Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Complete Bathroom Remodel

I have taken on the task of gutting and remodeling my 40+ year old 8' x 5' bathroom and would like some general advice on the sequence of events I should follow.

So far I have completely gutted the room, removing all of the old tub enclosure tile, old sheetrock from the walls and ceiling, old floor tile, removed vanity, mirror/medicine cabinet, toilet and the tub drain. The only thing that remains sre studs, a wood sub floor and the tub. (which I am going to have refinished).

My goals are as follows...(not in any order)

1. Move bathroom sink plumbing over six inches to accomodate a new 36" sink and vanity. The old vanity was 30". I will also have to reframe the area that the new mirror/medicine cabinet will go in order for it to be centered to the new vanity.

2. Currently there is only a light switch and an overhead bar vanity light above the sink. I need to wire the new bathroom to accomodate a new ceiling light with an exhaust fan, a new 110 outlet and two new lights that will be on either side of the new mirror.

3. I need to install the celing light/fan and vent kit through roof for the new exhaust fan.

4. Install new ceiling board. What board should I use...wonderboard or a moisture resistant blue or green board?

5. Wonderboard around tub enclosure (I am also going to tile the enclosure). Finish off the rest of walls in moisture resistant board?

6. Finish dry wall.

7. Replumb tub and new tub drain.

8. Tile floor.

9. Paint unfinished walls.

10. Install new toilet.

11. Have tub refinished.

Note: I have a bit of confidence, a little experience and a few good friends to help me out. Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated.

This project started when my wife attempted to change out the old sliding shower doors (while I was at work) for a new curtain rod and shower curtain to make bathing our 1yr old easier. Tile and rotting drywall (??) came down when the frame for the shower doors were removed.

I'm in deep my friends...help!

Bob

I did the same stuff a couple years ago. Fun times. Hope you have a second bathroom.

Couple miscelaneous items:

Don't forget 6 mil plastic behind the backerboard around tub.

Put the fan on a separate timer switch.

Refinish the tub last. We had ours done in the middle of renovations and there was a lot of dust in the room. It will get on the finish, not so much that other people will notice, but so that YOU will notice. Make sure the refinisher removes the drain and any other hardware. (Doug A. has a nice article about that somewhere on the boards here)

Blueboard is for plaster. Greenboard is the moisture-resistant and it's effectiveness has been called in question lately. If I was gonna redo mine, I'd just put in plain-ole drywall.


There are lots of great posts and posters on these boards, after you get the tub re-plumbed and are ready to hang the backerbaord, post on the tile/ceramic board, they will have lots of great advice.

Get all your plumbing and electrical changes done first while the walls and ceiling are open. If you are centering the sink on the vanity you only have to move the waste line over 3" not 6". You may not have to move the supply lines at all. Use the wonderboard for all wet areas that you intend to tile. Make sure you use 6 mil poly or 15lb roofing felt behind the wonderboard. You can use regular drywall outside the wet areas unless code in your area specifically requires greenboard.

Lets talk about your floor. What size are the floor joists, what is their on center spacing and what is there unsupported span from below? How many layers of plywood and what thickness? Do you intend to install ceramic tile or natural stone?

You have a lotta info in your post. Hopefully this gets you started. Others may have some ideas here as well. You'll also be able to ask more specific questions about differenct phases of your project once you get started. Good luck and have some fun.:)

Wow...you guy's are quick. I appreciate your expedience. I'll just jump right in with my further questions and comments.

I was able to spend some time working on the bathroom today and accomplished the following...

In the past the shower head was notoriously too low. So I cut and added an additional six inches of copper pipe, soldering them into place. I turned the water on and collected water in a bucket while checking for leaks. It seemed OK, but I'm going to purchase and install the shower head and check the system under pressure before installing my board.

I plan on purchasing a tub drain, faucets and shower head tomorrow. Question...will I be able to recycle the main housing for the tub faucets if I purchase another three handle set up? I was hoping to be able to just thread out the old guts and thread in the new. I can dream can't I?

Next I intended on cutting the 1.5" bathroom sink waste drain and soldering in an additional six inches of pipe to accomodate the new vanity. (Note: the previous vanity had an offset sink so the new waste line did indeed need to be moved over six inches. Thanks for the heads up though Johnny.) To my horror, upon cutting the old waste drain pipe, I discovered it was completely rotted through on the bottom! Apparently the water from the sink has been leaking through the drain pipe through the wall cavity and into the basement. Amazingly no real water damage, although I did find some damp boards when I investigated from the basement. I ended up cutting out the entire pipe except for maybe two inches that were solid, cleaned it up and attached a rubber boot I purchased from the plumbing department at Loews. From there I fashioned a PVC waste drain and inserted it into the other end of the boot and secured it tightly with hose clamps. I hope this is going to be OK. I have decided not to move the supply lines, although the vanity we purchased is open so you can see below the sink. I was kind of hoping for a clean look but still think I may be able to achieve it with braided brass supply lines.

I'm not aware of what a timer switch is for the fan? I had planned on wiring it so that the fan and the light both turn on with one switch. Is this a good idea?

How should I go about installing the 6 mil plastic behind the wonderboard? Should I just staple it to the studs around the tub enclosure and then install the wonderboard? I was also planning on insulating the walls prior to board insulation.

The wall board that I purchased is National Gypsum Gold Bond XP. It was only $6 more per sheet and I'm dealing with a small room so the additioanl cost was not an issue. I may have mistakenly referred to it as blue board as it is sort of a blue/purple looking board. It is alledgedly moisture and mildew resistant.

I am already on board with refinishing the tub last and tackling the electrical and plumbing first. Thanks.

I also was able to do a little bit of the wiring after dinner, moving a junction box out of the way, although I still need to run wire for the new 110 outlet and the ceiling light/fan. Should I be using a 14/2 or a 12/2 wire w/ ground?

You threw me off with the floor questions Johnny. The only thing I can tell you for sure right now is that there is one layer of plywood and that I had intended on tiling the floor, although I have not yet decided what size or style of tile to go with yet. What should my concerns be regarding my floor?

I intend on continuing this documentation of my project although I will attempt to not be as longwinded in the future. This is a great site and I definitely appreciate the insight and advice. Thanks again!

On the electric, to bring up to modern code, you need a 20 amp circuit that only serves the bathroom. This would require 12 ga wire. The receptacles should also be GFCI protected. How to wire the light/fan is a personal preference. I prefer them to be separate. If there is a light dedicated to the shower area, I would wire that to the fan.

My questions were directed towards making sure that your floor is strong enough to support a tile or stone installation. You must meet L360 deflection for ceramic tile and L720 for natural stone. These are the maximum amount that your floor can deflect and support a ceramic or stone installation. If the floor is not strong enough nows the time to fix that.

So - What size are the floor joists, what is their on center spacing and what is there unsupported span from below? How many layers of plywood and what thickness? Do you intend to install ceramic tile or natural stone?:)

You can insulate the walls, staple the poly in place and then install the wonderboard. Make sure the poly overlaps the tub flange.

The fan should run for 20 minutes or so after a shower to get rid of all the humidity so most folks put it on a separate switch. You can also install a humidistat switch that will turn the fan on and off as needed.