Pre-war bathroom renovation

[jsph74]

Hi,

I am about to start a renovation in a pre-war bathroom. The tiles seem to pop off fairly easily, leaving behind the clumps of mud you can see in the picture. I would like to make the project as clean and as simple as possible and just tile on top of what’s there, but some of the clumps are a bit loose.

Would I be able to make it secure enough by filling in all the gaps with mud? Or could I put wonder board or something like that over it and fasten it to the studs behind? The clumps sit relatively flush with the plaster so this wouldn’t really bump the tile out too much.

If I can help it, I would rather not take it all the way down to the studs. I live on the fourth floor in a building, I can’t get a dumpster and it would be a tremendous amount of work and mess to cart off and dispose of. Also, I’m not sure how to detect if there is asbestos is present.

Thanks,
Joe

[Premier Designs]

Hello Joe, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it needs to be demo'd back to the studs, no use spending money and not do it right to begin with.

[jsph74]

Thanks Dan. I was afraid of that. Do you know how to detect if asbestos is present?

[ZZZK]

There is no way to easily tell if there is asbestos. The rule of thumb is that if you suspect asbestos then treat it as such. If you want to be sure you need to take samples and send them to a lab for analysis or hire someone to take the samples for you and have them analyzed.

Regarding doing tile demo in a building. It can be done in as small a stages as you want. Use 5 gallon buckets and take your time. Yes it's a lot of work to do bucket runs. Hopefully you have an elevator. Can you have your own bin brought in somewhere on the property so you aren't filling up the community bin with demo material (probably not allowed or at very least frowned upon)?

[jsph74]

Thank you for your replies! I took it down to the studs and it was definitely the right call. Nice new surface to tile on and it looks great.

[Peerless Tile]

Keep us posted on your new look.