If your residence is old enough for a shower room remodelling, you could want to go on and also completely intestine it. I began my restroom remodel last month with a total demolition. If I hadn't, a variety of problems would have been not available for fixing ... or even undiscovered. Right here's exactly what I located when I opened the walls and ceiling of my 1981 condominium right here in the Quad Cities.
Take care of pipes shocks
Below's an additional point I located. I'm not a pipes specialist, yet I see a trouble below. Think of if that section of typical drain line for our back-to-back sinks got clogged. Currently imagine running a snake in there from one sink. Do you assume it would make the turn? Probably not. We changed it out and also balance out both.
Repair termite damages
When I opened up the exterior wall surface, I found termite damages in two areas: the king stud, jack stud, as well as paralyze on the tub side of the window as well as the jack stud beyond of the window. The bright side is that the damage was done long ago. As long as I have actually lived here, the owners' organization has stayed on top of termite therapy and surveillance, however I understand there was a period when they didn't. Hence the damage I found.
Replace decomposed subflooring
In addition to the termite-damaged wall, I likewise found rotten subflooring near the bathtub. This was mostly from obtaining also damp, as well as I presumed it since ceramic tiles had started turning up because area.
Make up for no or little insulation
I understood we had insulation in our walls. I assumed it was R-11 fiberglass batts since our upstairs neighbor's icemaker had a negative leakage a few years ago, obtaining half of our laundry room ceiling and also part of the wall. The usual wall surface had R-11 batts. I figured the rest of the wall surfaces did, too. I recognized they had insulation because I have actually checked behind switch and also receptacle plates.
I got a little shock when I took the drywall off of that outside shower room wall surface as well as saw this:
This is really a good idea, in a way, since it suggests I'll get more enhancement compared to I assumed I was getting.
Seal up the air leaks
Yes, our 1981 condominium is dripping. I understood about the big bathtub holes and various other pipes infiltrations due to the fact that I have actually seen them from the cellar. I didn't understand that the wall surfaces were covered with asphalt-impregnated fiber board (Celotex) that offered great deals of air leak pathways. Again, viewing the bright side, that implies I'll be able to make more improvement compared to I 'd assumed.
I cannot wait to do a blower door test when it's all done. However, I won't have the ability to separate out the renovation due just to my washroom work. The proprietors' association just had the entire floor secured with spray foam insulation. I'm guessing our overall air leak will be around half of just what it was.
Install an exhaust fan and also fix ductwork
Did I discuss our apartment was built in the 80's? The master bathroom has a home window, so naturally, it didn't require an exhaust follower, right? Incorrect. I've got over a year of data on temperature and family member humidity because washroom without an exhaust fan. Currently I'm putting one in and will collect much more data. Stay tuned for the outcomes.
Yet even if your washroom currently has a follower, I would certainly bet it doesn't move sufficient air. The typical bathroom follower moves about half its rated air circulation. If your bath fan isn't really available from the attic, opening the ceiling is the only method to get at the air duct as well as fix it. Just what you see because picture below is common for bathroom fan air ducts: sagging flex air duct that makes a lot of turns. (That's not my brand-new fan, incidentally.).
Address other potentially unknown repair needs.
Several years ago we had to do some pipes work for the bathtub in the hall restroom. When the plumbing technicians had the wall opened up, I inquired to put shutoffs in on the cold and hot water lines so that if any individual needed to deal with that plumbing in the future, they would not need to switch off the water to the whole building.
So they put in the valves. When I opened up the wall, I saw them as well as took this image:.
I would certainly use that shower a couple of times over the years and also always questioned why the stress was so low. Now I recognize. The plumbings mounted the shutoffs but then didn't open them completely. Those red deals with need to be straight according to the pipelines. Wonderful!
I additionally found that our ceiling had two layers of drywall. We have a smooth ceiling throughout our condo, however the original ceiling was stippled. The good news is, it had not been a snacks ceiling, which can contain asbestos.
And I discovered the original, hideous wallpaper.
If you're remodeling a bathroom, there a lot of excellent needs to go all the way and gut it entirely. That's just what I'm doing. We're virtually all set to start shutting it back in, so remain tuned for more tales from the get more info shower room.