection.
The subfloor and underlayment must be up to the task based on what the finish is. Large-format stone needs the greatest amount of support, small mosaics need the least (in the tile family), and vinyl needs no support at all beyond what springiness underfoot you are willing to live with. Create your own (tile) reality here.
If you are satisfied that you need no structural enhancements beyond the original construction, you can sister with 2x4's or 6/4 stock screwed/glued to the sides of the joists. Select very straight stock for this and run string lines across the ends to set them evenly. If you are making up for 6" of mortar now removed, you may need to raise the level considerably to meet your Vitrolite walls (unless you're adding a baseboard tile to cover the gap?) so plan the heights out really well considering what you will use as finish. To get the floor back up to the previous height, sistering may call for 2x6's (or more) to achieve the needed height. I'd probably use two layers of plywood and Kerdi membrane for a tile floor; assuming 24" centers on your old framing. If 16" centers and very stout joists (I've seen 3x12's used in old houses) then one layer of 3/4" plywood is fine, plus the Kerdi. Search the "Bathrooms" forum for full discussions and how-to's on Kerdi and it's sister product Ditra.
Casey
tim_ateo
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the advice. We are going to use small hexagon pattern tiles so yea I'm concerned with raising the floor to the proper height. I'm not sure how much space to leave for tile between the floor and the bottom of existing border tile.
I was suprised to see the 24" centers. Sounds like you've done this a few times. Thanks again Oh, and no wiring found but there was plumbing going to the tub so that explains the notch. It just threw me off because the notch is 3' instead of 3".??? It goes in front of the toilet so that must have something to do with it.
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Wooo!!! Cat, I am stuck at home because of the snow storm so wandered around here not looking at anything in particular and came upon your thread. I totally agree with you on the shower curtain choice. Regardless of whether I have the money to spare or not, keeping those suckers clean is a nuisance over time. We have a glass shower door that was installed back in 2003 and I can't tell you how much I hate cleaning it. Not that the door is all that dirty, but a shower curtain is way easier, and you can change the look/style whenever you feel like it. Can't do that with a pricey shower door. Anyway, everything looks lovely as usual, including the "prom" dress :-) Love, love those circular tiles, and the floor tiles that look like fabric. Gorgeous. What colour is that again? It looks greyish on my monitor.
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Tiling isn't that difficult and the finished product is something that you can be proud of. I bought a tiling book from HD yers ago that really paid off, and you only need a couple of specialty tools. After your new subfloor is in, you'll want to caulk the joint where the floor meets the tub with a good (Dap) silicon caulk. Now install the 1/4" durock in the same fashion with screws into the joists, and then every 8" or so. Again, caulk the joint where the durock meets the tub. Tile then grout and your done. This is the second floor bath in a recent remodel of a Cape Cod house. The tile is Cotto Duomo Grey, .97/ft2 at HD. The grout is Delorean Gray. Floor area is ~55 ft2, total cost with Durock was around $125.00. Walls are Cottage white, flat, and the trim is Ben Moore Sand Dollar, semi gloss
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What you have there is what many would call an old fashioned mud job. At this point...rip it all out and start with the subfloor. Read up on your installation options.
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If you have a curb, you will have the cracks develop there, too. and where the walls meet the floor. Anywhere where two different materials meet or where one surface meets another that is in a different direction (known as "change of plane"). My contractor still grouts such places, too. But I did a solid surface shower that he could not do wrong. I am keeping an eye on the place where the floor meets the shower pan, all other places are in dry areas. So there it is just cosmetic. I would guess that water can get behind your tile with those cracks. If properly waterproofed it is fine, but if not, I would get to this as soon as you can. A lot of shower builders do not use waterproofing, even though it is now required. If you do a search on this forum for "Shower waterproof," you can see many discussions about it and learn what is and is not waterproof. (Redguard yes, Durock no, for instance.)
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