Bathroom remodeling question?? (D.I.Y.)?

Question

Seeking professional advice from fellow D.I.Y. folks. I am starting a complete bathroom remodel, What should I start ripping out first? We will still be using this bathroom off an on if needed, as a guest bathroom. Everything is coming out at one point.But I am not sure where to start. I am replacing or getting rid of the half paneling, the lighting, sink and huge avocado green vanity & cabinet, toilet, floor, wall paper under the 3 or 4 layers of paint, ceramic tile in the shower, and finally the bath tub. What would you start with??

Answer 1

The only way to do this is: make sure the electrical stuff is shut down,disconnect water supply in cellar to the bath...After you have done all of that tear the room apart back to the studs.. There is no easy way to do this. If you try to do it in pieces you''ll drive yourself crazy.Trying to work around stuff is so time consuming and frustrating it isn't worth the trouble..Floor first, water and electrical second, plumbing, walls and ceiling, fixtures, paint..Now your done, it wasn't that bad was it.??

Answer 2

Hi!

There are so many questions in my mind and I really am supposed to be finishing up a snowflake project for tomorrow,,, so please forgive me for being brief.

I would:
replace the wallpaper, put in new lighting, flooring and the ceramic tiles in the shower.

I would think twice about the bath tub. Has it any historical interest? If so, what would you get to replace the toilet so it would match the tub in style, should you decide to save it (like.... it's nice and deep, long and comfortable to lie in...etc.) ????

Given the information I have (i.e. not photos) I would not get rid of the half panelling or the vanity and cabinet. Cabinetry is worth its weight in gold and you may always have it restored. Half panelling is really very attractive as a "country look" and it adds warmth to the house in winter, because it adds an extra layer of insulation.

I would replace the wallpaper with bathroom wallpaper (washable and moisture proof), and put in ceramic tiles for the flooring.

Snowflakes are calling .... but I would never in a million years do it myself. Let someone else do it. There are bathroom designers. You will not be sorry. Life is too short. Cheers and Merry Christmas.

p.s. Don't underestimate the skills that are needed for such a project. Those professionals are really gifted, believe me. The mistakes you make could be costly. I do know, because I have made them... and then been VERY embarrassed at myself. But what do I know?

Answer 3

Television shows make all these projects look simple. It is never simple to do a project the right way. Tearing out the vanity and old floor will be the easy parts, but you will have to check on shutting off the water, and possibly the electricity. Ceramic tile needs to be installed on either Durock or some other concrete board underlayment if your floor is wood, or if your house is on a concrete foundation you can skip this step. You will need to find the center of your floor and start laying your tile there, setting it in mortar. Cutting ceramic tile is another issue. Most box stores (aka Lowe's) will cut the tile for you if you measure and mark it at home or allow you to use their cutter. This involves a lot of running back and forth. Once you get all the tile cut and layed, you still have to grout it, clean it up, and seal your grout. Then you are on to the sink, which has to be levelled, the base set, the connections made and the base caulked. Hopefully, you can achieve this without damaging the tile you just laid.If you are really up for doing this, your first step should be the library or on-line for detailed instructions. I am in the flooring business, and I get calls every week from people wanting us to come in and fix a project because they tried to save money buying from Lowe's and doing it themselves. I would suggest you find a good contractor who knows what they are doing, unless you are ready to live with your own work.

Answer 4

If you are planning on doing all this your self good luck!!! I just finished or I should say had a contractor do it and am so glad I did. That's really a big project. Why not get a few estimates and weight the pros & cons of the DIY. The tiolet should be the last to go if you are still going to be using it at all. Also remember everything has to be hauled off and you may have to have a plumber & an electician if you are relocating any of the pipes or wiring. Hope this helps. Have you ever done anything like this before? On those TV show like redesign on a dime and flip this or that they make it look so easy and believe me it's not. Sounds like a big project and will not be finished for quite some time even if you are working on it full time. I had 3 guys at the same time and still have to do my hardwood floors.

Answer 5

Start with the knowledge that this will be out of commission for quite some time, if you are preforming this yourself.
Phase 1 Put down proper floor coverings & wall protection in all areas that may be exposed to debris removal. Close or block all doors that may be in the vicinity of demo. Remove all that you intend to remove. Cap all waste lines or stuff a rag in them, so they are not filled with debris. Make sure water stops exist on all water supplys. I'm sure you don't want to shut the entire house down.(Don't preform a half gut & then decide to remove more after some fixtures are placed) Assuming you know what fixtures you intend to install. Inspect all existing plumbing and electrical for integrity. Adjust your waste and water supply lines to accomodate your new fixtures rough ins. Is the electric to code? Make sure you have a ground on you feed to the bathroom. Add boxes, for lighting / exhaust fan / etc. I like to feed the entire bathroom from the Ground Fault Interupter (GFI) This being a dedicated circut. Make sure the elevation of all electrical boxes are placed in proper elevation and depth to accomodate your wall treatments. This is a good start, when you complete this email me. Merry Christmas & Good Luck

Answer 6

We just completely gutted our kid's bathroom. We tore EVERYTHING out and replaced the sub floor first. Then we tiled the floor and one corner of the walls. As soon as the tile was grouted we put the toilet back in. I was sick of the kids using my bathroom and wasting my make-up lol. That is as far as we have gotten. Hope your project goes faster than ours. Good luck.

Answer 7

Start by picking out all the new stuff you need for the bath, cabinets, sink, tile, flooring ect. Pick it all out. Get it on order. Get the time for arrival of everything. Then take out every thing.

Answer 8

the cabinets and vanity. those aren't quite as important to guests as the sink and toilet!!

Answer 9

make them all pee outside and strip wash in a bucket and pull the lot out ,how are you ment to work if people are still wanting to use it it wont kill them to go with out for a bit and you could get on a lot faster