Here is our full bathroom remodel after tearing everything out because of mold under the bathroom glass
block window. If you have these glass block windows in your bathroom it is not uncommon for them to be installed improperly and cause unknown leaks. For us, it was beneath the tub so when water would come in we wouldn’t know because it was under the tub. Here is photo of that area before we installed new windows. Most of windows in our house had broken parts or didn’t open anymore so we needed to replace the windows.
When we replaced the windows we found full dry rot under the glass block window in our master bathroom and my husband had to rebuild that area. He repaired it from the outside so the window installers could continue installing the window for our master bath. If you look closely do you see the white
area at bottom that is our corner tub. What was happening was the water was coming in through bottom of glass block area. The area that was damaged was where you see the wood studs now. That area was all shredded and I don’t know how the glass block was still being held up by that rotted wood. We were grateful we found out about this because we never would have found it if we didn’t re-do the windows.
So, now we are going to have to gut the bathroom because when they exposed the mold by pulling glass block window the spores spread through our home. You can read our story here. Now, we had to rip everything to the studs and be certain there wasn’t any mold or rot anywhere else in master bathroom. I have already documented this process in this post if you want to check out what we did.
It was finally time to fully renovate our master bathroom. We figured out what we wanted to do with our small space and still keep my bathtub ( I have to take frequent detox baths) and increase the size of our shower. When they built the house they put shower so close the toilet we had to actually step out and around toilet when leaving shower. It was annoying, lol! So, we have our plan check out what we did.
As you can see in photos at top of this collage we had to move the plumbing for the shower. I have to admit I was pretty scared to do this and thought it was going to be horrible. It wasn’t bad at all, just make sure you get someone very reputable to do this for you. We had the drain and pipes relocated professionally. The good news was that our slab was much thicker than it needed to be and is great shape. YAY! So after the drain and pipes were relocated my husband had to install the tub because he had to build the deck in order for the shower pan to be built. It was cool to see how it needs to be done. My husband had to put concrete under tub to set it properly and you have to make sure it is level, pretty cool to see how this is done.
As you can see what we chose to do is go with a 6 foot tub instead of the corner tub. I am 6′ tall so that corner tub wasn’t that great, lol. We took some of space for the double vanity to do this and then by taking corner tub out we were able to expand shower, too.
Progress is being made… woohoo
It was getting very exciting to see the walls up and lighting installed. This has been a super long process and we wanted to be certain to use the correct materials so we didn’t have to worry about mold growth and hidden leaks. I don’t ever want to have to go through this stuff again. So as you can see we used the concrete board on the wet areas and then the green board in the damp areas of the bathroom. At this point I am just really wanting our bathroom back and get some normalcy back in our lives.
Check out this progress.. Soooo Exciting
Let me tell you I am and was soooo stoked to have our bathroom finished. My hubby even put a television in so I could watch my recorded shows while I have my detox bath. We truly used all of the small space we had to make it our own and utilize the space for our needs. If there is one thing I could take from all of this is that appreciate the things you have and make them your own. I love our little house and we don’t need more space we just needed to make this space work for us.
I know you are probably thinking, thank goodness they got their house back together after the mold now they can relax.. Well, let me tell you I wish it was that easy. Check out my vlog about what happened next. 🙁 Toxic Flooring? Thanks Lumber Liquidators!
Francine,
Liked the post and your photos and your great way to share the story.
It’s a good example of how deep repairs can end up becoming. Glad it got worked out and sorry about the flooring-
Yes, that is another content issue for all or us-we need to ask “what is in it ?”
I wish you all the best with your site
It always amazes me how some things seem like an easy fix and turn into a major project and expense. I have 2 friends that had plumbing mishaps that turned into major remodels. One friend got a brand new luxury kitchen paid for by the contractor’s insurance when he installed a new dishwasher and caused massive flooding. My other friend got all new flooring in her kitchen, bath and dining room when a pipe in the floor sprang a leak. Her insurance paid for it, plus she ended up with an extra $4,000! The end result was great, but the long, long process, inconvenience and mess was another story.
Wow. That was an undertaking. But I will say you are good at documenting all. That was a lot of work and sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take on an undertaking like that. Good thing you have a hubby who can do that kind of thing. Thanks for sharing.
Brent,
Thank you, it is nice to have the photos to look back on and we want to share with others about what could be lurking in their homes, making them sick.
Hi Francine
I think I will wait reading what happened after this renovation of your bathroom
I just want to dwell with your enthusiastic feeling of getting the bathroom ready to use again. I can really understand your frustration of not having a bath for a long time of period.
I wish the best for you, and your family and your little house in the future.
Tove
Tove,
Thank you and yes it was quite an undertaking but it is finished now. More has happened since then and if you want to read up on that check out my post here It is so sad that companies are doing things to poison us and our homes.
Hello Francine!
That does indeed look like alot of work. It reminded me of when I had renovated the whole house. Metal stud walls, fiberglass insulation, plasterboard. Instead of re-doing the bathroom, I actually designed a whole new bathroom and had to make a new floor for the bathroom in particular because the floorboards weren’t level, so another job added! But when it’s all done, it’s definitely rewarding, as you have also presented in your photos!
Great work.
Jeremiah,
It was a crazy amount of work but I have to say now that we are enjoying our new bathroom it is totally worth it.. 🙂 But, I do wish we didn’t have to go through this