How to Demo a Bathroom

To recap this past week of the bathroom remodel, every day has been demo day! Everything is now out of the bathroom including the old tub and tiles, toilet, vanity, flooring and walls. Follow along as I go into more detail on how to demo a bathroom.

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Removing the Walls

We wanted to remove all the walls because they weren’t made with moisture resistant drywall like they should have been as recommended in bathrooms. We also are planning on tiling the walls partly, and so concrete board will need to be installed also. I will be going into this in more details when we get to the tiling part of this project in a future blog post.

Basically you just need to be able to grab onto a corner of drywall and rip it down and keep doing so. To be able to grab a hold of it, you can cut a line with a utility knife first. Another way is to just go at it with a hammer to make openings and rip it down. Just be careful and know what is possibly behind the wall first! You also may need an impact driver to remove any screws or a hammer for any nails left behind.

Removing the Shower Tiles

These tiles were attached to drywall, so it all came down quite easily. Tim started with making a hole with a hammer then just tore it down!

Removing the Tub

To remove the tub, first Tim disconnected the drain using this drain removal tool. After removing the stopper from the drain, you use this by combining it with a crescent wrench (like shown). You insert the end which fits into the drain hole and simply unscrew it. Once the drain disconnects from the plumbing below, it will simply pull out. You’ll also need to unscrew and disconnect the overflow part of the drain on the front of the tub.

Next you will remove the nails or screws that attach the tub to the studs on the wall (with a hammer or impact driver). Finally, Tim removed the caulk seal around the base of the tub using a utility knife, and then the tub could be removed. Tubs are often sunk in mortar for a solid foundation, but ours was not. This means it wasn’t installed properly in the first place, but it did make it easier to remove!

It also helps to have a college kid home for the weekend to help with the heavy lifting! 😉

Removing the Toilet, Vanity and Flooring

Removing a toilet is pretty straight forward. You can read more about how to do so here.

Removing the vanity was fairly easy. Tim started by closing the water supply valves, disconnecting the supply lines, and then he disconnected the drain pipe from the wall. You will want to have a bucket handy for this as there is likely water still in the trap of the drain. There was literally one screw in the back of the vanity attaching it to the wall. So after pulling out that screw he could lift the vanity out.

First of all, the floor needed to be removed because of obvious water damage. Also, since we will be adding tile we will need to add cement board ultimately. Presently he is installing plywood subflooring. Cement board will be next, then tile.

Everything is Out!

This is just part of what needed to be hauled off to the dump!

Other Progress this Week

We have a tub! The plumber came and installed the tub and prepared the plumbing for a second sink (since the previous vanity had only one sink).

Hoping to be ready to tile soon! Join us next week!

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