Bathroom remodel anyone?

[CUBE]

OK, I bought this house and am doing pretty much all the remodeling myself. I have even taken a little tile class and new it would go well as it is not unlike dealing with cake frosting...I cater some on the side.

Now I look at this basic ugly bathroom and it needs help. The question...can I do it. Have any of you done this and did you find it do-able? I have to pull out a fiberglass shower and then replace it all with a tiled shower from the ground up. Any thoughts. Need your insights my brothers. Any special books you found? Thanks.

 

[nudeyorker]

I did my bathroom last year. I bought a book, I went down to Homo Depot and took some lessons and it turned out great! Good Luck... take before and after pix and let us know how it goes!

 

[CUBE]

Thanks buddy, anyone else

 

[HellsKitchenmanNYC]

If I remember correctly HGTV has videos on their site w/instructions. I wish I had known that back when I sanded all mu floors and was stripping 95 yrs of paint off my mouldings and woodwork!

 

[jayfromnyc]

I do re-construction and re-modeling. It really depends on the size of the bathroom, if any plumbing needs to be re-routed etc etc. Remember when tiling, always keep a level handy! Make a center line (make sure its level/plum), take your time. You should use concrete backer board, some use greenback also. Your tile job will only be as good as your prep work. Always pre-cut your tiles before you start using mastick ( it usually dries quickly), do a dry-run fit. Remember the old saying, measure twice, cut once! Hope my ramblings helped a little. Good luck.

 

[Dave NoCal]

Building a mortar bed shower is kind of involved but doable if you take it step by step. There was a good article on that process in Fine Homebuilding in the mid-eighties. It might still be in your local library or online. I suggest checking out the how-to books a Lowes or Home Depot. One small poit I will make is that when you install the waterproof membrane you tack it up to the wall studs then put up your concrete board over that. The seemingly insignificant thickness of the membrane will get the bottoms of your wall board off vertical and it will show in your mortar lines. Therefore, I suggest you place about 1/8" shims on your wall studs from just above the shower membrane to the height your concrete board will end. Good luck.
Dave

 

[CUBE]

Good advice. I had some estimates and couldn't get over the quotes. I mean this is just a regular ol bathroom and the quote was like 10 grand. I don't think people should work for free...but the length of their time divided by the 10 grand was way more than any other occupational fee I thought. So I am going to look for those videos on the net and after I shower today I am off to Lowes. Maybe some big hunky handyman will bump into me.

 

[nudeyorker]

I'm a big believer in doing it myself except for surgery and hair care, I've done all of the work myself in my apartment in NYC, however I bought a house last December and because I'm in NY and the house is in Hawaii, I'm working with a contractor ...It's amazing what you pay for someone else to do the work...but because of the internet I am able to look at samples and see the results on a daily basis. If you can do it yourself the savings are incredible. I'm having them do the floors, 2 1/2 baths and the kitchen, the rest I'll finish when I move in.

 

[MarkLondon]

A few basic tips.

Like most decorating tasks, it's all in the preparation. The surfaces you're going to tile must be clean, sound, smooth and level.

Tile symetrically: a wall that's x + 1/2 a tile long should have a 1/4 tile at each end.

Buy more tiles than you need. There will be some breakages and miss-cuts. When you go back for more there may be colour variation, or they may even have discontinued your choice.

 

[CUBE]

Thanks, I'm taking it all down

 

[HellsKitchenmanNYC]

Also when tiling don't forget to 'find the true center of the room'! Otherwise when it's done you're gonna see it's all off balance in terms of pattern.

 

[CUBE]

Yes , the true center, though I also know you have the aesthetic center in some bathroom depending on the counter size etc. thanks. I have been starting slow. I took out a small closet door yesterday. It is a two sided access closet. One door went into the family room. I don't need it and it will give me more wall space for a picture. I ripped the entire thing out...pulled back some dry wall...and will put some support in place... and try to do the dry wall fill in of the door today. I have been doing ok with the drywall on the whole. Baby steps I see that bathroom as my Mount Everest.