Interior

So you bought your first house. It has a great backyard, a fabulous kitchen and was within your price range. It checks all the boxes. Well, except for one; the bathroom. A smoker’s yellow fiberglass shower stall is accented by a turquoise vanity, moldy ceiling, and purple linoleum floor. Yikes. You said that this would be a project you would take on yourself, and now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. So first things first, let’s learn how to demo a bathroom!

How to Demo a Bathroom- Considerations Before Beginning

Before you can figure out how to demo a bathroom in your house, you have to determine how much of a remodel you want to do. Is the shower fine, but the vanity and floor are repulsive? Perhaps you just need some updated fixtures and a new coat of paint. Maybe you need to get out the Sawzall and gut that thing like a fish. Having clear, defined objectives will help keep you from damaging things you might want to keep and help you stay under budget. 

For the sake of this article, we will assume that we are demoing the bathroom down to the studs. Everything must go.

Step 1- Remove Sticky Outy Things 

“Sticky outy things” refer to anything that sticks out from the flat plane of the wall, ceiling, or floor. For example, the toilet sticks out from the floor, the vanity sticks out from the wall, and the fan sticks out from the ceiling. Removing these items gives you free rein to tear out the drywall and the flooring. 

How to Remove a Toilet

Removing a toilet can feel like a daunting task, but in reality, it’s a job almost anyone can do. 

1. Clean the Toilet
   1. You are going to get up close and personal with your toilet. You will be grateful that you took the time to give your toilet a good cleaning before starting.
2. Turn Off the Water to Your Toilet
   1. There is a shut-off valve next to your toilet. Turn it to the right until it is closed.
3. Get All the Water Out of the Toilet
   1. Take the top of the toilet tank off.
   2. Flush the toilet until the tank is as empty as it will get. 
   3. Using a sponge, soak up the remaining water in the tank. Empty the sponge into the sink, shower, or bucket.
   4. Using a sponge, soak up the remaining water in the bowl. Empty the sponge into the sink, shower, or bucket. 
4. Disconnect the water line to the toilet.
   1. Unscrew the waterline from where it attaches to the toilet tank.
5. Unscrew the Toilet From the Floor.
   1. Unscrew the bolts at the base of the toilet.
6. Remove the Toilet.
   1. Place an open contractor-grade trash bag in the shower. With a partner, lift the toilet and place it into the trash bag. There is still a little bit of water left inside the toilet. Having the toilet’s base inside the trash bag prevents water from spilling as you move the toilet out of the bathroom.
   2. Move the toilet out of the bathroom.
7. Remove the Wax Ring.
   1. There will be a wax ring with the two bolts that secure the toilet to the floor around the drain. Remove this; it is a sticky mess. You will need a new wax ring whether you plan on buying a new toilet or installing the old one.
8. Cover the Drain.
   1. Sewer gas can come up out of an open drain. Sewer gas smells terrible and can be potentially dangerous. To prevent this, stuff a handful of paper towels into the top of the drain. Do not stuff anything down into the drain where you will not be able to pull it out!

How to Remove Bathroom Vanity and Medicine Cabinet

Removing your bathroom vanity is the same process as removing base cabinets in your kitchen. Removing your medicine cabinet uses the same process as kitchen wall cabinets. Click here for our comprehensive guide on how to remove kitchen cabinets.

How to Remove Bathroom Lights

Most bathrooms have two lights you need to remove before you can demo drywall; vanity lights (the lights on the wall above the sink) and overhead lights. Both types of lights are essentially removed in the same fashion. Electrical work can be one of the most intimidating parts of learning how to demo a bathroom. You can do electrical work safely and efficiently by taking precautions to avoid electrical mishaps.

• Special Tools Required
  • Voltage tester pen.
  • Wire nuts.
  • Electrical tape.

1. Turn off the power to the bathroom lights at the electrical panel.
2. Check if the power is off by flipping the light switch on and off. If the lights don’t turn on, you have successfully killed power to the fixture. 
3. Most light fixtures are attached with an ornamental nut, unscrew these and be prepared for the fixture to come off.
4. Before separating the wires, touch your voltage tester pen to the black and white wires. This is a final check to make sure you will not be electrocuted while touching the wires.
5. Separate your fixture’s wires from the wires inside the wall.
6. Twist wire nuts onto the black and white wires coming out of the wall and wrap them in electrical tape. Push the wires back inside the box from which they are protruding.
7. You may turn the power back on at the electrical panel if desired.

How to Remove Outlets and Switches

You cannot remove the drywall in your bathroom without removing the outlets and switches first. No need to worry; you can safely remove the outlets and switches by using the same amount of precaution and care you used to remove the light fixtures.

• Special Tools Required
  • Voltage tester pen.
  • Wire nuts.
  • Electrical tape.

1. Go to the electrical panel and turn off the power to the bathroom. 
2. Remove the face plates for all the outlets and switches in the room.
3. To ensure that none of the outlets and switches are live, turn on your voltage tester pen and touch it to every black and white wire. 
4. If there is no power, disconnect the wires to the outlets and switches.
5. Twist wire nuts onto all white and black wires and wrap them in electrical tape.
6. Push the wires back into the boxes from which they are protruding.
7. Turn the power back on at the electrical panel if desired.

Remove the Shower

When discussing how to demo a bathroom, removing the shower is often a large part of the process. You will encounter two main types of showers in a bathroom; fiberglass stall and custom tile. Neither is extraordinarily complex to demo, but they both require some serious elbow grease.

How to Remove a Fiberglass Shower Stall

1. Remove the Shower Head.
   1. Rotate counterclockwise until removed. 
2. Remove the Shower Valve Handle and Trim.
   1. This step is typically as easy as removing the screws from the handle and face plate and sliding them off.
3. Remove the Tub Spout.
   1. There are two types of tub spouts; threaded and slip-on. 
      1. A slip-on tub spout has a set screw on the bottom of the faucet. Remove the set screw and slide the tub spout off.
      2. A threaded tub spout has no set screw. Rotate the spout counterclockwise to unscrew it.
4. Remove the Shower Drain.
   1. Remove the drain stopper (find a step-by-step guide in our article here).
   2. Rotate the drain body counterclockwise to unscrew it from the shower. The drain body can sometimes be tough to unscrew; try using a good pair of channel locks or use a drain wrench.
5. Remove the Tub Overflow. There are a variety of styles of tub overflow; they can usually all be unscrewed or just slipped off.
6. Remove the Shower Stall
   1. The shower stall is attached via a nailing flange that runs along the edge of the shower. Expose this flange by cutting out a 6″ strip of drywall around the shower. Be very careful when cutting underneath the shower head; your water line comes straight from the shower valve to the shower head.
   2. Remove the nails or screws from the flange.
   3. Cut your shower stall into four separate pieces; three wall pieces and the floor. Cut a 6″ square around the shower drain. A reciprocating and oscillating saw are the best tools for this process. During this step, wearing a mask or respirator, eye protection, and gloves is essential. Be careful not to cut through any of your plumbing during this step!
   4. Remove each piece, leaving the drain with the square around it.

How to Demo a Tile Shower

1. Remove the Shower Head.
   1. Rotate counterclockwise until removed. 
2. Remove the Shower Valve Handle and Trim.
   1. This step is typically as easy as removing the screws from the handle and face plate and sliding them off.
3. Cover the drain with paint tape; you don’t want to get debris in there.
4. Remove the tiles with a hammer, cold chisel, pry bar, etc. Definitely a good idea to wear eye protection and gloves during this step. You will remove the concrete board behind the tile when you demo the drywall.
5. If your shower has a tile floor, you will find a concrete shower pan underneath the tile. Demo this with a roto hammer or brute force. You will also find a rubber liner inside the concrete. Cut, rip, and destroy that liner as you see fit. You want to get down to bare plywood floor.

How to Remove the Trim

Remove the window, door, and base trim from the walls using a hammer and prybar. Try to pry against studs; this will provide better leverage.

How to Remove the Fan

For most bathroom fans, you should be able to pull the outer housing down and out of the ceiling. This will leave the rest of the fan unit inside the ceiling but should not prevent you from removing the drywall.

Step 2- Demo the Drywall

Removing the drywall is arguably the most satisfying part of learning how to demo a bathroom. 

1. Start with the walls. In an area you feel confident contains minimal plumbing or wires, create a fist-sized hole with your hammer. 
2. Grab the hole and try to pull and rip the drywall. It may take a few tries, but eventually, the drywall will start coming off in sheets or at least large chunks. 
3. Repeat this process for the ceiling, but be careful; those sheets will fall, and they can be pretty destructive when they do.
4. Go through the room and remove all screws and nails from the studs and ceiling joists.

Step 3- Demo the Floor

There are several common types of flooring found in a bathroom; the demo method for all of them requires brute force.

Tile Floor

Just go to work with your hammer, chisel, roto-hammer, prybar, or whatever other tools you have for the job. Put on your eye protection and smash away.

Laminate Floor

Laminate floors are “floating floors” and are not actually attached to anything. All you need to do is lift the planks and remove them.

Hardwood Floor

Hammer your pry bar underneath a plank and pry it up. Continue this method until all of the planks are removed.

Sheet Vinyl

Sheet vinyl is glued down to the subfloor, and if your new flooring allows it, it is probably better to leave it.

How to Demo a Bathroom- In Conclusion

How to demo a bathroom is a very broad question. Use this guide as a reference for your order of operations and a general understanding of how things are done. Your bathroom will inevitably have a handful of quirky little problems you will need to figure out how to solve. Don’t be intimidated by the project; break it down into smaller pieces and accomplish one thing at a time. You can do this!

Remodeling bathrooms can be a bit trickier than most other renovation jobs. Aside from the typical choices you have to make in terms of finishes and fixtures, bathrooms come with added complexities. You need to plan around plumbing lines, ventilation systems, waterproofing, and even the insulation in your bathroom.

Three to four weeks is typically how long a bathroom remodel will take. But it could easily take much longer depending on the size of the renovation, both in the amount of floor area and in the scope of work. Working with a larger bathroom or refurbishing every square inch of the space could easily double the construction time.

So if time is a factor in your bathroom remodel, here are some tips for minimizing the number of delays in construction or design.

The Design Phase

Planning the details of the bathroom renovation is an important first step. It begins with taking accurate measurements of your bathroom and laying everything out on paper. If you decide to hire a professional designer to help out, they typically draft up as-built drawings of the bathroom.

From there, you can make informed decisions on what you want to do with your space. The last thing you want to happen is to have weeks of delay in the construction process because you found out that the tub you purchased doesn’t fit your bathroom.

Don’t be afraid to take your time in designing and planning out the renovation. Study up on the basics of good bathroom design and familiarize yourself with basic plumbing concepts. Time spent doing so can save you time spent in construction by tenfold. And it costs you nothing.

The Construction Phase

When all major design decisions have been planned out and verified, that’s when actual construction works can begin. Most bathroom remodels follow these standard construction phases.

1. Demolition Works

You start with removing any old fixtures or materials that you’re looking to replace. For more significant remodeling cases, major demolition work might be required such as taking down walls.

This sets the framework for the rest of the construction phase. The less you decide to demolish, the less you need to rebuild. And the less you rebuild, the faster you finish.

2. Structural Elements

After demolition, the next step is to make sure that the structure of the bathroom is sound. Inspect any structural lumber and carpentry works that hold up your walls, flooring, and ceiling. Refurbish or replace any elements that need fixing.

If you live in a building, you need to be more mindful of not affecting any major structural elements. These are harder to alter or relocate because it affects more than just your bathroom.

3. Utilities

This step involves roughing in both the plumbing lines and electrical lines of the bathroom. If your final design requires moving any fixtures, the utility lines also need to be adjusted accordingly.

This is usually the step that requires some professional help. Depending on the laws in your area, you might need to hire professional plumbers and electricians for this part of the construction process.

4. Walls

Wall elements are typically made up of an inner core of insulation as well as adequate waterproofing which are then sandwiched between outer layers of drywall. The layers over that drywall can either be wall paint or bathroom tile, depending on the finish you want to apply. Putting up walls properly will help deal with moisture, humidity, and even unwanted noise pollution coming from your bathroom.

Be careful to use waterproof finish materials (i.e. bathroom tiles) on walls that are more likely to get water and moisture on them. The walls around your shower booth, for example, should always be waterproof.

5. Cabinetry

If you’re looking to install any built-in cabinetry in your new bathroom, this comes after the walls have been put up and finished. This includes any storage cabinets under your sink, wall-mounted shelves, and medicine cabinets.

6. Flooring

This step involves laying out and grouting the tiles in your refurbished bathroom. You could also opt to use materials other than tile in areas in the bathroom that are less likely to get wet.

You can play around not just with the type of flooring material for your bathroom you use but also with how you decide to lay your flooring out. Experiment with different types of patterns to see which one you like best.

7. Bathroom Accessories

The last step is the installation of bathroom accessories such as wall hooks, towel racks, soap dishes, and toilet paper holders. Your main focus is functionality but do not be afraid to consider different materials or finishes that suit the aesthetic you’re trying to achieve.

8. Inspection

Most local governments will require major bathroom renovation to be approved by professional inspectors before construction work can officially be considered finished. Inspections typically happen after utility lines are installed or relocated and after all remodeling work has been done.

Remodel Within Your Means

The available budget is the main driving force for most design and construction decisions during renovations. Per square foot, the bathroom can easily be one of the more expensive rooms in the house in terms of materials, utilities, and cost of construction.

Being concerned with how long your bathroom remodel will take can also affect how expensive the renovation will be. If you’re unwilling to compromise on both schedule and budget, be prepared for lower-quality materials or labor.

There’s no way around it, the bigger your allotted budget is, the better the output will be and the sooner the turnaround.

DIY Labor

If you’re an avid and experienced DIY enthusiast, bathroom remodels can be a piece of cake. You decide on what parts of the bathroom you want to renovate, you purchase the materials, and you get to work. Maybe you can get a friend who can help with jobs that require more hands. And the best part is you don’t have to spend a cent on labor costs.

The only catch is – the amount of time you spend remodeling a bathroom on your own is directly proportional to your DIY experience and skill. In other words, if you’re a DIY beginner and have had no experience working on bathrooms, don’t even think about doing major remodeling in 4 weeks.

So take good stock of what you can and can’t do by yourself and don’t be afraid to hire extra help. It will save you a lot of effort and time.

Bathing in the Meantime

In the three to four weeks that the bathroom is being renovated, most bathroom activities will have to be done elsewhere. Bathing, showering, and using the toilet in the bathroom are all private and personal activities.

Prepare contingencies for the period that the bathroom is out of commission. If there are other bathrooms in the house, make do with those for the duration of the construction phase. If you have no other bathrooms, consider staying at a hotel or with a friend for a month. Having a gym membership is also quite useful since you’re able to use the gym bathroom facilities in the meantime.

Is a Month Enough?

It’s been mentioned at the start of this guide – expect to take more than double the amount of time initially estimate with larger remodeling projects. There can also be unplanned delays such as orders being delivered late or emergency workplace accidents.

But the important thing is to manage your renovation project properly, communicate with your hired professionals in a timely and thorough manner, and get your orders in on time.

Take the time to understand and internalize the concepts we’ve discussed. With a little bit of luck, you can minimize construction time and get your dream bathroom finished in a month.

A custom tile shower is one of the best ways to add style and class to your bathroom. One of the most common questions when building a shower is how to tile a shower niche without bullnose. Some manufacturers make bullnose pieces to accompany their most popular tiles, but many styles lack this accompaniment. Luckily, there are several ways to solve this problem.

What is a Shower Niche?

A shower niche is a shelf or cubby built inside your shower wall. It is generally used for holding soap, shampoo, and other shower products. 

What is Bullnose?

Bullnose is a construction term for a rounded exterior angle. Some tile styles have accompanying bullnose pieces that you use when the edge of the tile is exposed.

Why Do You Need Bullnose on a Tile Shower Niche?

When tiling a shower niche, you will have a ninety-degree outside corner where your shower wall meets the niche. Most ceramic and porcelain tiles have glazing that gives the face of the tile a different sheen and sometimes a different color than the rest of the tile. This can cause problems on the outside corner where the wall and niche meet by exposing the un-glazed edge of the tile. Leaving exposed, un-glazed edges of tiles give your shower an unfinished look and are generally considered to be installed incorrectly.

How to Tile a Shower Niche Without Bullnose?

The two best solutions for how to tile a shower niche without bullnose are;

1. Using tile edge trim.
2. Mitering your tile corners.

How to Tile a Shower Niche Without Bullnose- Tile Edge Trim

Tile edge trim is a product that creates a clean, finished edge where an unfinished tile edge would otherwise be. These tile edge trims come in various shapes, colors, and finishes. Schluter is the most well-known brand for its tile edge trim; you can find their products at most big box home improvement stores.

Step-by-Step

1. Tile the inside of the niche.
2. Slowly and carefully cut a forty-five-degree angle at one end of your tile edge trim on a miter saw.
3. Measure the height of the left side of your niche. Treat the inside of the tile as your niche.
4. Mark the measurement on your tile edge trim from the short end of the forty-five-degree angle you cut in step one.
5. Cut a forty-five-degree angle at the mark you made on the tile edge trim, with the short point of the angle being at the mark.
6. Trowel thin-set outside the left side of the niche, where the tile edge trim will go. Use the same notched trowel you have been using for your tile.
7. Press your tile edge trim into the thin-set, so it is flush with the tile, and the short points of your forty-five-degree angles are even with the top and bottom tile.
8. Clean off excess thin-set with a lightly dampened sponge and trowel.

Repeat this process for the other three sides, leaving a small gap between the miters. This small gap will get grouted the same way the tiles do. 

How to Tile a Shower Niche Without Bullnose- Mitered Corners

Another solution for how to tile a shower niche without bullnose is by mitering the outside corners of your tile. The best way to miter your outside corners accurately and consistently is by using a wet saw with a miter adjustment.

Special Tools Required

• Wet saw that has a forty-five-degree bevel or miter adjustment.
  • This saw allows you to cut perfectly straight forty-five-degree miters or bevels consistently.
• (Optional) Grinder with a diamond blade.
  • If necessary, you can use a grinder to clean up cuts or cut angles beyond forty-five degrees.

How to Tile a Shower Niche Without Bullnose- Mitered Corners

1. Cut your tiles for the inside of the shower niche, but leave them long to extend past the outside corner. 
2. Holding the tiles in place, mark the outside corner on the back side of the tiles so that it is flush with the shower wall.
3. Cut your tiles at a forty-five-degree angle, with the mark you made being the short point of the angle.
4. Set your tiles inside the niche. Ensure that the short points of your miters are flush with the outside of the wall.
5. For your tiles outside the niche, measure from the previous tile laid to the long edge of the miter cut on the tile inside the nice. Subtract the size of your grout joint (space between tiles) twice. Once for the grout joint between the previous tile and once for the grout joint between the miters. 
6. Mark the measurement found in step five to your tile and cut it so that the long edge of your miter is on the mark.
7. Set your tile.

How to Tile a Shower Niche Without Bullnose- In Conclusion

So, the tile you have chosen for your dream shower does not have corresponding bullnose pieces—no big deal. Using the information provided in this article, you now know how to tile a shower niche without a bullnose. Problem solved.