How to Demolish Your Own Bathroom – Every Step You Need

Learning how to demo a bathroom is a monumental undertaking, but it’s nothing you can’t figure out. Junk Doctors, your local demolition company, has provided this guide so you can get the hang of do-it-yourself bathroom demolition for yourself! Ready to learn how to demolish a bathroom? Before you get to work, you’ll need to make sure you have the appropriate equipment for the job. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

  • Protective Eyewear
  • Protective Ear Plugs
  • Protective Work Gloves
  • Adjustable Wrench
  • Putty Scraper
  • Utility Knife
  • Pry Bar
  • Hammer
  • Reciprocating Saw
  • Drywall Saw

Be sure to always wear your protective equipment as a default when doing any interior demolition job.

Demolishing the Toilet

Getting rid of a toilet doesn’t have to be rocket science. First things first, you’ll want to make sure you’ve twisted the water supply valve off so the toilet isn’t continually refilling itself. Then, flush the toilet, disconnect the toilet connector tube, and you’ll be ready to get into the nitty-gritty of toilet demolition. Put on your protective equipment, and let’s get to work.

  • If your toilet has a separable toilet tank on it, you’ll need to remove it. Simply use an appropriate wrench to unfasten the mounting bolts.
  • Next, use your wrench to unfasten the bolts attaching the toilet to the floor. Then, break the wax seal holding the toilet in its place.
  • Finally, you can use a putty scraper to remove what remains of the wax seal before putting an old towel or cloth to block the leftover hole.

Demolishing the Sink

Now that the toilet is long gone, let’s move along to the sink. With any luck, you won’t have to “sink” too much time into this process. This is actually one of the easier parts of bathroom demolition and kitchen demolition too, after all.

  • You’ll need to start by shutting off the water supply valve so you don’t cause a flood. Next, use a wrench to remove the water supply lines.
  • Locate the P-Trap and use pliers to loosen the nuts holding it in place. Then, remove the P-Trap.
  • Remove the clips holding the sink to the counter before removing the sealant with a utility knife.
  • Here’s the fun part—simply lift the sink straight upwards to finally remove it from its counter.
  • Wondering how to demo a bathroom vanity or sink counter? Use a pry bar to detach it from the wall.

Demolishing the Shower

One of the most difficult parts of learning how to demolish a bathroom is learning how to demo a shower.

  • This is becoming a trend, but first things first, shut off the water supply valve so this job doesn’t get wet.
  • Next, you can remove the shower doors, or in the case of a bathtub, just remove the curtain.
  • Removing soap holders, shower racks, and other similar items is as easy as using your bare hands and/or a utility knife.
  • Next, remove the shower head by loosening the nut from the pipe, then turning it by hand until it comes off.
  • Follow up by rotating the shower arm until it is also detached. If necessary, remove any leftover pieces with a pry bar.
  • To remove the shower handle, simply loosen and unscrew it.

At this point, you will move on to demolishing the shower walls themselves. This is a tricky process because there are many different kinds of shower walls. So, depending on which one you’re working with, you’ll need different tools and a different set of steps.

In the case of plastic shower wall panels, you will need to make sure there are no gas or electrical lines where you make your cuts. You’ll use a hammer and a reciprocating saw to perform the actual removal process. Start by cutting out five inches of the drywall surrounding the plastic panels. Then, remove the drywall between the cut and the top of the fiberglass wall to discover all of the nail/screw attachments. From here, you’ll methodically slice the plastic panels into multiple pieces, avoiding those gas and electric lines, along with drywall studs, along the way.

Now, here’s how to demo shower tile. You’ll need to start by removing caulk with your utility knife, then removing the tiles with your pry bar. We have a similar blog about the removal of kitchen tile that you can see for more ideas on how to go about this work.

Demolishing the Bathtub

The last section in our guide of how to demolish a bathroom is how to demo a bathtub.

  • As always, begin by shutting off the water to the bathtub.
  • Next, locate the drain flange, using a tub drain wrench to disconnect it.
  • Then, use a screwdriver to remove the overflow valve cover. Twist off the tub spout next.
  • Follow up by disconnecting the drain assembly, which is on the underside of the tub.
  • This is accomplished by using an access panel to reach the assembly, then using pliers to disconnect the drain pipe.
  • Finally, detach the bathroom from the wall. Slice out a part of the wall six inches above the tub to begin.
  • If you are using a drywall wall, use a drywall saw to remove the wall all the way down to the studs.
  • If you are using a tile wall, you can remove tiles using a putty knife.
  • Remove any nails, screws, or caulk fixing the tub in place to finish the removal.

Finishing Touches

Now that we’ve covered everything regarding how to demolish a bathroom, it’s time to add some finishing touches. This primarily involves sweeping up and loading the leftover debris into the appropriate receptacles. Normal trash pickup might be able to take away some of these items for you, but if your bathroom demo project is large, you may need something a bit more heavy-duty, such as a dumpster rental or even professional junk removal company. No matter which option you choose, now you have a cleared out bathroom that’s ready for the next step in your renovation project!

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