Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
User avatar
Topic Author
XtremeSki2001
Posts: 1733
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:28 pm
Location: New York

Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by XtremeSki2001 »

Hi All,

Has anyone done a bathroom demo? Is this something someone with low 'handyman' skills can do? We have a soaking tub, standing stall shower, double sink vanity, and tile throughout (floors and walls).

Am I going to wish I paid someone to do this?
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through
jaj2276
Posts: 581
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:13 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by jaj2276 »

I haven't done a demo nor do I think it would be that difficult. However, I would probably get a few quotes and then ask them "How much if it was already demolished?" It might be surprising to see how little you would save by doing the demo yourself (at least on a project this small). But if you go this route, I'd love for you to come back with your findings because I too am thinking of doing a bathroom remodel and I think I could demo it myself.
User avatar
damjam
Posts: 955
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:46 am
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by damjam »

Is this a bathroom from the 1930's or closer to modern?
Old bathrooms used "mud" behind the tiles (think sidewalk on the wall). Newer bathrooms have some type of thinish concrete board or sheetrock behind the tile, which is much easier to remove and lighter to carry.
I had to gut 3 bathrooms from the 1930's and am very glad I hired someone to do it. Relative to the price of the entire project, demo was around 5% of the cost.
Grt2bOutdoors
Posts: 25625
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: New York

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

XtremeSki2001 wrote:Hi All,

Has anyone done a bathroom demo? Is this something someone with low 'handyman' skills can do? We have a soaking tub, standing stall shower, double sink vanity, and tile throughout (floors and walls).

Am I going to wish I paid someone to do this?
Taking out tile is not difficult at all - have hammer, easy but you will have to clean up the mess. The double sink vanity - should not be hard to dismantle - shut the water off, remove the connections from the pipes to the hoses, you may want to try using a wonder bar to attempt at sink removal from the base first, but you will need another pair of hands to help you carry it out. The soaking tub may (will likely) be heavy and require more than one pair of hands with another wonder bar and it will not be as easy or time efficient as the tile or vanity.
Standing stall - are they tempered glass doors or plexiglass - remove the doors. The base is vinyl or tile? Do you have a dumpster that will take this sort of refuse? I don't believe your condo association may be allowed to throw out this stuff with regular garbage.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
Grt2bOutdoors
Posts: 25625
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: New York

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

damjam wrote:Is this a bathroom from the 1930's or closer to modern?
Old bathrooms used "mud" behind the tiles (think sidewalk on the wall). Newer bathrooms have some type of thinish concrete board or sheetrock behind the tile, which is much easier to remove and lighter to carry.
I had to gut 3 bathrooms from the 1930's and am very glad I hired someone to do it. Relative to the price of the entire project, demo was around 5% of the cost.
The thinish concrete board is greenboard. I'd be very worried if it was just sheetrock behind the tile.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
User avatar
pennstater2005
Posts: 2509
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:50 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by pennstater2005 »

I just tore my kitchen out myself. It took about two full days to do it. I never got an estimate to do it as I am doing everything myself from start to finish. I did not rent a roll off to put the plaster/drywall in as I just bagged it in 1.1 mill heavy duty garbage bags and it worked well. I can only put out 2 or 3 each week with trash or my guy won't take it. We're not supposed to put out remodeling trash. It has not been easy but I'm glad I did it. I had nails to pull out not drywall screws since my house was built in 1952. That took some time but once I got a system going it went fast. Be careful tearing out the plaster/drywall around any plumbing so you don't smash it. And extra care obviously around any light fixtures. Taking out the tub might be interesting. You'll be surprised how easy it goes once you get started. It's interesting to see how the house it built and you might learn something along the way.
“If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
hicabob
Posts: 3796
Joined: Fri May 27, 2011 5:35 pm
Location: cruz

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by hicabob »

If the soaking tub is cast iron and will not fit out the door they are interesting to demo. A sledge hammer and safety glasses are the requisite tools.
Demoing a bathroom is quite hard work but absolutely doable for a handy homeowner. You might want to rent a little dumpster.
User avatar
Watty
Posts: 28859
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:55 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Watty »

That is very doable if you are on a very tight budget or doing the remodel yourself but realistically you will likely not save that much since you will probably need to buy some basic tools. A couple of laborers that are used to doing labor like that and know how to do the demolition can likely take out a bathroom in a few hours so there isn't really a lot of possible savings. There may also be some materials that they will know how to salvage and resale that you would likely just take to the dump.

Most likely if you are paying a contractor to do the remodel then it doesn't make it sense to do the demolation yourself.

Depending on the age of the house there might be asbestos so be sure to look into that.

Make sure your tetanus shots are up to date
User avatar
Bob B
Posts: 680
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:52 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Bob B »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote: The thinish concrete board is greenboard. I'd be very worried if it was just sheetrock behind the tile.
Green board is gypsum, not concrete. It has the same gypsum core as regular drywall. but the paper cover is a thicker water-resistant variety (and colored green.) I would never hang tile on green board on a wet wall (i.e. bathtub/shower walls or around sink.) Use cement board in those applications.
Regards, | Bob | Wiki
Grt2bOutdoors
Posts: 25625
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: New York

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

My mistake.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
User avatar
Kosmo
Posts: 1303
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:54 am
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Kosmo »

I echo what everyone else said: It's fairly easy to do yourself. But make sure you know how you're going to dispose of all the material before you start dismantling things.

I got a quote to tear up a tile floor in a hallway (we were replacing all the flooring)...roughly 65 sf It was about $550. And that's a lot simpler than a bathroom to demo. Anyways, me and 2 other guys demo'd about 250 sf of flooring in half a day. Destroying is the easy part, rebuilding is the hard part.
User avatar
surfer1
Posts: 260
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:35 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by surfer1 »

I find demo'ing the harder part from a psychological perspective (seeing the first hole and thinking "oh no what have I done!"). But otherwise, with a crow-bar and hammer, it's fairly straight-forward. Bag everything in contractor bags. Wear a dust mask, heavy duty gloves, and leave the bathroom window open! This is important because many floor tiles contain asbestos backing. This is especially the case in older houses. Just don't pulverize the stuff.
User avatar
dianna
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 12:31 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by dianna »

XtremeSki2001 wrote:Hi All,

Has anyone done a bathroom demo? Is this something someone with low 'handyman' skills can do? We have a soaking tub, standing stall shower, double sink vanity, and tile throughout (floors and walls).

Am I going to wish I paid someone to do this?
Yes - we have done many a bathroom demo; in fact, we demo'd our entire current (1950's) home down to the studs ourselves (I do not kid). Tore out all sheetrock, flooring, subflooring, cabinets, whirlpool tub, toilets, sinks, tile, wiring, etc ourselves. I second many others who have said that you need good eye protection (goggle-style, to wrap around along the sides) and masks (the kind that make you look like you were in one of the early Star Wars movies), and I'd add that you want good ventilation including having a stand-style industrial fan depending on the type of material you are removing. Close off the water to that area and turn off the circuit to the electrical too! If you need lighting and are unsure of where the electrical runs are, run lighting from another circuit on an extension cord to the work area. No need to find out where the electrical runs are by accident.

So, are you going to wish you had paid someone to do this? Maybe. It depends on a lot of factors. Do you enjoy demo? Are you okay with dust and mess? Do you have someone who can do the project with you? We enjoyed cranking up 1970-1990's tunes, getting down to work, stopping for a pizza delivery and cold beer at lunch, then continuing with the work, perhaps even to repeat the pizza and beer for dinner. Just be wary of how many beers you consume if you are going to be using a sledgehammer afterward! :sharebeer
WhyNotUs
Posts: 2610
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by WhyNotUs »

I did this one in my rental. I did demo and some of finish, hired tile work and electrical.
Last edited by WhyNotUs on Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
WhyNotUs
Posts: 2610
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by WhyNotUs »

Oops, looks like I do not know how to use images. Never mind.
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
User avatar
Topic Author
XtremeSki2001
Posts: 1733
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:28 pm
Location: New York

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by XtremeSki2001 »

damjam wrote:Is this a bathroom from the 1930's or closer to modern?
Modern. Built in 1993.
Grt2bOutdoors wrote:The soaking tub may (will likely) be heavy and require more than one pair of hands with another wonder bar and it will not be as easy or time efficient as the tile or vanity. Standing stall - are they tempered glass doors or plexiglass - remove the doors. The base is vinyl or tile? Do you have a dumpster that will take this sort of refuse? I don't believe your condo association may be allowed to throw out this stuff with regular garbage.
Could we break the soaking tub before hauling it out?

Standing stall is plexiglass/plastic. Base is vinyl.

We'll have to research the dumpster ... hadn't thought of that. However, we're no longer in the condo :sharebeer
Watty wrote:Most likely if you are paying a contractor to do the remodel then it doesn't make it sense to do the demolation yourself.
We're going to try to do the remodel ourselves with a help of a friend who knows this type of stuff. Unfortunately, he won't be able to assist with the demo and hasn't done one before so I thought I'd solicit everyone's advice here.
surfer1 wrote:I find demo'ing the harder part from a psychological perspective (seeing the first hole and thinking "oh no what have I done!").
I'm on the fence, but I think we're going to rip out the sheetrock during the demo (not the ceiling). There is a sunk mirror w/ medicine cabinet cutting into the dry wall, which we don't plan to salvage, and some awful wall paper w/ light water damage. I think it's safer to remove the sheetrock, but I'm going to see how it looks behind everything first before removing it.
Dianna wrote:So, are you going to wish you had paid someone to do this? Maybe. It depends on a lot of factors. Do you enjoy demo? Are you okay with dust and mess? Do you have someone who can do the project with you? We enjoyed cranking up 1970-1990's tunes, getting down to work, stopping for a pizza delivery and cold beer at lunch, then continuing with the work, perhaps even to repeat the pizza and beer for dinner. Just be wary of how many beers you consume if you are going to be using a sledgehammer afterward!
We demo'd our half bath and it went very well, but it was pretty easy/straight forward. However, I did enjoy it and learned quite a lot.
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through
guitarguy
Posts: 2191
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:10 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by guitarguy »

Does your house have another bathroom? That's obviously important when you're considering time. A pro with a crew could probably demo in 1/3 of the time it may take you to get the job done.

We did our bathroom ourselves, kitchen too. I was surprised to see how much my wife enjoyed swinging a sledge hammer at our old (built into the wall) cabinets from the 60s. :shock:
User avatar
Topic Author
XtremeSki2001
Posts: 1733
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:28 pm
Location: New York

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by XtremeSki2001 »

guitarguy wrote:Does your house have another bathroom? That's obviously important when you're considering time. A pro with a crew could probably demo in 1/3 of the time it may take you to get the job done.

We did our bathroom ourselves, kitchen too. I was surprised to see how much my wife enjoyed swinging a sledge hammer at our old (built into the wall) cabinets from the 60s. :shock:
Yes, we have another full bathroom.
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through
User avatar
Watty
Posts: 28859
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:55 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Watty »

We're going to try to do the remodel ourselves ...
Go for it then.

Do be sure to get all the needed permits and inspections.
guitarguy
Posts: 2191
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:10 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by guitarguy »

XtremeSki2001 wrote:
guitarguy wrote:Does your house have another bathroom? That's obviously important when you're considering time. A pro with a crew could probably demo in 1/3 of the time it may take you to get the job done.

We did our bathroom ourselves, kitchen too. I was surprised to see how much my wife enjoyed swinging a sledge hammer at our old (built into the wall) cabinets from the 60s. :shock:
Yes, we have another full bathroom.
I'd grab your hammers and get to swingin' em. :D

Serisously though, if you're planning to do any part of the remodel yourself (which you said you were), then you must be at least slightly handy and know how to use a few tools. I wouldn't be afraid of the demo in the least.
pshonore
Posts: 8212
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:21 pm

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by pshonore »

If your house was built prior to 1978 and/or has lead paint, be extra careful.

http://www2.epa.gov/lead/renovation-rep ... ourselfers
User avatar
3CT_Paddler
Posts: 3485
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:28 pm
Location: Marietta, GA

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by 3CT_Paddler »

I demoed our bathroom last year. We had the old style of tile with a thick layer of morter behind it and a cast iron tub. It took me the weekend to do it, and it was very physically demanding, but its something that any DIYer can do (a young back was helpful here). In my case, I didn't have a sledge hammer, so the back of an axe worked nicely. Borrowed a friend's trailer to haul off the mortar and other waste... I think it cost around $100 to drop it off at the local dump.

If you have the more recent tile, it's an easier demo, as far as bagging and hauling. You should be able to turn off the water to the toilet/sink, and I would locate the water valve for the entire house in case you accidentally bust a pipe.
User avatar
DiscoBunny1979
Posts: 2054
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:59 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by DiscoBunny1979 »

Before demo, I would price all the replacement items to make sure that the size of the tub is still available. . .same for the shower . . . if you're going to put in a pre-made base unit or if you're going to put in a hand poured base . . . it can get kind of tricky. In my opinion, not only eye and nose protection is important, but wearing gloves, long sleeve shirt and jeans would prevent getting cut on flying objects. I see too many DIY shows with women in shorts and a T shirt swinging a hammer at some sheet rock - great way to get injured. Also before demo, make sure permits are pulled. Some locals require a permit when replacing a toilet or shower unit to comply with low flow water needs. If it's a Condo, there might be a requirement to get the Condo board to approve any changes and the demo.
WhyNotUs
Posts: 2610
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by WhyNotUs »

Things that I learned from doing it myself- 1.) replace valve set in shower now so that you are not trying to get to it later when it fails or leaks 2.) I cannot tile (also anticipate skimming the floor to eliminate irregularities in surface 3.) Consider replacing 20 year old fan while everything is torn up- it is cheap and easy 4.) Cheap wainscot can look terrific with a little sanding, spackling, and nice latex enamel paint (easy clean up) 5.) Spending a little on tile details (for me a row of small colored glass tiles) makes all of the difference in appearance 6.) I spent more on lighting instead of a fancy sink and felt good about that choice 7.) Think storage now and optimize it in plan- we bought a Kohler three door medicine cabinet and the renters have thanked me 8.) don't try to move any fixtures or drains if budget is an issue 9.) Buy filler strip along sink base to wall (or make it yourself) to allow drawers/doors to open fully and base to butt up to filler (oops learned that one the hard way) 10.) Don't do your best work on a rental- they now have a better bath than we do :-(
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
WhyNotUs
Posts: 2610
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by WhyNotUs »

Also, if you end up tearing out the sheetrock, I was able to reuse mine by adding wainscot, and have any adjacent wall sound concerns then you can add cotton batt insulation and tighten up around the door to isolate sound.
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
Lilly
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:14 am

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by Lilly »

My husband, son and I did a kitchen/bath demo ourselves. Right down to the studs. We did rent a dumpster and were glad we did. It took us 2 days of about 8 hours each and a morning. After the demo, we did take a couple days off to heal. Haha, found muscles we didn't know we had. I am 65 and DH is 62. We think it was worth it to do it ourselves.

Now we need to start putting it back together. That will take a lot longer.

Good luck,

Lily
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52211
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by nisiprius »

I guess I'm the only person who read the title and thought "demo a bathroom" meant "asking the Home Depot salesperson to let you try out actually using the display fixtures."
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
carolinaman
Posts: 5463
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Demo a Bathroom (Save Costs)

Post by carolinaman »

My son is a remodeler. He says a high percentge of bathroom remodels have issues requiring repairs. Most common is water damage to subflooring. Make sure your subfloor is in good shape and also look out for mold. If these are problems, they must be fixed before installing new tile, fixtures, etc.

I have done a lot of remodeling myself in recent years (kitchen, living areas but not bathrooms). I am much better at ripping stuff out than putting it back together. I have often done demo myself and had son do the professional work.
Post Reply