JSKE Interior Renovations
Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling Specialists
412-771-1206
Serving Pittsburgh and Surrounding Communities
This bathroom, located in Mt.Lebanon, Pa., is one of several that we have done with
The finished bathroom features subway tiles with a travertine listello accent border. The floor is done with a travertine, mosaic, floor tile. We used an Americast tub by American Standard with mohen fixtures in a nickle finish.
The orginal construction techinques are typical of the methods used in the 1950's and early 60's. This type of construction can be found throught the Pittsburgh area and presents one of the most challenging of all bathroom remodeling projects.
In the bathroom remodeling business we refer to it as a "mud" job, meaning that all of the ceramic tile is set in a thick, metal reinforced concrete mix. Removal is a difficult task and is usually best accomplished with an electric breaking hammer and the occasional light swing of a sledge hammer.
When remodeling this type of bathroom there are several things worth considering. Of primary concern should be the plumbing system. The plumbing lines will be burried in the concrete, just under the tile, in both the walls and floor. All of the plumbing lines will be of brass and galvanized steel, threaded pipe. Concrete attacts these materials over time and the plumbing system will be weak. Often you will find surface bubbles on the hot and cold water lines and the threaded joints will be especially weak. Now is a great time to replace all of the old plumbing.
You will also notice that all of the floor joists have been shaved down with a hatchet. This is common with this type of construction and was done to achieve a minimum concrete thickness over the joists. You will need to rebuild the joists by sistering 2x6's to the existing floor joists to get a good even nailing surface for new plywood and cement board.
An interesting note: So far we have removed the cast iron tub, vanity and vanity top, water closet and all the concrete and tile. The total weight of all the material hauled away to the landfill is just over 2,500 lbs. By the time the rest of the plaster walls are removed, we expect to have nearly 3,000 lbs of rubish that will have been removed from one tiny room. That is about 1 1/2 tons of trash.
