dilemna re bathroom floor screed removal

Hi
in the midst of renovating front of house, the back bathroom "leaked" from the shower under the tiles and destroyed the screed. It went under a partition wall into laundry - (and into a bedroom). Bedroom fine, just carpet etc.. insurance company said they will cover the damage from the shower but not the shower.

I apparently need to pay for waterproofing shower and retiling it. They got aguy out to do a quote who said all floor screed needs removing from bathroom and laundry (11.5m2) and rescreeding and tiling.

Insurance will not oprganise job they say because aportion of it is our costs. I have now come to the cynical conclusion that they will not do it because there is n one out there free to do it! i canl;t even get soemone to do a quote unless I wnat the whole bathroom done form top ot bottom.

I want to do the tiling!

What I wnat to know is:

Can i remove the floor screed myself? it is a slab with screed and tile on top. He Who Obeys has a pretty impressive hammer drill which chisel ends etc.. which i can use, but I am worried about around the waste outlets etc which are all PVC piping. Also I assume form loking at this site that there will be damage to shower cemenet board walls if I remove tiles form them. and HWO is very concerned about partition wall - if screed goes under wall will this be a problem?? (which is not that unlikely given previous house owner did work himself which would be Ok if he bothered to do anythign to code or even to do some research but he was way too overconfident - I prefer to err on side of caution)

Does the tiler do the waterproofing or is that yet another person - whilst i am happy to do second fixing, tiling, etc eg. Put my toilet, basin etc in other bathroom and had checked by plumber - alll fine - I do not want to be responsibel for things which might cause significant probelms later on.

Want to do rest myself not just because of $ but also frankly the sheer fun and accomplishment.

What is reasonable cost for doing the screed? Any ideas on whether anyone in adelaide willing to do just the basics?

Hope you can help.

sammhorr

I guess you are refering to the sand & cement mortar base that the tiles are glued to as being the screed. If this is the case you can remove it with a large jackhammer & pointed + spade bits.
I recently replaced my 3 way bathroom & the process was as follows : -
1. Cap off plumbing
2. Remove shower screen & vanity etc
3. Remove wall tiles with bolster (mine just fell off)
4. Jackhammer up floor (very dusty, noisey etc... no fun at all) Use biggest jack you can get. Wear a mask & plastic off from rest of house.
5. Vaccuum up mess
6. Remove wall sheeting if damaged & replace (resheet whole room if damage is severe) Resheeting room is sometimes easiset option
7. Set in bath/framing, hob, etc (Note : if completely redoing wall sheeting you can frame up bath first)
8. Install door jambs
9. Waterproofing (pay someone to do it & make sure you get a warranty certificate - dont skimp or you could be wasting your time doing anything to your bathroom)
10. New beds layed with levels to drain to waste
11. Tiles
12. Shower Screen fitted
13. Vanity & architraves to window & door jambs
14. Paint
15. Plumbing

Note the order of the last few arent important.

You can cut existing wall sheeting off midwall. Framing then needs to be blocked out with new noggins to join new sheeting on. New tiling will then cover join.
Screed goes in after the walls & lining so your partition wall shouldnt be an issue unless its a bit dodgy.
Generally PVC wastes arent glued to main PVC pipes but are instead positioned & held in place by the screed/mortar. New chrome wastes cost about $10 to $20.
I did my own demolition, replaced the wall sheeting only in the shower & under the bath, set in the bath & fitted jambs & archtraves. Quoted rate for rip out was $1000. Cost me a day in time & $80.00 at the tip + jackhammer loan. Waterproofing was $300 (mates rates). Tiler charged $1500 including new screed & supplied all glue, sand, cement, grout etc. Tiler said screed cost $300. Approx 12 sqm floor tiles & 15 sqm wall tiles.
Dont even consider doing waterproofing yourself. I helped the certified builder who did mine & it wasnt that hard but there are a few tricks to doing it properly. Recommend doing the whole floor in shower as well instead of just around the edges.
Some tilers do waterproofing as well. Check phone book.
If all goes well it should take 2 to 4 weeks to do depending on tradespeople & how much time you have up your sleeve.
Ive probably forgotten some stuff too but hope this helps.
PS Bathrooms are money pits !
Unfortunately every bathroom is different so the solution to your problem may be a lot simpler or harder.