Bathroom Renovation #3

Part of the reason for taking on this project was the design of the bathroom was old and didn't really match our style. Also, it had a pedestal sink and the door opened in, so space and storage was an issue. But the thing that brought it to a head was a leak. We sourced the leak to the tub spouts connection to the copper pipe in the wall. It only leaked when the plunger was pulled and the pressure forces water up in to the shower pipe.

So with the tub out and the drywall removed, I need to remove all the tile to have access to the subfloor. I don't have any pictures of this mayhem, but I will say it was difficult. I used an 18lb sledge hammer to break apart the tile and the 4+ inches of concrete underneath it. This revealed the subfloor below which was less than typical.

The water damage caused us to remove one row of floor boards to start. Then as we began to analyze this funky subfloor, we realized it all had to go. They had cut the joists to a point on the top and then attached small pieces of wood on the middle of the joists on top of which they placed the floor boards. We pull dup all these floor boards and all the extra support pieces they had added. Then in order to get a flat level surface to work with, we sistered 2x6 boards to the joists with the old glue and screw method for confidence.

From this point we were able to cut and lay subfloor in the more traditional way. We kept the subfloor that was under tub because it was in good shape. We also put in new insulation throughout the room to help with heat and sound. This whole tile and subfloor mess basically cost us a day or more to get back to a solid and level subfloor, but now we are in good shape.