If your home is old sufficient for a bathroom restoration, you could want to go ahead as well as entirely gut it. I started my restroom remodel last month with a full demolition. If I had not, a variety of problems would have been not available for repair service ... or perhaps obscure. Right here's exactly what I found when I opened the wall surfaces and ceiling of my 1981 condo right here in the Quad Cities.
Take care of pipes shocks
Right here's an additional point I located. I'm not a pipes specialist, yet I see a trouble below. Picture if that section of common drain line for our back-to-back sinks obtained obstructed. Currently think of running a snake in there from one sink. Do you believe it would make the turn? Probably not. We altered it out as well as balance out the two.
Repair termite damage
When I opened the outside wall surface, I discovered termite damage in two places: the king stud, jack stud, and also maim on the tub side of the window and the jack stud on the other side of the home window. The bright side is that the damage was done long ago. As long as I've lived below, the proprietors' association has stayed up to date with termite treatment and also tracking, but I understand there was a duration when they didn't. Hence the damages I discovered.
Replace deteriorated subflooring
Along with the termite-damaged wall, I additionally discovered rotten subflooring near the bathtub. This was primarily from getting also wet, and I presumed it because floor tiles had begun appearing in that area.
Offset no or little insulation
I understood we had insulation in our wall surfaces. I believed it was R-11 fiberglass batts due to the fact that our upstairs neighbor's icemaker had a negative leak a couple of years ago, securing half of our laundry room ceiling and also part of the wall. The usual wall had R-11 batts. I figured the rest of the wall surfaces did, too. I understood they had insulation due to the fact that I've inspected behind button and receptacle plates.
I obtained a little shock when I took the drywall off of that exterior shower room wall surface and saw this:
This is really a good idea, in such a way, because it indicates I'll obtain more enhancement compared to I assumed I was getting.
Seal the air leaks
Yes, our 1981 condominium is leaking. I knew about the big tub holes as well as various other pipes infiltrations because I've seen them from the basement. I didn't understand that the walls were covered with asphalt-impregnated fiber board (Celotex) that supplied great deals of air leak paths. Once more, looking on the bright side, that implies I'll be able to make more improvement than I 'd thought.
I can't wait to do a blower door examination when it's all done. Unfortunately, I will not have the ability to separate out the renovation due just to my shower room job. The owners' association just had the whole flooring secured with spray foam insulation. I'm presuming our overall air leakage will be around half of what it was.
Mount an exhaust follower as well as fix ductwork
Did I mention our apartment was constructed in the 80's? The master bathroom has a window, so naturally, it really did not require an exhaust fan, right? Incorrect. I have actually got over a year of data on temperature level as well as relative moisture because restroom without an exhaust fan. Currently I'm putting one in and also will certainly collect more information. Stay tuned for the outcomes.
However even if your bathroom already has a fan, I would certainly bet it doesn't relocate enough air. The typical click here bathroom fan stirs half its ranked air flow. If your bathroom fan isn't really available from the attic room, opening up the ceiling is the only means to get at the air duct as well as repair it. Exactly what you see because picture listed below is common for bathroom follower ducts: drooping flex air duct that makes way too many turns. (That's not my new follower, incidentally.).
Solve other potentially unidentified repair needs.
Numerous years ago we needed to do some pipes work for the bathtub in the hall bathroom. When the plumbers had the wall opened, I asked them to put shutoffs know the hot and cold water lines to make sure that if anyone had to work with that plumbing in the future, they wouldn't need to switch off the water to the whole building.
So they put in the shutoffs. When I opened the wall surface, I saw them and took this picture:.
I would certainly make use of that shower a couple of times throughout the years as well as always questioned why the pressure was so low. Currently I recognize. The plumbing professionals mounted the shutoffs however then didn't open them completely. Those red takes care of need to be straight according to the pipelines. Nice!
I likewise found that our ceiling had two layers of drywall. We have a smooth ceiling throughout our apartment, yet the initial ceiling was stippled. Luckily, it wasn't a snacks ceiling, which can contain asbestos.
As well as I uncovered the initial, gruesome wallpaper.
If you're redesigning a restroom, there a lot of excellent reasons to go all the way and digestive tract it totally. That's exactly what I'm doing. We're practically ready to begin shutting it back in, so stay tuned for even more stories from the restroom.