So… remember the bathroom update? I haven’t mentioned it in a while because school started and we had to push everything back to when I had the time and the sanity to do it: in other words, winter break. Which is in three weeks, which means that the planning has shifted into high gear. I put this together tonight; I’m sharing it with you guys because 1) I think it might be entertaining to see just how unprepared I am to do this right and 2) I’m hoping people smarter than me will spot issues that I might not be aware of yet.
Copied and pasted from Evernote, here you go:
Project 1: Eliminate bulkhead
1) Clear insulation away from inside attic.
2) Remove existing bathroom fan.
3) Demolish bulkhead.
4) Secure/install new bathroom fan.
5) Install new cement board ceiling.
Potential issues: 1) Electrical incompatibilities; 2) structural incompatibilities; 3) Incompatibilities with position of vent ductwork.
Necessary purchases: 1) Cement board; 2) Screws; 3) drywall mud 4) mudding tools/sandpaper
Possible purchases: 1) 2x4s for structure? 2) possibly something to extend/move vent ductwork. 3) moisture barrier 4) new wiring (hopefully not)
Timeline: 1 day.
Project 2: Demolition of existing bathtub surround.
1) Pull down tile.
2) Pull down drywall.
3) Remove existing shower fixtures.
Potential issues: 1) Mold issues behind wall; 2) leak issues behind wall; 3) plumbing incompatibilities with new shower hardware (call plumber for this if necessary)
Necessary purchases: None for demolition, but we should have shower hardware before doing this so that we can compare it to what’s behind the wall.
Possible purchases: None.
Timeline: A couple of hours for demo and clean-up; possibly a couple of days if we have to wait for a plumber (can do other two walls while waiting)
Project 3: Construction of new bathtub surround/ installation of new shower hardware.
1) Install moisture barrier (???), cement board, second waterproofing layer?
2) Measure/drill holes for shower hardware
3) Mortar, tile, grout.
Potential issues: I probably suck at this. Measure thirty times before tiling once. Make absolutely sure we have carefully researched every step before doing the work; only one chance to do this right. Terror. Do we mud cement board before putting tile on? Assume no, but find out.
Necessary purchases: Cement board, screws, possible sheeting for moisture barrier/waterproofing layer (spread-on?), shower hardware, tile cutter (borrowed/rented), mortar, grout, mortar/grouting tools
Possible purchases: None I can think of.
Timeline: At least a full day; probably two, especially if we need a plumber before doing one of the walls.
***WORK CAN STOP INDEFINITELY AT THIS POINT***
Project 4: Demolish rest of bathroom
1) Carefully remove mirror from wall; take downstairs
2) Remove hardware from walls
3) Demolish sink/vanity (plumbing will be a pain in the ass, since I don’t know how to remove it)
4) Drain & remove toilet.
5) Tear out drywall behind toilet, where tub was leaking
6) Remove tile kickplate around base of walls
7) Remove door and door…frame?
8) Remove floor tile.
9) If putting in floor heating, pull drywall on wall that we need to run wiring through.
Potential issues: Removing the floor tile is expected to be a pain in the ass. Dealing with the plumbing to remove the sink could potentially be difficult. Hopefully do all this with as little damage as possible to existing drywall other than the piece we know we need to replace. Removing the painted door frame without damaging the drywall seems… optimistic.
Necessary purchases: None, unless a special tool is needed to remove the linoleum floor tile; unexpected.
Possible purchases: None that I can think of.
Timeline: Please, God, don’t let this take longer than a day.
Project 5: Fix rest of bathroom.
1) Install floor heating, if that’s happening. Possibly replace power switch on wall if needed.
2) Install new drywall as needed. Mud, sand, etc.
3) Install new tile floor
4) Install new vanity, including necessary plumbing hookups. In process, attach new sink to new vanity. Also attach new sink hardware to new sink once it’s attached to the vanity.
5) Install new toilet
6) Cut door to size for new flooring; reinstall
7) Install new framing for door (match old, if possible)
8) Repaint (before or after vanity installation? Hmm.)
9) Hang new mirror and new hardware
Potential issues: I have no idea how to do any of these things. Timing on painting. Electrical work necessary for floor heating may be problematic. Tile must be measured and cut perfectly the first time, and I’ve never done it before. Plumbing hookups on vanity must be leak-free. Toilet must be leak-free. New door framing must line up. Drywall needs to be proper size and look right when mudded. No good way to cut door down.
Necessary purchases: Mortar, grout, drywall, mud, screws, acquire circular saw (borrow), door framing, paint, new hardware.
Possible purchases: Floor heating unit.
Timeline: God help me, hopefully only a couple of days.
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Good read. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more.
Seriously, you need to assume each of these projects will take a MINIMUM of 3 times longer than you currently have them budgeted. I’ve done all of the things you’re planning. Even if I were doing them a second time, I wouldn’t be near as quick as you’re hoping to be.
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The “build” parts are certainly going to take a million years each. I figure the “destroy” parts won’t be as bad. It’s a tiny bathroom. Especially if I don’t have to take a million years to pull up the goddamn floor.
I also didn’t account for the time necessary for crying on the Internet about the horrible job I’m doing or how much it will cost me to have someone who knows what they’re doing fix my terrible mistakes.
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Honestly, so long as two weeks is enough to get the bulkhead/bathroom done and dusted, I’m much less concerned about how long everything else takes.
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Frankly, I’d say two weeks to complete projects 1-3 is ambitious, but possible, if you’re willing to sacrifice your body and hate every minute of your existence. Or do a half-assed job.
Oh, and you do mud/tape cement board seams. But you use special mesh tape and mortar, not drywall mud or drywall tape.
…also I recommend strongly against using cementboard anywhere you want to eventually be able to paint. It’s lumpy, and will look like hell, and won’t do you any more good than drywall outside of “wet” areas.
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There’s definitely going to be cement board behind the tile, but I think what we’re currently envisioning is tiling up to, say, six to eight inches from the ceiling, and then above that and the ceiling itself above the tub would be painted. That’s not strictly a “wet” area in that water shouldn’t ever be spraying just on it, so it should be fine to use regular drywall or greenboard there, then, right? Even though it’s going to be encountering substantially more steam than the rest of the bathroom, it’s also right next to the new fan, so it ought to be okay?
(Long story short: we need to schedule a game night/ blow my plans out of the water night sometime in the next couple of weekends.)
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I was mostly concerned with you plan to use CB for the “ceiling” in project 1.
Technically, anything above the height of your showerhead is not a “wet” area. The ceiling above a shower is classified as “damp” which is fine for painted drywall. What you’re doing really is just like what we did. If you want to tile up to 8″ from the ceiling, use drywall for the top 10″ or so (assuming that doesn’t bring the dividing line down below your showerhead). Ideally you’ll want the top inch or two of your top row of tiles to be on drywall, because then you will have room to seal that CB/drywall joint with a sloppy mess of mud and tape, and cover that ugliness with a tile, and have a nice smooth drywall surface above that. Don’t spend extra money on greenboard. It’s got exactly 0 advantages over traditional drywall when it comes to surviving damp locations – just a marketing gimmick.
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Got it. Thanks.
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Oh, also, ask me how I know that cement board on a ceiling you intend to paint is a terrible idea.
I installed it above the shower in our basement bathroom, and then spent a really absurd amount of effort using setting-type drywall mud to try and get it to something close to flat. That said, I’d probably make the same decision again there. That ceiling is only like 6’4″, tops, so there’s a LOT of moisture on it during a nice warm shower. enough that it condenses and rains down off the ceiling while you shower.
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Nice post. On the moisture barrier – either one behind the cbu or one on top – a paint on like redguard. Or a sheet product like Schluter – but not both. This will give you a ‘moisture sandwich’ that mold will just love. Good luck on your projects.
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