Bathroom "Mini-Wall" only near ceiling-Can I remove it?

[vyacheslav]

Greetings,

Please see the photo. I am speaking of the tiny wall that is in between the ceiling and the shower rod. I'm sure there is technical name for this, but I don't know what it is. I was thinking "soffit", but that probably isn't right. If someone could educate me on the name of it, I would appreciate it.

Anyway, I am redoing my bathroom and I was thinking about removing it. To the best of my knowledge, it is not load bearing, and it is made of hollow material (the rest of the walls in the home are plaster). Is there any concerns I should have about removing it? Is it there for a reason?

I want to remove it so the room seems bigger (it's a very small bathroom), plus I want to let more light in from the window (hidden behind the shower curtain).

If I do remove it, what's the best method? A Sawz-All taking out small pieces at a time?

Thanks for your help,

V

 

[nealtw]

Unless the bath tub is on a cantilever out past the foundation and there is a beam holding up the roof, you are good to go.
Remove drywall first on the bathroom side and make sure you haven't got something important hiding in there.

 

[joecaption]

There's no logic reason that would be there unless someone was trying to cover up something.
That big I'd guess a HVAC duct or return.

 

[vyacheslav]

Thanks for the info! I know there isn't any HVAC or duct work in there, because it is a Cape Cod house, and there is no HVAC on the 2nd floor, and all the HVAC on the main level comes up from the basement, so there is no duct work higher than the floor of the main level.

The tub is not out past the foundation, and no support beams are present so I think I'm good to go. Just to be sure, I'm, going to drill a hole with a 1" spade bit in several places just to be sure nothing else is in there. Just to be clear, this "mini-wall" is only in the bathroom as shown. To the right is the kitchen and to the left is a bedroom, and it does not appear in either of those rooms.

What's the best way for removal? A Sawz-All making vertical cuts in small sections, than making a horizontal cut at the ceiling between the small vertical cuts? I'm 99% sure it is hollow, because I get that hollow "thunk" when I knock on it. Again, I'll find out for sure when I "explore" with the spade bit.

Thanks,

V

 

[bud16415]

Take a utility knife and cut at the corners of this wall and the ceiling and adjacent walls. Cut deep enough to cut the taping and drywall compound that is in the upper layer. This way you wont damage the rest of the room more than needed.


Once you have it scored with the knife take a hammer and knock a few holes in it and start pulling the drywall off, that will expose the framing and you can then see how to remove that.


If you are lucky some previous remodel built that in and if they put it together with screws you can just unscrew it and take it apart.


Once its out fix the areas that are damaged.

 

[Snoonyb]

Boy, is that tile dated.
The Idea was to contain the steam generated, within the shower, often with marginal results.
Don't use the sawzall to remove the wall covering, because of the dust created.
Protect the tub with some 6mil plastic or a tub liner.

If there isn't one, plan on a ceiling exhaust fan.

 

[greenlady0]

Agree with others above we had the samer situation with a shower stall same vintage bath. We removed the drop and created one smooth ceiling height across the entire bath...it did wonders for the look of space and light. Go for it...love the tile combo!