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Bathroom Demo Advice Needed

13 years ago

I really want to turn my existing stall shower into a closet and the non-jetted garden tub into a large shower. I'm wondering if I can do the demo myself... The existing shower is tiled (4-inch white ceramic) on two side sides almost to the ceiling with a glass door on the 3rd wall. The 4th wall is half tile with glass over. The floor is a plastic (fiberglas?) pan. The tub abuts the half tile/half glass shower wall and the tile continues around one side of the tub. I also want to remove the sheet vinyl and ugly 5-ft mirror over the sinks. That's it. The sinks, cabinet, countertops and toilet will stay. I know I can get some muscle to help with getting the tub into the garage.

PS - I'm a single 5 ft 5 inch female so I will be doing this all by myself!

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Comment (1)

pricklypearcactus
13 years ago
I am also a female (5'6") and I did nearly all of the demo on a recent bathroom remodel myself. I did have some assistance from my brother and father carrying the vanity out of the room, smashing the cast iron tub, and taking down a large mirror. If you are in reasonable health and shape, you should be able to do this yourself with the exception of some awkward or heavy lifting that might require two people. My bathroom previously had a cast iron tub, full glass shower doors, tile over a mortar bed, and sheet vinyl flooring. I removed everything except most of the dry wall.

The hardest part was actually hauling the tile and mortar bed waste down a flight of stairs and outside. So make certain you're comfortable carrying heavy loads of materials to your dumpster. You may be surprised at how much material you'll be dealing with. Get proper tools and equipment including gloves and eye protection. (Flying tile shrapnel is sharp.) Also, demolition by myself ended up taking longer than I expected, so be prepared for that. I'm glad to hear of other women that are taking on home improvement projects themselves.
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Won't make it more modern per se, it's not a modern style bathroom- but will make it more harmonious, and you might love it much more than you do now To me, a color of the vanity and mirrors is too red next to more yellowish tile. So if you can afford to spend time/money/energy-yes I'd look into changing vanity's color. That's my personal pet peeve though..very reddish wood tones next to yellowish tiles. Not sure how much bothers others. (as an easier fix-a rug that incorporates both colors in its pattern.) Different wall color (yes I also tend to think-something like cream or ivory..) ..a different shade-bamboo? grass woven? in short something more streamlined but still going-with-everything. Art you love.. A plant if enough light. Plants always make everything more alive.For obvious reasons)) Containers/trays you love.. It's a nice bathroom..seems functional and livable enough
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It was used in place of where you would see drywall tape in today's sheetrock world. It will run the length of the wall to ceiling joint. It's typically embedded and generally nailed in place as well. It's easiest to just get a section loosed up by banging with a hammer. Once you get a good 6-12" section free, I generally grab a pair of plyers (or if you used gloves, your hands) and grab ahold of the free end and yank the rest down. Now, in your case, you are pulling everything down, so whatever is the simplest to pull it all down without banging around so much that you start causing sheetrock pops in the adjacent areas! Lids are always dusty and nasty, so if you aren't using a dust mask, would suggest grabbing one before pulling it down.
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As a good rule of thumb, larger tiles that match the color of the walls. This seemingly eliminates the borders between the wall and the floor, creating a more breathable, seamless space. Also, the larger the tile, the longer the distance the eye travels from one tile to the next. This creates the illusion of a bigger space. Also, a diamond pattern creates the illusion of a bigger room than a checkerboard pattern. In a diamond orientation, the widest section of each tile faces the entrance. This prevents you from measuring the space in terms of tiles across or tiles down. Also, any tiles from Crossville are Green Squared Certified meaning they are eco-friendly and sustainably & ethically sourced.
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