This project transformed a grody 5×12 fiberglass tub/shower combo guest bath into a bright soaking tub bathing space. I have a lot of experience with tub surround renovations. This post takes you through the entire process of installing a new tub surround along with a to the studs full bath renovation. Read on for details on how to make a full bathroom tub surround tile renovation happen!
The Challenge
A haphazard 1990s reno flip to this 1970s bathroom in the Balcones Woods neighborhood of Austin, TX, had many problems. The flippers replaced the origional tub with a fiberglass insert, and they replaced the vanity countertop with a (garish) granite slab remnant. Unfortunately though, the flippers left the origional aluminum wiring and musty linen closet and all the rest of the 1970s sadness for my clients to deal with.
This bathroom needed a complete renovation. Read on for tips, tricks, and how-to details on how to transform a kinda grody space like this into a relaxing soaking bath that will last a lifetime.
The Goals
Here were the primary goals for this particular tub surround tile renovation project:
- Add light (since the existing space was a dark interior bath)
- Make it safe (since the existing wiring was 1970s aluminum)
- Make it watertight (since the tub drain plumbing was leaking)
- Make it bright and classy!
Bright and light were key goals, along with lifetime water tightness and enjoyable bath usability. The rest of this post explains how to achieve all of these renovation goals by going to the studs for a complete redo.
Step One: Demo
Half measure renovations for musty dark bathrooms never work. You could try to just replace the tub surround and vanity, but that’s exactly what the previous home flipper did.
Your best (and ultimately best value) move is to simply go to the studs. Like Ripley says, nuking it from space is the only way to be sure. For example, this demo revealed a major drain plumbing problem and also revealed that the ceiling vent fan was actually vented to nowhere.
This is why going to the studs is usually the best option for renovating a standard 50 to 100 square foot bathroom. A full demo will reveal any past shenanigans and problems, and create a clean slate for rebuilding it in just about any way you’d like.
Seriously, taking everything to the studs is the only way (short of x-ray vision or precognition) to reveal any hidden problems left by previous renovators and even shoddy origional homebuilders. For example, here’s an inscription left on this job by the origional 1970s builder who apparently bickered with their framing carpenter.
Step Two: Redo the Wiring
This 1970s home was originally built with aluminum wire, which is a real safety hazard. This was another reason to take everything to the studs. The best way to completely rewire a house is room by room whenever you’re doing reno work. And it’s real easy to rewire a room when it’s taken down to bare studs.
Each bathroom in a house should be on it’s own main circuit. So, if your house is already up to basic electrical code, then it’s easy to rewire a bathroom wihtout having to mess with the main circuit breaker.
This makes it easy to add ceiling lighting, outlets, etc all located wherever you want to work perfectly with a whole new bathroom layout. It also makes it easy(ish) to install a new exhaust fan that’s actually ducted to the outside.
Cutting into one story vintage ranch house ceilings will be a pain. There’s usually no access from above, and always a buch of old loose fill celulose insulation to deal with. But cutting into the ceiling is a necessary step to run new wire and properly install new venting and lighting. The best way to do all this the easy way is to be careful with the carving.
Old loose fill insulation will tend to clump. Therefore careful cutting into the ceiling drywall can minimize the amount of insulation that’ll fall out. And cutting a series of small holes is all it takes to run wire or new ductwork over existing ceiling joists. You can then replace the dropped insulation with new fiberglass and cover the entire ceiling with a new layer of 1/4-in gypsum board.
This is how you can make carving into a messy ceiling relatively easy for a complete rewire of an old 1970s house (or any vintage ATX house). Covering up ceiling carving with an added layer of drywall is the cleanest and overall least expensive strategy. You can also then get any new ceiling finish you want as an added bonus.
Step Three: Redo the Plumbing
Taking everything to the studs for a full bath tub surround tile renovation will also reveal any hidden plumbing problems. In this case, the fiberglass insert tub drain was literally held together with duct tape.
That would have been pretty difficult to fix without removing everything for a new tub install. Which, even for a “simple” acrylic tub, requires some serious work and attention to detail. Redoing the entire drain assembly (made easy with a full demo and jackhammer availability) was the easy part. The harder part of properly installing an acrylic soaker tub is making space to rotate it into place. Then you need to properly level it with a ledger board and also prep the space for a plaster base.
An easy trick to set large soaker tubs in plaster is to pour the plaster after the tub is set in place. To do this you just need to prep the space beforehand with some scrap drywall pieces and tape to keep the plaster from running out from under the tub. You can then make a funnel out of cardboard to pour the plaster mix under the tub through a stud bay opening.
Acrylic plastic bathtubs need to be set in a solid base to prevent flexing. This also makes a better bathing experience. An acrylic tub set in plaster (and surorunded by extra fiberglass insulation) will keep a constant bath temp almost as well as a cast iron tub.
It takes skill and patience to properly install a large bathtub with proper level plumb. This ensures that the tub will drain properly and not crack from stress if someone sits or stands on the lip. Getting a ledger board placed just right will take some trial and error patience. Don’t rush it.
Also keep in mind basic geometry. Make sure that the bathtub will fit through the door, and that it can be rotated into place. Note the stud notching in the pic above. This 21-in deep soaker skirted tub was the absolute max depth box that could be installed in this space.
Step Four: Backerboard and Waterproofing
Framing a large niche space requires making a header just like a window. It also reqires some careful planning to ensure that the niche opening will work seamlessly with the tile pattern. Once all the wall framing and plumbing is done, you can button it all up with concrete backerboard seamed with masonry sealant.
The last step for tile prep is a double coat of paint-on waterproofing like RedGard. This puts the waterproofing layer directly behind the surface tile. Remember that tile and grout are not waterproof. It’s the prep work that makes a tub surround waterproof, not the tile.
Careful prep will also make the final tile pattern match with all the fixtures. You don’t want the showerhead, valve handle, niche opening, etc to all end up looking random and off-kilter.
Step Five: Tile Install
Two things made this tile install particularly challenging to plan. First, the clients chose a 1/3 offset subway pattern. And second, they wanted to integrate the tub surround tile with a wainscot extending behind a freestanding vanity. To look balanced and purposeful, the vertical grout lines would need to line up perfectly with the vanity faucet and wall outlets in addition to the tub fixtures.
Setting the very first tile sets the pattern for an entire room. This is why so many tile installations end up looking unbalanced with haphazard cuts and small slivers. It takes forethought and some time with a marker and level to envision exactly where every finish fixture will land in a pattern.
Step Six: Finish Trim Decisions
The easiest way to paint a bathroom during a full renovation is before any tile is installed. You can paint real fast when there’s no need to trim around wall tile or worry about drips. However, it can be very difficult to imagine exactly what a particular wall paint color will look like without seeing it next to the actual tile.
This is why I always advise clients to hold off on paint color choices until after most of the tile is installed. This makes it a bit more difficult to do the painting, but does ensure that you’ll get exactly the result you want.
The same goes for deciding on final placement for medicine cabinets and mirrors, wall light fixtures, storage cabinets,etc. It is a very good idea to mock up different placement options in the near-finished space before permanently installing anything.
Test fitting the finish fixtures is when you can see the benefit of planning the first tile location very precisely. Careful tile install planning on this project created a perfectly balanced final alignment with each finish element.
Step Seven: Grout, Caulk, and Final Fixtures!
Once the tile is all installed you might think that a bath reno is basically dune. But the last steps for a full tub surround tile renovation are sneaky time consuming.
Grouting an entire roomful of tile, for example, will take at least two days to ensure that all the lines are even. And painting will also take a couple days even for an 80-ft2 space. Painting before grouting will save some time. But you will still need to do trim painting after grouting to clean up the overgrout.
Then there’s cabinets to install, baseboard and door trim to paint, install, and caulk, plumbing fixtures to install, etc etc.
This project took several days to finish up the finish bits. There was a lot of very precise cabinet trim and door/baseboard carpentry plus designer trim install.
The FINISH: Before and After
Here is the ultimate before and after for this full bath tub surround tile renovation project. The result was a lighter, brighter, and definitely classier space. And now the bathroom has safe wiring, an actually vented ceiling fan, and a properly waterproofed tile tub surround that will last a lifetime!
