I swear, I’m the slowest demolitioner on the planet. This is really moving along at turtle speeds. Kudos to all of you who knock this out in a 12-hour marathon session. I, on the other hand, start to exhaust after about three. Especially when crouching for the better part of it.
Case in point, the tile floors. Why, oh why, does the pattern have to be a mess of Chicklets? It gave way only one piece at a time.
After 20 minutes:
I spent another 15 minutes trying to chip the marble threshold. It was quite the stubborn slab. I used every ounce of girl brawn I had, to no avail. Little did I know, this was a fool’s errand.
You see, it was BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE TILE! Duh! Something that only became obvious once I cleared away the offending squares.
After shuffling around the floor for a while, I felt literally bent out of shape, and took a “break” by moving on to the drywall. First, I had to yank off the trim around the window and door. I hammered in the pry bar until the nails came loose.
The trim popped right off.
Relief. It’s working.
Only, whoops, I did a smidge of damage to the wood. I hope that’s not an issue. Anyone, chime in if you think it is.
When the trim was no longer trimming, I beat the crap out of the drywall, making a line of holes around a section.
Then I riiiiiiipped it out. Hmmm, it’s not so tough.
Soon I got into the groove, and it started going faster.
The nails in the framing went next.
Speaking of nails, I was surprised to see them. I’ve been edumacatin’ myself on drywall installation and everyone seems to use drywall screws nowadays, citing that they’re much stronger and less likely to pop out. Ah, the age of progress. I was also surprised to see fire resistant gypsum being used along the two insulated walls lining the exterior. Is this code? Anyone?
As I worked, yet more questions kept cropping up. How do you know if you need to replace the insulation? This one must be from 1971. I really hope someone out there reading has some insight on this. Please share your hard-won knowledge.
Here’s some mess for your enjoyment. I had to stop and bag it up every once in a while, or risk burying myself alive.
When I got to the ceiling, I had a head-scratching moment. You might think this is from the soot crumbles littering my hair, and you’d be right, but also from the question at hand. I couldn’t just keep hammering out the drywall near the ceiling, or I’d damage the ceiling. And I was trying to preserve it because the thought of re-drywalling the ceiling by myself made me want to forever disappear into some remote, one-horse, Mexican town.
I hope I handled this right. I scored the ceiling tape, and pried out the drywall pieces. Anyone? Did I do harm?
So I’m pretty much there. All that’s left is pulling out the rest of the nails and a thorough sweep up.
Though I’m not near that step yet, I also have to figure out how to prep the floor for my hardwood installation. Right now, it’s got paper backing and adhesive all stuck to it.
If you want all the gritty details, here’s bathroom demolition part 1, and bathroom demolition part 2.
Tags: bathroom demolition, bathroom remodel, home improvement, how-to
You are a superwoman. Do you think it would be easier with two people, or would you just get in each other’s way in the small space?
Hey Vicki — It would definitely be easier with two people, but Scott has about as much interest in this as quilting. He’d be happy to live with the rooms as they are indefinitely, so if I wnat them done, I have to do it myself. But that’s fine with me.
Sorry – I’m pretty dense about all of this but why exactly do the walls have to be removed? I understand about the floor and all but I’m confused about the need to get rid of the walls. Thanks! I think you’re making GREAT progress! Who cares how long it takes you anyway!?
Oh, please ask away, Amy! You’re right, the time doesn’t matter, but I’m impatient!
The drywall that had tile can’t be salvaged because some of the drywall ripped out along with the tile. From what I understand, that’s inevitable. If I was putting up wainscotting or paneling over it, I could leave it this way (with a little patching), but I want to have paint there, so those sections needed to be replaced. I didn’t necessarily have to rip out the whole wall, just that bottom half, but I would then have to tape over those drywall seams with a special wall tape and “mud”. Since I’ve never done it, there’s a chance I wouldn’t do a perfect job and those seams would be visible around the perimeter of the room. I decided to just put in the full panels for a smooth finish. I’ll only need to buy 4 panels, which reach floor-to-ceiling, and they’re only about 10 bucks each. Now, if only I could figure out how to get them home.
Ah, I see – thanks for the clarification – I think that makes sense! Thanks!
You go!
We are demoing our bathroom right now and I am impressed! You are doing an awesome job! It is hard work and you have lots of layers of things coming down. I am definitely not as good of a demoer!
Thanks, Heather! I’ve never, ever done this before and I appreciate your cheerleading.
I’m impressed with your muscle! If I was doing that, it would take sooooo much longer!
Hey – so a tip on removing the walls for next time (as I watched my husband do in our bathroom) – instead of hammering at them which results in lots and LOTS of little wall pieces, cut the dry wall out in chunks with a hand saw. It make it much easier to carry and dispose of (and a bit less dust too).
You are making awesome progress!
Yana — Thank you, keep the tips coming! Don’t you worry about cutting into electric wires or plumbing?
congrats on the progress!!
i’m pretty impressed you’re doing this yourself. i’d be a total sissy and make dan do it. 
Nicole, I can’t believe it either. Truth be told, I do get panicked every now and again.