Bathroom demolition tips

Our photographer, Juan Luna, bought an old house with a bathroom so small you have to step outside to change your mind. Today, he and his contractor Dom, are tearing that thing down.

The plan will be to move the wall that the sink and tub are next to out 18″. The new bathroom will have a shower stall where the current sink is. The new sink will be closer to the door. The toilet will be replaced, but will stay in the same spot because, let’s face it, relocating a toilet on a second-storey bathroom is a big job. (Relocating any toilet is a big job!) Oh, and that crazy hot-air vent that comes out by the tub’s faucet (see below) has to be relocated to some place much more sensible.

Some demo wisdom that Juan and Dom passed on before they began the smashing included having all the tools you need before you begin your project. Juan had previously wasted the good part of a day going back and forth to the home-improvement centre. The list of tools for this project includes crowbars, a Fubar, hammers, chisels and wrenches for disconnecting the plumbing. While destruction is the name of the game that this stage, it’s not a free for all. Dom prefers the aforementioned hand tools to power tools because the non-electric stuff is more precise and you are less likely to get too generous with the wrecking. Since the lath-and-plaster walls are not going to be saved, the removal of the wall tile will be done in big chunks. It’s all coming down so it’s more efficient and neater if the pair slice out sections of the wall that include the tile everything underneath.

Sadly, I couldn’t stay for the fun, but we will see more photos and tips in an upcoming issue of Canadian Home Workshop.

What's with that hot-air vent by the tub? That's gotta get fixed.

Save the penguins! While all this tile will be taken out, the artistic Juan is planning to save these two penguins, frame them and hang them in the finished bathroom: a bit of the old with the new.