Improper plumbing & trying to remodel bathroom/laundry

Better look out for coyotes with that on

You aint right!!!!!!

I think I'd be more in danger of Elmer Fudd.

On to the bathroom repair thing, the sewage backed up and busted the wax ring and soaked the floor under the cheap vinyl sheet (the cheap vinyl sheet was put in a few years prior to replace the carpet that was in the bathroom when we moved in).

Discovered that the toilet was installed on top of carpet. No pics of the toilet before it was removed, but got a pic of the remains of the carpet.


When I removed it and the vinyl sheet, the wood underneath was the consistency of mud.


Unfortunately not all of the plywood was like mud and some of it extended under the walls and vanity so I had to chisel it out.


I used some old cardboard boxes, tape, and bought some cheap lipstick (since I don't own any makeup) to use on the flange to transfer the shape/size for a template. I cut out the hole and tested the fit with the cardboard.


(continued)

I used the template on some luan (not sure on the spelling)


Then I cut it out with a jigsaw (which went pretty roughly but did the job).


Then I put it in place and screwed it down with countersunk decking screws. I puttied over the screws afterward.


Unfortunately there was a difference in the thickness of the original floor and the new piece. The store didn't have anything that was exactly the same thickness so at first I tried to use wood putty to smooth it over, but that didn't work. So I decided to use self-leveling flooring mix. But I waited too long to use the mix and it had gotten clumps in it. I had a friend helping me and I said that we needed to break the clumps up first and he said it would be fine. He poured the water in and then we tried to spread it.. It came out the consistency of slightly runny chunky peanutbutter. It wouldn't level and then my friend got nagged by his girlfriend so I had to take him home. When I came back, the liquid parts had settled a bit more but there were sharp lumps sticking up. I tried to hammer them down, chisel them out, sand them, etc... but they wouldn't go down.


(continued again)

I thought maybe if I used an underlayment it would dampen the bumps enough for the floor to be OK under the vinyl sheet. After some frustration with the wind and dogs while trying to lay the stuff out with the template and such outside (the only place where I had enough flat surface to lay it out), I got it cut and put it in.


Then ensued the monkey with a football part-- where I fumbled to try to get the template on the vinyl sheet. I screwed it up a bit, but the professional that installed the first vinyl sheet didn't do such a great job either. I had to bring the 12' x 10' roll in by myself (which probably looked like something out of 3 Stooges) and started putting things in place. If the room was just square, it would be ok.. but nooooo, it has all sorts of parts jutting in and out. I managed to screw up one of the edges so its not close enough to the wall. I would have to cover the gap with some sort of trim.




In the last pic you can see the mistake on the righthand side. At the widest point its about an inch off. I don't know if I'll be able to slide the whole sheet over to compensate though.. I'll have to see what I can do.. But the bumpy stuff was still a problem and its not level. I am planning to do another self-leveling job to see if I can fix it. I've been procrastinating on that for awhile now.

Meanwhile, I painted the wall behind where the toilet will go because the paneling got scuffed up. After I do the self-leveling stuff, I will do a final coat and use tape for vinyl sheet to make it stay down. I'm debating whether or not to keep the underlayment to try to keep the floor a tad warmer in winter, but I'm not sure if it makes much of a difference. It feels nice and cushy at least (except for the lumpy part). I also removed the old hardware from the vanity and painted it, but they still need some touch-ups and I will have to put the new hardware on. I want to get the floor leveled before I do the final coat of paint. Then I will add some trim and baseboards.

If you lay your hands on a grinder with a diamond blade you could knock those lumps down.
You won't be the first to us molding and corner cove around a floor.
Can we just call you Bunny now?

nealtw said:

If you lay your hands on a grinder with a diamond blade you could knock those lumps down.
You won't be the first to us molding and corner cove around a floor.
Can we just call you Bunny now?

Click to expand...

I'll have to see if I have any grinders around... but the floor still needs to be leveled since the stuff didn't spread evenly. I already bought the new bag of leveling mixture. They no longer carry the type I had before so I had to get a 50lb sack. I need about 10lbs out of it and 5.2 cups of water. A friend of mine helped me break down the cup measurements into TBSP but I'll have to look at my notes to remember what it was.

I need to find a better way to block off the holes and walls this time. I used cardboard with painter's tape last time, but it soaked through and made the cardboard get stuck in some places.

I'll have to wait until this respiratory crud I've got clears up though. I've been coughing so hard I get light-headed.

Duct tape and leave it anywhere you are going to do molding. That will keep the next flood in the room.

Remember, you only have to grind/chip down the spots that will be above the final level of the floor. The next batch of SLC will fill in the imperfections. If you can't find a grinder, you might have some luck with a cold chisel and a hammer. Place the chisel at a 45 degree angle on the side of the high spot and give it a good hard shot with the hammer. Wear eye protection! (and gloves)

I have tried a chisel and hammer but I lack the strength to break the stuff. LOL. I am fairly certain that I have at least one grinder (possibly more) laying around.

Good idea on the duct tape under molding.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to deal with the edge near the bathtub because the skirt of the tub is resting on a 1" strip of wood that isn't flush with the tub. It juts out just a little bit in some places.




I also have to fix this-- thanks the crappy former tenants.

Oh, and here is a crappy rough sketch of the bathroom layout.

As much has I hate it; for the tub, the crappy vinyl glue on stuff from the 70s

I also have to fix this-- thanks the crappy former tenants.

Click to expand...

I can't tell what that is......

I'm trying to figure out the best way to deal with the edge near the bathtub because the skirt of the tub is resting on a 1" strip of wood that isn't flush with the tub. It juts out just a little bit in some places.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you can find something in your toolbox that you can use to trim that wood back. I'm not sure why that plywood is even there. Is your tub on good support? Was this a makeshift repair? I would normally suggest that this would be the time to to pull the tub and put in the whole subfloor correctly, but your to-do list is long enough already. Just be sure everything is solid before going forward.

Get your brother to bang on those high spots.

The tenants managed to scrape the porcelain off of the cast iron on the tub. I have a little porcelain repair kit though. I hope it will cover that large of a scrape.

I don't know for sure why they have the wood under the skirt. It's been like that since I moved in-- only they originally had carpet in the bathroom. There is still carpet under the vanity. I couldn't get that crap out, so I'm sealing up the toekick to keep nasty stuff from coming out from underneath there.

My tub feels like it is on good support, so I hope it is. I'm worried that if I try to chisel at the wood under the tub skirt that I'll end up scraping the porcelain. Maybe I can get a piece of molding that is tall enough to go over and notch it a little to accommodate the difference between the tub surface and the wood underneath and then I can use 100% silicone along the seam at the top and sides.

Why plywood? I have no clue. There are a lot of things in the house where I am like "Why the f--- did they do this?" I was wondering "Why carpet?" That stuff was so incredibly disgusting when we came back and evicted the tenants. They apparently didn't believe in vacuuming or cleaning. All of the carpet had to go.

LOL. Wish I could get my brother to try to take those bumps out. He doesn't do that kind of stuff. He cooks, plays video games, and sometimes carries heavy stuff. He's even more of a monkey with tools than I am. He'd probably end up putting a hole in my wall somehow.

The tub was set on the original floor that has been replaced, likely hardwood which was just as dumb as the carpet.

Hmm.. I don't know why it would be a full inch higher than the subfloor though.. I do wonder if maybe they didn't have the floor level enough or something and they used that strip of wood at the front as compensation. Although its possible that they once had hardwood-- I'm not sure though, because the quality of materials used in this place is not that great. I could see that the toilet was once installed where the vanity is now but it was moved at a later date.
The vanity has all sorts of gouges and junk


Apparently they didn't get the wall panels right or the ceiling tiles and had to use wood to cover it.


And then we have this vent thing that won't stay in place (it doesn't even work now)


Despite the negatives, its still a very nice-sized bathroom. I may despise the ceiling, but I've grown to like the wall panels.

We can see you do what you can with what you have, I am impressed with the jobs you take on.

you need one of these. makes a lot of the work you are trying to do easy

new tool

Thanks, Neal. I wish I was better at doing stuff and that I had more energy to do things. I need to keep myself motivated.

Thanks, Frodo. That tool would have come in handy when I started this project. I think there is an oscillating attachment for my Matrix- and I have the sander attachment for it.

Also, I think I'm going to try to putty over those gouges on the vanity. When I'm over this respiratory crud I am going to make myself work on this. And you guys can help me stay motivated (I really appreciate the support).