Fixing up the house

Ok, let’s review for a moment:

1. Planning the remodel, this is where you decided what extent you were going to with the bathroom.
2. Removing the toilet, step by step instructions to remove a toilet
3. removing the vanity, step by step instructions to remove a vanity

If your plans involve removing the bathtub then you are in for a little work now. To get a regular tub out you have to remove the wall covering on the front sides, top sides and back. There is a flange that sticks up behind most tubs that stops water from seeping back behind and it is also used to fasten the tub in place.

The tub/shower valve handles need to be removed. There should be a little cap on the top of the handle or handles. pry them out and it will expose a screw head. If the faucet valve is really old there could be rust in here and if you can’t get the screw out you may have to figure out how to get it out. A good drill bit and drill straight into the top of the screw will remove the screw head and you can get the handle off. Then you can grab the screw shank with a pliers if you are going to be saving the valve. Just leave it if you are replacing it. That’s about the easiest way to get one of those screws out.

Now remove the fill spout for the tub. There are a couple ways these are attached. Some have a set screw just next to the wall and under the spout. Loosen it and pull the spout out away from the wall. Most likely it is an “allen wrench” about 1/8″ or so. The other way is screwed on and a counter clockwise rotation will get it off. It may be on there pretty tight.

If you have a shower door the frame needs to be taken apart. First thing is to remove the doors. They should lift up to get the wheels off the track and then pulled out on the bottom (or in) and lowered then they should be loose. There may be a guide bar screwed to the bottom to keep it in the channel and that has to be removed first before lifting. Then once the doors are out of the way take out the screws for the frame and take it apart. There may be a bunch of silicone caulk around it so prying may come into play here.

If there are tiles on the wall or a plastic/fiberglass surround for the tub that will need to be removed as well so you can get to the drywall or tile backer board that will have to be removed. I find that a drywall taping knife works pretty good to get under older tiles and sometimes a little hammering action with a masons chisel under the edge of the tiles.

The same goes for the surround with a big drywall taping knife to wedge in behind to get it loose. Don’t worry if you pull off some of the paper on the drywall. This can be fixed or replaced when the new tub is in place. When I am replacing a tub I take all of the sheet rock off and start over with new and if I am using tile I place a tile backer board instead. This way if the grout has any leaks the board behind will resist the water and make it cause no damage.

Now that the tub is all exposed and the flange edge has any fasteners removed it is time to remove the plumbing drain. The drain on the bottom most commonly screws out of the hole. You can take a pair of pliers and a big screw driver to get this out. Stick the handles of the pliers into the hole so it goes through the cross grate in the drain. (You know that spot that always catches all the hair and stuff you have to clean out or the tub fills up when you shower.) There may be a screw holding a screen in place that has to come off first. Put the screw driver through the middle area on the handles so you can use it to spin the pliers counter clockwise. Now when you have that out you can take the overflow apart. First take off the cover and remove the drain stopper if there is one. You should have two screws for the cover and then a rod going down the hole. Just pull the rod all the way out and there should be a pipe looking thing on the end that will have to be wiggled a bit to get it out. Now there should be just two more screws to remove that hold the drain up against the tub right where you just pulled out the drain stopper. Take them out and the tub is free.

There you have it. The tub is now ready to be lifted out of it’s space.

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Alright, now the entire room is ready to be transformed. If you’re keeping the original tub then you have less work to do. Maybe you’re thinking of tiles or a tub surround (unless you have one of those one or two piece fiberglass tub/shower units) to change the looks of the tub/shower area. We can work with anything here.

Now is where the creativity begins. Take a look at your plans for the room and decide where you want to start. With just a light remodel you will have a toilet and vanity/sink combo to change and with complete gut and replace everything you will have a good amount of work on your hands.

With this article I’m going all the way for the gut and replace. I will also have details for the light remodel but I want to cover the complete picture so as not to leave anyone out.

I’ve told you how to remove all of the items in the room except the cabinets on the wall. Maybe a built in medicine cabinet or a wall mount one with a mirror on it. These generally are removable with screws. Be cautious that you don’t pull out the last screw with nothing holding up the cabinet. When they fall they don’t do well. There are also towel racks to remove. Most of these have a little screw under the bottom edge of the wall ring that holds them to a bracket. No need to pull the screw all the way out. Just a little ways to get the plate off the bracket.

Ok, here we go. To gut the whole place you will have to remove all of the drywall/plaster and discard it. No sense in reusing drywall if you are gutting a room. once you have all of the drywall pried off the wall you pull out all of the screws and or nails and get clean studs. The outside wall needs to have insulation when you put the new drywall on. So if there is none there now plan on getting some.

This is the perfect time to add new outlets, move plumbing or move a wall. You can make a raised deck if you have the room and you can install a sky lite. Maybe a new quieter and more powerful exhaust fan and/or recessed lighting. It’s your call.

If you are thinking of moving plumbing and not sure if you can do the work then hire a plumber to come move it for you. That way it will be done correctly. You aren’t looking for a complete re plumb of the house so you shouldn’t have to pay a huge price. A true plumber will be fair and get the work done fast and to code.

You can do the same with electrical or just get one of those electrical books from the library and do it yourself. This is not a good platform for me to go into how to wire and how to plumb. There are many books available for that.

Now when everything is where you want it it’s time to start putting the drywall on. This is not a hard task to perform. It is awkward and a little heavy and you may want to have someone else do it for you. This is fine and I would hire a drywall company to hang and tape it to paint ready. This will be the easiest way by far but if you are ready to tackle it yourself then I’ll walk you through it.

First thing is the ceiling, otherwise known as the “lid” in drywall terms. Get a friend or two and keep the beer away from them till the drywall is up. This way you will get a better product with less damage of the drywall. In the ceiling there are going to be cutouts for the lighting and ventilation. The easiest way to make these holes is with a drywall saw. You will need to locate the spot on the drywall for the hole before you hang it on the ceiling. This takes two measurements, one from the side and one from the end. The drywall is designed to run across the ceiling joists not with them for it’s best strength. Now get your measurement from the end and make a pencil mark on the drywall. Then take the other one from the side. If it is the light box then the measurements are of the center and if the exhaust fan then you will get each side. A drywall T-square is handy here.

Once the drywall is marked out with the holes try to visualize if you grabbed the sheet and rolled it upside down over your head if the holes will be on the correct spots. If it seems backwards then the measurements could be from the wrong side on the sheet. When you are satisfied they are in the right places it is time to saw the holes out. The round hole for the light box needs to be cut out round and close to the size of the box so you don’t have to fix it with taping. So just big enough to slip over the box edge and same with the fan box. Now get the sheet lifted up and screw or nail it into place. You will need screws at each point available around the perimeter and then along each ceiling joist in the middle you will need at least 3 screws evenly spaced across the sheet. This will make a permanent application.

Now it is time for the next sheet. Follow the same steps as before and take all of the side measurements from the side of the drywall you just hung till you have covered the whole ceiling.

Now comes the walls. There are three way to hang the walls. You can stand the sheets up from the floor to the ceiling or you hang from side to side which is the professional way. There are two ways to hang from side to side. One way is to hang the top sheet first and then the bottom and the other way is hand the bottom first and stack the top on it. When you pick out the way you like you will be ready to get started.

Let’s say you will be stacking with the bottom first. Measure the length of the wall. If the wall is longer than the drywall then measure to the nearest length but not longer and you will cut the sheet to the middle of the stud. If there are holes to be made in the sheet then the same methods as before should be used. This time you will measure from the floor up and from one of the sides. Tackle the water wall first to get it out of the way. Once that is done you should be able to tackle the rest of the room from what you have learned so far.

See you on the next post. Where I will go over the taping of the drywall you just hung.

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