HOW TO DEMOLISH A BATHROOM

Many are under the blissful notion that a bathroom remodeling is easy to accomplish, since the area is comparatively small in a home. It’s not the area in square feet that should be taken into consideration, but the usage of that area by all the members of the family and guests as well every day. As such, necessarily there are many essential items to get provided, inside a bathroom for comfort.
Invariably a modern bathroom has false ceiling to conceal pipelines; tiles flooring; mirrors; vanity cabinets; sink; shower; bathtub; accessories; gadgets; furniture and fixtures including lighting etc. Along with these essential items, depending upon the affordability and taste of the home owner, there are many decorative items for interior décor and artifacts too.
You’ll agree that constructing a bathroom afresh in a given space according to plans is much easier, than to renovate or carry out a bathroom remodel project. You know why? There is the daunting task of bathroom demolition first, to prepare the space for providing totally a new bathroom in its place, of course with more facilities and comforts than the earlier one.
When you say demolition, it’s not hitting the existing walls, sinks and flooring etc. with a hammer. In fact a bathroom demolition is a delicate job that can be handled as a separate project, by a bathroom remodeling contractor with expert crew. Some people may think that by adopting “Do it Yourself” tactics of bathroom demolition, they can save big bucks.
A totally wrong conception because the demolition job should be handled safely, carefully and diligently, or otherwise you will end up with a complete mess, inviting a big expense more than the cost of the bathroom remodeling project as a whole. It’s always advisable therefore to leave the task to expert remodeling crew, as they know “what to remove and how to remove it”. Here are some know-how tips for expert handling of bathroom demolition, undertaken by experienced bathroom remodeling contractor and their crew.
Before the crew makes ready the work spot for remodeling by a bathroom demolition, eventually they carry out the same, step by step as follows:

Step 1: Preparing your house or part of your house for demolition:

The crew takes out everything and cleans the cabinets and remove toiletries and other decorative items from the bathroom area. Then they cover the working area with appropriate materials like tarp, so that all the debris, dirt and dust can be easily collected and cleaned up.
Here it should be well understood that a remodeling contractor deputes the crew with all the necessary tools, equipments and safety products like hand-gloves, masks etc. for ensuring complete safety, as well as making it easier for delicately removing fragile items like the mirror and glass partitions, or heavy items like the bathtub etc. With the use of these specialized tools like artillery pry bar system, rubber mallet, wrench, sledge hammer, bull point, keyhole saw, retractable blade etc., the crew can remove anything deftly and without damage.

Step 2: Removing of plumbing installations:

Before removing water-connected fixtures like sinks, vanity faucets, toilet basins, shower and bathtub, the crew will first ensure the main water-valves for both cold and hot water are shut down firmly. Special care will be taken by the crew for not damaging the pipelines in any way, while undertaking the plumbing connections, to get the demolition work goes smoothly.
These pipelines may be needed to get fixed again, if they’re new and sturdy and should be replaced completely, only if they are rusty or cracked. So the removal of the joints like P-trap under the sink will be done carefully, to be re-fixed again after cleaning up. This is one of the several cost-saving ideas of bathroom remodeling project.

Step 3: Removing Countertops:

Removing the counter tops will be next activity through appropriate method – unscrewing Formica counter top; cutting glue between vanity cabinet and granite or marble counter top; unscrewing plywood or particle board or completely demolishing tile counter tops etc. as needed.

Step 4: Removing the Vanity:

The task of disconnecting or unhooking the vanity safely is next, to severe off the water or cabinet connections. This will make the vanity to be lifted off from the base cabinet. Precautions such as disconnecting the supply lines from the subsidiary valves; removing the connections to the drain stopper; disconnecting the drain pipes; unscrewing cabinets if connected or if the screws are broken demolishing them in entirety etc. should be taken.

Step 5: Removing the Mirror or medicine cabinet:

Removing the mirrors if they are glued with the wall is a ticklish issue, not to break the mirror into pieces. The crew will use their experience well to use the appropriate tools, to remove the Mirror or medicine cabinet first from breaking the tie with the wall – removing the glue around the object slowly and cautiously, and then lift the Mirror away from its place.

Step 6: Removing the Light fixtures, installations including exhaust fan:

Attending to the removal and re-fixing of the electrical apparatuses, lighting fixtures and gadgets will be next in their agenda. Exhaust fans and concealed wiring should be removed carefully, if the walls needed demolition without affecting the other-side of the walls. For example, if the work spot is an apartment, the demolition of the walls should be done very carefully, not to disturb or damage the walls of other tenants.
Undoing the electrical wiring and removing switch-boards and circuit-boards need experienced electricians. All the snapped wires, fittings, pvc or metal conduits should be removed safely from the work spot, and if there are any re-usable items like screws, clips and hooks etc. they should be kept cleaned and ready for re-use.

Step 7: Removing the baseboards and other fixtures:

While dismantling the baseboards and toilet tissue holder, towel bars, towel rings, and hooks etc. necessary care should be taken. Normally the baseboards will be along the wall. These can be dismantled by unscrewing and cutting the clips etc.

Step 8: Removing the tiles in the bathroom walls:

Towards cutting out drywall around tiles and removing tiles up to the framing studs, starting with side walls and finish with back wall, the crew will use special tools. Chipping off the tiles will be laborious job and will not be perfect because of chips flying all over.

Step 9: Removing the shower base and bathtub connections:

Your bathroom shower has to get water run through pipes and pour out through faucets, hot or cold. So the crew must go deep to the root of the supply line – whether it is in the attic, basement or outside the house or in a common place for apartments, to check the flow and the worthiness of the pipelines. If the shower is of a conventional type of “mud jobs”, meaning wire-mesh behind the tile glued with mortar, it’ll be more challenging to remove the pipelines. Cutting through the mortar and tiles all the way till your bathroom, with a diamond circular jaw will be hectic even for experienced plumbers.
Supposing a new connection has to be given with the shower being relocated in some other place, arising out of the bathroom remodel, then the demolition involves removing the existing pipelines completely, and re-laying pipelines both for incoming water and draining out used water from the shower.

Step 10: Removing bathtub and shower faucets:

Yet another careful activity involved in bathroom demolition, by the bathroom remodeling contractor is safely removing the existing bathtub. Whether the bathroom remodeling contractor is advised to throw-out the existing bathtub and fix a new one, or the homeowner wants to retain the same old one, it needs safe removal procedures of the present bathtub. You can’t afford to destruct it to pieces and the safe bet is to remove the bathtub intact.
First the water-pipe connections to the bath-rub should be dismantled perfectly. This work will entail spilling of water on the floor, while cutting off the pipelines and sealing them off. Preparing for fetching the residue water in buckets or vessels should be done beforehand. The removal should call for at least two persons first for breaking the caulk seal around the tub; tactfully detaching it from the existing place, mostly the wall-side through rubber-mallet or pry-bar; and move the tub out of the room. Sometimes, even an old bath-tub can also fetch salvage value in stores, if it’s in a fairly good-looking condition.
Another precaution to be taken in demolishing walls is to thoroughly check whether plumbing lines, electric wiring, gas pipelines, thermostat wires or security alarm wires run through those walls, and if so to carefully remove them and re-fix them again.

Step 11: Removing floor surface tiles or carpet (most popular surface in old houses):

As the final stage of the demolition process, the bathroom floor has to be attended to. If the bathroom floor is damaged, mostly the sub-floor has to be removed. The surface should be made smooth for laying fresh tiles and there can’t be any cavities, pores or pitfalls. Normally, the flooring of any bathroom will have more than one layer of tiles – or carpets with adhesive strips over the basic layer of cement plastering etc.
The bathroom being a place where water is flowing or spilling on the floor by daily usage, at the construction stage extra care is taken for laying the floor in such a way it withstands water leakage, dampness and slippery chances. This calls for additional work in demolition.
Once the bathroom remodeling contractor inspects the work spot prior to the commencement of work, they’d have made mental calculations, as what type of floor your bathroom has and how to demolish the same without extensive damage, and properly instructed their crew accordingly. So the homeowner need not worry much.

Step 12: Cleaning the Work Area neatly:

After finishing the demolition work every day, the process of cleaning the debris needs to be handled by the crew with forethought. They’ll make arrangements to clean the floor either by a vacuum cleaner or manual sweeping, as the case may be. Better still, if you’re engaging the services of “A” Grade bathroom remodeling contractor Denver like Vista Remodeling of Colorado, you need not to worry a bit.

Vista Remodeling is popular among many neighborhoods in around Colorado as #1 trusted source of bathroom remodeling contractor Denver, due to their customer-friendly, cost-efficient, minimum disruptive and comprehensive service for all remodeling projects, including the prior-to-project demolition jobs, neatly and perfectly.