Bathroom Renovation Project

[Mcblurter]

Quotes to do the bathroom ranged from $40K (putting villaboard on the window wall) to $55k doing it all in solid brick and plastering the bathroom anew.

We are getting a new room nearly 6000 x 6000, a chimney removed, a concrete wall removed, double glazing, new toilet, sink, tiling in bathroom a second shower, moving existing toilet and a new HWS for around that amount!!! Must be like weddings, add the word bathroom and triple your normal price!
Cheers
Mcblurter

[Mcblurter]

Oh, also getting 3 manual openable skylights with electric blockout blinds, two whirleygigs and a suntunnel for around the $8000 mark. Will let you know the progress.
Cheers
McBlurter

[juan]

Well 2 hours work sanding the window and she looks almost usable. Cost for stripper and sandpaper was $27. Needs a coat of clear interior exterior finish($25), 2 brass handles ($12 ea), 2 brass opener slides($19.50 ea) and 2 leadlight panels for which I have been quoted $220 each and she should look ok.
Total cost of window approx $550

Waiting for a builder acquaintance to come and put a steel lintel in for me and saw the opening.

I will now check out the footing for the wall I have to brick up so that I am ready to start bricklaying after the window is in.

Cheers
Juan

Attachment 50135

[juan]

Today was cut a hole for window day.
Took 5 hours to cut it and stuff around with 2 lintel bars.
Tomorrow I will finish off the lintels and trim up the stonework ready to plaster around the window to tidy her up.

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Once the plaster and concrete around the lintels is cured I will start bricking up the large wall opening in the foreground of the bottom photo and removing the bathroom end wall.
Old bathroom still going strong.

Cheers
Juan

[juan]

Trying to think ahead re the tiling task.
As you can see in the proposed plan, I will have the shower in a corner. The brick walls will end up re-plastered as the existing plaster is not flash. Since I proposed tiling to 2m all round, I will ask plasterer to only skim coat above 1.90m.
My question relates to the tiling of the shower / wet area. I assume I need to waterproof the whole shower wall and floor area as well as around the bath and around the bottom of the walls to 300mm. Do I need to waterproof the screed on the whole bathroom floor?

Will I need to tape the wall to wall and wall to floor joins of the shower area?
What are the best brand products for the waterproofing?

Cheers
Juan

Attachment 50837

[juan]

Well my timetable to renovate the bathroom is slipping behind. Hurry up and wait is the name of the game. Wait on the plumber and the weather.

Attachment 52270

Have seriously underestimated the time to make good after the new sewer, gas and water main are installed. I allowed a week but reckon 2 weeks is more likely.

Attachment 52271

I have started bricking up the wall. As you can see I am no brickie but it will be all hidden and plastered so that is fine. Soon I will start demolition of the dividing brick wall. First an access hole in the dividing wall, then complete bricking the other wall. Need to keep the old bathroom going as long as possible to limit disruption.

[juan]

Once the dividing wall is gone I will look at putting in a new ceiling with Villaboard at a new lower height of 3.0m rather than the 3.4m. That will be same height as the new extension we are planning which will be at 3.0m.

Q? What is the best way of suspending the new ceiling below the existing lath and plaster one . I had thought of fixing a 100mm x 40mm pine frame around the wall then new joists attached to that frame and suspending them from the existing joists above with pine battens.
Does this sound OK???

[Dirty Doogie]

Sounds OK to me Juan!

If you run your 100 x 40 pine ceiling joists across the narrow dimension of your room you wont have to fix them to your existing joists. Fix the joists with joist hangers to the pine running around the walls, making sure that the pine framing around the wall is securely fixed into the masonry walling.

doog

[juan]

Thanks for that. Not sure what joist hangers are but will look around. I had thought it might be a good idea to support the new joists from the joists above but like your idea better as it will reduce the likelihood of any movement in the new ceiling when I tramp around the roofspace.

Cheers

[juan]

Well the sewer trenches have been filled and the mess somewhat remedied. I am now back at the bathroom. Have almost finished bricking up the outer skin of the cavity wall opening.

Attachment 53411

Had to cut an access hole to the extension area. Bathroom still going strong.

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Hope to have the inside wall bricked up to the lintel by end of next week. Big task then is to remove the 300mm square timber lintel and brick it up solid.

Cheers
Juan

[juan]

Well a few more bricks have been laid so here is the latest photos.

Finished bricking up to the timber lintel on the laundry side. No need to worry what it looks like as it will eventually be covered with villaboard or the like when we redo the laundry.

Attachment 53787


Started pulling down the wall to get some bricks to brick up the bathroom side of the cavity wall.

Attachment 53788

When I have the lintel supported by the two walls of bricks I will hit it with a chain saw and remove it. I will do it in about 3 bites rebricking where the lintel was. It was suggested I should leave the old timber lintel there and plaster over it but I think I would end up with cracks so I will take the sucker out.



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[zacnelson]

Hi Juan, I've been following your reno story with great interest for some time now, thanks for posting the regular updates.

I just have a quick question; when you're building a cavity brick wall, do you use some kind of brick-tie that spans the cavity?

Also, is it common practice to build one side of the wall first, and then the other side? Or is it more usual to build both sides simultaneously?

Thanks,

Zac

[juan]

Hi Zac, I am not a brickie so will leave it to the experts to advise. The opening is only about 1.8m in width but I did put wire ties in the outer skin to attach to the inner as it rises. I also used a couple of reinforcing wires in the courses for form sake. I have taken care to dovetail into the existing courses where it meets the old walls.

I see no reason to not brick them up separately. For me it was a case of get one wall up asap so my daughter would not get shower fright from all the percieved pervs lurking in the laundry.

I should have the inner wall up to the lintel by the end of the weekend. I will let it set a bit before hitting the lintel with the saw. There is only 6 courses of bricks on top of the lintel so if she goes wobbly on me I will just rebrick them - one side will be plastered and the other not really visible unless you get on the roof with a ladder.

Cheers

[juan]

I have started to remove the 2.0 metre long 300mm x 300mm timber lintel.
Started at the old bathroom end wall end of the lintel.

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Took out a couple of bricks above the lintel and hit it with the little talon chain saw. Made short work of it. Time consuming bricking up to the brick courses as I do not have scaffold and am working on steps and a ladder.

Attachment 54260

I cut a bit of the cement sheet off the laundry ceiling so I could see what is going on. Laundry is due to be demolished in the coming months.

At this rate it will take 5 days to remove the lintel and rebrick. Then I can start demolishing the old wall and stripping off the old plaster.

[juan]

Today I attacked the other end of the lintel and removed a chunk from the stone wall. I will brick the hole up tomorrow and then let it set before I take 2 more bites to finish it off.

Attachment 54371

See the OZITO RHG-550K Rotary Hammer Drill. This little sucker costs $68 at Bunnings and is my favourite toy. I have only use it in destruction mode to date breaking bricks, plaster and weak concrete. It is an amazing tool. Came with a 3 year warranty but if I had to bin it at the end of the bathroom renovation I would still say it is amazing.