Demo is ALMOST done!

After purchasing a pipe wrench and spending quite a bit of time under the small vanity, the plumbing was disconnected and the countertop and vanity were removed. Geoffrey did help out with this task, as picking up the countertop and vanity was just a bit much for me. With the vanity removed, the remaining tiles where chiseled away, leaving just the mortarbed. I dug away at a section of mortar, and exposed the subfloor, which is covered in a layer of tar paper, followed by mesh, and topped off with the mortar bed. It should come up without too much of a problem. After tackling the vanity I moved onto the shower walls. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have all the studs exposed and ready to receive the concrete board. I'll be taking a break tomorrow from the work as its my birthday :).


Here's the big hole in the shower wall...kinda scary to think that behind that insulation is the house exterior!

The tile is gone...

This morning I removed the remaining tile from the shower walls. My work then was cut short by the lack of a pipe wrench. I'll use that to remove the spout on the shower wall and remove the faucet and countertop from the vanity. A quick trip to Home Depot should solve the pipe wrench problem, and Sunday I'll be able to remove the vanity and shower spout and faucet.

TGIF!

Although its only been 5 days since I started this project, I am learning a lot. Mainly I've learned that how one normally installs thing versus how it is actually installed can be very different. It seems that a mortar wall was built up around the inside of the shower lining. Instead of using concrete board, a mesh screen was attached to the wall studs and mortar was spread onto the screen to form a wall. I'm having fun and looking forward to the weekend and being able to start fresh in the morning, instead of tackling the bathroom after working all day.

Here's a good shot of the mesh screen the mortar is attached to. You can even see the insulation peeking out from behind it!

No Doors!

Today started off with 2 easy tasks...removing the bathroom door and shower door. The bathroom door was getting in the way and well the shower door just had to go. Those came off very easily and I was ready to tackle the shower walls. I thought these tiles would come off easier than the floor...wrong. They are stuck on tight and it will be a while before they are all off. If I wasn't doing the new tiling myself I'd be finding out who inititially installed this tile...they did a great job!

Day 3...the toilet is gone!

It was a very productive afternoon/evening at 9793 Meadow Valley Drive. Almost all of the visible tile from the floor has been removed and by the end of the week the vanity should be gone as well. Removing the toilet was very easy...just as my Home Depot book described. Seems all my Saturday mornings of watching Bob Villa and Home Again when I was a kid are starting to pay off...

Bet Bob Villa usually didn't use pink rags

to plug his drain pipes...

Good Bye 1980s tile

I have started our first major house project...remodeling the second full bath. The first step involves tearing out all of the old tile and the 1+ inch mortar bed in which the tile was installed. I've just begun removing the old tile as seen here. Later this week I'll be removing the toilet and vanity. The floor tile and bathtub tile will be updated with 12 inch tiles (color TBD) along with a new vanity and faucet. Depending on the removal of the toilet, it may or may not be replaced. Stay tuned for further demo updates!