Bathroom Remodel

[DoubleWideDrama]

Ok, so I was going to paint the bathroom... got started and noticed some soft spots in the walls near the floor. We moved the free-standing linen closet thing to discover it had been wet for some time and has lots of mold. Looks like the previous owners did a cob-job fixing a leak a LONG time ago.

This has become a total bathroom remodel and we need HELP!!!

-Ripping out garden tub (don't like it)
-Taking out 32" stand up shower (don't like that either)
-Replacing subfloor and drywalling entire room
- Installing 60" tub with surround

MY main question...We either need to move the drain pipe to fit the new tub, OR we need to move the incoming water pipes AND black vent pipe to the middle wall (seam)... which is easier/better? I hope someone answers this soon because we are hopefully doing this TODAY!

Thank you all!
Tara

[Greg]

My thought before you do anything is to lay out a plan that YOU want. you have some questions to ask, will a 60" tub fit with out moving walls? what layout will work best? and perhaps the most important question this time of year, How long will it take? Remember that you will need the belly open to move plumbing around unless you get very lucky and are able to move it when you do the sub floor. Greg

[redneckstylin]

IMO i remodeled my bathroom and we left drain where it was and re routed the vent and waterlines..... but if you have the floor torn up id say move drain

[DoubleWideDrama]

Greg,
Are you for hire? lol! We sure could use someone that knows what they're doing!!!

Yes we can fit the 60" tub in there, it's our master bath and is 8x13...PLENTY of room. I think we made a plan yesterday and we will be moving the drain instead of the vent pipe. Most of the floor is yucky and I think we will be replacing the whole thing. (We gutted everything but the toilet yesterday, and a few wallboards) UNBELIEVEABLE COB JOB the previous owners did! It makes me worried about the REST of the house!!! If the inspector could see through walls we wouldn't have bought the place!!!

Anyway, we are going to put in a 2 piece fiberglass tub/surround, and new everything else. What an unexpected and expensive project!!! One question though... the vent pipe showed mold around the ceiling so my bf went on the roof and it's VERY loose... how do we fix that? It looks like the mold is only on the "paper" stuff on the ceiling. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. Thank you both for your responses.

[DoubleWideDrama]

OH! Remember my question about heat loss before? We had 1/2" gaps in the floor where they replaced parts of it and didn't bother to "measure twice, cut once" like Greg says to do. The insulation there is also crappy. There were also huge holes where the pipes come into the floor (4 sets total, 2 sinks, garden tub and shower stall) It looks like the person that cut the holes was drunk and cut 4 holes in one spot before finding the pipes! Maybe he liked the "flower pattern" that all the holes made. (bad sarcasm today) WTF!!!

[Brenda (OH)]

here is a link to an article JD put up that has great diagrams in it for replacing a toilet flange, it may help you out to plan the job you are doing....

https://www.mobilehomerepair.com/phpbb/v ... let+flange


once the floor goes back in, your mood will improve greatly.... after doing 3 or 4 of them, I am sure about that lol

Brenda (OH)

[Yanita]

Before or as you are doing your new layout take notice of where your outlets and switches are. There are codes for this. Also make sure you can get the tub down the hall, around corners etc to get into master bath.

Yanita

[DoubleWideDrama]

We seem to be ok with getting the tub in there if we go in through our sliding glass doors and slide it around into the bedroom. That was my first concern, and the reason we can't get a one piece unit (

As we were gutting we found sooo much wet insulation. We ended up gutting the entire room and part of the ceiling. The most outer walls (that are inside the siding) are also wet and crumbling!!! What is that made of? It's like 1/8" thick!!! I guess I thought we had more standard exterior walls, like plywood or something.

I'm new to this whole mobile home stuff!!!

[JD]

Hi Tara,

First of all, could you tell us what kind of exterior siding you have? Is it aluminum, wood, vinyl? The stuff you say is 1/8" thick is probably the vapor barrier. It sounds like a fanfold insulation panel of something similar. With water in the ceilings and down the walls, I would be looking for roof leaks. So next question, what kind of roof does your home have?

On your 2 piece tub, be sure you can get the wall portion through the doors too. Many times there are vanities and/or walls too close to the bathroom door to allow a one piece fiberglass wall kit to get into the room. An ABS one-piece should be no problem because it it flexible enough.

I would be sure all roof leaks (or wherever the water is coming from) is fixed before proceeding with walls and ceiling repairs.

JMO
JD

[Brenda (OH)]

ok, this is going to sound tacky but... grin

you may be able to open up the wall, get the panel in, (or tub) and redo the wall, if it gives you the bathtub choice you most want... 3 or 4 sheets of paneling, and the wall is back up... why I love working on mobile homes vs single family homes...

Brenda (OH)


also, as long as everything else is out, the vanity might as well be disconnected and removed also, so that new flooring can go there under it, and reinstall the vanity. It is a whole lot easier than piecing the floor together around a remaining area.

[DoubleWideDrama]

JD,
We have vinyl siding, which upon further inspection needs some work in the spring 2nd, we found the source of the leak, it is the skylight. This weekend it is supposed to be upper 30s and no snow so we are removing the skylight, covering, re-shingling and so on. We already had to do that to the kitchen skylight so we *kinda* have experience. (My step-dad helps with roofing, thank GOD). That kinda answers your question too, we have a full shingled roof.

The outermost walls that I said were 1/8" is really 1/2 according to my bf. It seemed soooo thin and it was very wet and crumbling. It reminds me of the material used for pegboards... very flimsy and cheap. Since we have nothing in between the outer wall and the siding, we are going to remove the siding in the spring and do a Tyvek house wrap. Hopefully that helps with the drafts we feel. The previous owners put in blown-insulation and whomever installed it just left the holes in the walls. We have a 2" hole in between each stud!!!!! (I noticed a few holes about halfway up the wall too, so some spots have 2 holes)!!! Aren't they supposed to plug those holes up?

As for the shower unit, I'm pretty sure it will fit in the door. The layout of our house will allow it as long as we can maneuver it through our bedroom door. There are double doors going into the bathroom so that's not a problem. And we don't have to worry about bathroom vanities or anything because we gutted the ENTIRE room. It's EMPTY!!! lol

If I can figure out how, I will put some pictures in the next post for you to see. Thank you soooo much for your help!!!

Oh yeah, we are replacing the flexible water lines with CPVC, is that ok?

[DoubleWideDrama]

[JD]

That looks like some type of glorified cardboard. I imagine it does serve it's purpose when dry. When you get the tyvek, it comes in 150' rolls. This is enough for some homes but a 24x60 needs a minimum of 168'. I don't know the height of your walls, but you may need to trim a little off the bottom. You can use this to patch the joint where the two ends of Tyvek meet.

When you take your siding off, hopefully the doors, windows, dryer vent and wall mounted electrical outlets (if you have them) are flashed properly. You will be able to use that and see how it is applied. If not, you can look through these generic instructions to see how it is done.
http://www.vinylsiding.org/publications ... Manual.pdf

I do my flashing a little different than shown here, but who am I to argue with the Vinyl Siding Institute? This is an organization that offers certification for vinyl siding installers.

I do not care for blown in insulation (sorry, flcruising). There is a lot of that in my area that was done many years ago. It seems all of the older jobs are missing plugs, have plugs that are dried out and cracked on the edges or are loose in the holes. This is my main beef with blown in insulation. I have been able to find new plugs on the internet and the blown in insulation companies should have some. They do come in different sizes, so be sure to get the right ones. In my opinion, they still leak even when new. If it were me, I might try using the Stick-it-and-forget- tape that Mark sells in the Books & Parts link above. The stuff is white, so I would paint it to match. I use this same product (Eternabond) on roofs often. It sticks to non-porous surfaces very well and for the most part permanently. Just an idea. I have not tried it yet, but it is what I would bid to do for a customer that had the same problem.

CPVC is OK for your plumbing repairs but I would highly recommend using PEx plumbing. The parts and tools are available here from this web site as well as many local home and plumbing stores. Once you get used to the tools, it is easier than solvent weld pipe, especially when doing a total house replumb, which would result in a lot less fittings.

JMO
JD

[DoubleWideDrama]

Thanks JD!

It really DOES look like glorified cardboard!!! Makes me upset to say the least.

Yes, we bought a 25' roll of the PEX pipes too, we may use it elsewhere, I'm not sure yet.

The blown in insulation is a pain in the A*S! We have gutted and drywalled THREE rooms now and it just makes a huge mess! Well, I'm sure it wasn't intended to be pulled down. lol.

Looks like we will be plugging the holes when we do the Tyvek. Those sticky tape things sound like a great idea!

The Tyvek that we looked at is in 10'x150' sheets so yes, at some points we will have to cut the bottom off, but at the peaks it will be perfect size!!! We need 2 rolls though, we have a 28x70 with a 22x20 addition. 2400ish square feet! When we bought it I LOVED all the space, now I'm wishing we didn't have it cuz it just means more work and more remodeling. Oh well, it's ours now.

Thanks for all your help with all this! I will send more pics as we progress!
Tara

[Greg]

Trish, Do yourself a favor and stay with PEX, It is VERY forgiving when it comes to freeze ups plus it is easier to work with. Lowes, HEP and I think Elbridge hardware has everything you need. check Craigslist for Tyvek. Greg