Replacing a bathroom floor was once regarded a very tricky proposition but it is no longer so. In fact, with many helpful ‘How to replace a bathroom floor?’ tips and bathroom-remodeling guidelines, people are enjoying the challenges involved in replacing bathroom floors.
Replacing bathroom floors is not just about removing the old, damaged flooring and replacing it with a new one, but also involves removing bathroom fixtures such as bathtubs and toilets, laying underlayments, etc. It is quite obvious, that remodeling bathrooms is quite a consuming job and demands high levels of involvement and commitment.
Before further clarification on how to replace a bathroom floor, we would like to provide you some information on all the available flooring options. Since, this is the first thing, which needs your immediate attention as soon as you plan to remodel your bath.
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Traditional materials such as carpets and marbles are still not out of use, but resilient floorings such as ceramic tiles, laminates and vinyls seem to be the order of the day. These flooring materials are not only long lasting, but run equally low on maintenance. Additionally, the effortless installation of these floorings further makes it easier for the do-it-yourselfers.
Now, getting down to the real floor-replacing job, the first things that you will need to take care of is removing the fixtures. Start with the toilet following these simple steps:
* Stop water supply to the toilet by turning off the valve.
* Flush to empty the tank and the bowl.
* Disconnect water supply to the tank.
* Unscrew the nuts from the tank bolts and remove the tank.
* Force open the trim caps from the floor bolts and remove the bolts.
* Scrape the sealant around the toilet base and then detach the bowl from the flange.
Disinfect the flange and block the sewer opening so that smelly gases are unable to escape.
After you have wrapped up the toilet-removing job, get on with removing all the wooden moldings, doorsills and the tile baseboards in the bathtub area.
If your bathroom has carpet, vinyl or laminate flooring, then pull up the covering, removing underlying padding to fully expose the substrate. Tiled floor, on the other hand, will need to be literally chiseled even if that means breaking the tiles. Whichever be the type of flooring you need to do away with, you will need to properly expose and clean the sub-floor so that it forms a good foundation for the new floor.
This brings the chapter of ‘How to replace a bathroom floor’ to an end. The next lesson for you will be regarding the installation of underlayments and the actual flooring.
Follow these steps carefully and start with laying the underlayment:
* Appropriately cut plywood planks placed on the sub-floor and nailed to it.
* Follow it up by affixing cement backer-boards or laminate boards (as per you flooring choice) with the help of quality adhesive.
Always check adhesive manufacturer’s instructions for the number of applications, drying, etc.
You have now arrived at the final stage of installing the flooring. Whatever be your choice of flooring, the ideal place to start with laying the floor is the corner farthest from bathroom door (through which you will make the exit after completing the job).
Vinyl and laminate floorings do not pose much of a problem. You only need to be precise about the measures and cuts. Take a little care of the edge trimmings. However, if you are working with tiles, you need to be very careful. Thus, make sure that you are able to utilize full tiles (because full tiles reveal the beauty of tiled floors). The line and symmetry too is very important, as is the neatness of the grouting job.
This sums up your bathroom floor-replacing lesson. Hope you will now be able to do up your bathroom. Your new-look bathroom will overwhelm others and they will be approaching you with the same hackneyed question – “How to replace a bathroom floor?” It is at this moment that you will realize that your achievement far outweighs your pains.
by Manuel Kupka
