First Floor Bathroom Project - Week 2 (Jun 17-18)

We didn't get as much as I wanted done this week, but we did make a major improvement in the overall condition of the floor. The old bathrooms floor flexed and was too weak to provide a good base for the tile. As a result, the tile cracked in short order. We want a base that will not move at all. On top of that, we'll lay down a mortar bed (gulp) and finally the tile.

	Here's that the floor looked like after all the remaining original subfloor was stripped away and the existing joists were reinforced. Most joists have a full 2x4 sistered onto each side of them. Additionally, there are cross joist pieces for stability and more nailing surface. This took a lot longer than it may look as each 2x4 had to be notched in a number of places for pipes and electrical runs and then maneuvered into place (remember the bathroom is barely 6'x6'!
	And then we laid the sub-floor on. Originally, I was going to recess the subfloor between the joists, but a number of structural issues came up and basically, while I could recess the new floor, there are areas where strips of the old floor have to remain to provide support for walls. Those could never be recessed, so we'd lose all the benefit of recessing the rest. This is a view from the east.
	And a view from the west. The floor is SOLID! When you jump on it, it doesn't bounce, flex or move. In fact, it feels like jumping on concrete (which is a very good thing!).

Last updated June 18, 2001