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hydragea

Is this bathroom fixable? Or do I need to gut?

Hydragea
9 years ago

My bathroom has a number of problems, and I'm wondering whether I can fix them without gutting.
Problems:
1. no fan
2. no electrical outlet
3. broken soap dish
4. many cracked wall tiles
5. 1 broken floor tile

I'm not particularly interested in gutting.

Other notable things:
1. It looks like the tub was re-enamelled, and the original colour might've been green. The enameling still looks good, but there are a few scratches.
2. I'm worried that there is vermiculite in the walls. So if I take the tiles out, and I see vemiculite, will I need to gut anyway?
3. Chrome bath fittings are in excellent condition.
4. This is the only bathroom in the house. 3 people use it.

See pics.

Overall bathroom (looks pretty nice):
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Broken tile and soap dish (which was repaired with something, but I don't know what):
{{gwi:2133664}}

Broken floor tile:
{{gwi:2133665}}

More cracked tile:
{{gwi:2133666}}

What should I do?

Comments (9)

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    The electrical outlet should be a pretty easy fix for an electrician.

    It's possible that you could run a fan directly out through the wall/ceiling near the shower, but technically since the bathroom has a window, you are not absolutely required to have one in all locales.

    They still make that floor tile so you should be able to chisel the old one out and put a new one in.

    The soapdish may be more problematic but this place may have a replacement:

    I would leave the cracked tile well enough alone I think unless it seems to be causing leaks.

    Here is a link that might be useful: HCP Industries

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    All these repairs are much easier and much less expensive than a gut job.

  • sloyder
    9 years ago

    the electrical outlet is the first order of business, as it needs a GFCI outlet because the cord is near water and it is hanging from the light fixture, very dangerous.

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    Trust me...with three people using the bathroom and it being the only bathroom in the house, unless you all plan to be gone for a few days, remodeling your bathroom is going to be difficult. There will be a period of time when the old toilet comes out for the floor to get tiled.. Best case scenario two, probably three days before the new toilet goes in (and that's if you have your plumber waiting in the wings to follow the tile guy). Unless you have neighbors who love you, or a family member close by that you can impose on, you need to find a place to stay and that adds to the remodel cost. I think you should consider repairing. Do you have extras of your tiles?

  • Hydragea
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It is encouraging to know that I can repair these issues.

    jerzeegirl: It would be tough not to have the bathroom for 3 days as I do not have family in town. I'd have to plan to be on vacay but still be accessible. Not ideal.

    No, I don't have extras of the tiles, but they're 4.25" squares which should be easy enough to get (although it looks like I'd have to mail-order them). I also think I can get the floor tile.

    It doesn't seem like there would be any way to tell whether the cracked tiles are leaking without removing them. There is no water damage in the basement (unfinished).

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    If you don't see any moisture in the basement from the vicinity of the bathroom and you don't have any musty smells in the bathroom, you are probably not getting any water penetration through the cracks in the tile.

    I wonder if Treb The Magician has any ideas for dealing with the cracks in the tiles. Maybe there is an easy fix to make the cracks "disappear".

    Also, you might want to buy some Aquamix grout colorant and recolor all the grout in your bathroom to give all the tile a uniform look after you make your repairs. It addition to recoloring the grout, it seals the grout which is a good thing in a shower. It's very easy to do. I did it in my kitchen due to a botched grouting job and it made my floor look great.

  • Hydragea
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, jerzeegirl! I hadn't heard of Aquamix.
    Not having to spend loads of money on the bathroom makes me really happy!

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    You can buy it on Amazon - you can either try matching the grout color you have or you can try a different color if you'd like. You do have to make sure you clean the grout first by one of the methods described in the grout colorant instructions.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    The most expensive part of that tile replacement is spending the time to find a match. If you find an acceptable tile and grout match, you've taken almost all the risk of an unhappy customer from your repairperson.

    Expect to pay about $300.00, less if the repairperson is doing other work.