If you remember, I have a very solid plan worked out for this modern classic small bathroom remodel. The design plan was developed after working through a bathroom remodel checklist to address the question of, “What does this bathroom need to DO and HAVE?” Now that the planning work is done, it’s time to make this a reality and start demo! This post will show you our small bathroom demolition and the framing updates for the remodel.
I’m sure you want to see the existing bathroom before we start demo. Here it is. Very grungy and smelly. Let’s change that.
Toilet, Sink & Flooring Demo:
How to best demo a small bathroom? First, turn off the water and electricity supply to the bathroom. Once that is done, take out the toilet by flushing out the tank with the water off to drain it. Soak up the water in the bowel with a large sponge, and then remove the water supply lines and the toilet bolts connecting the toilet to the floor. Then get that toilet out of there.
Here is the bathroom with the removed toilet. You can see my large orange sponges used to soak of the toilet water. The sponges are from the tile section at Home Depot. If you’re doing this, you might want a long pair of gloves too.
The flooring was really cheap floating vinyl that was easy to pull up. So I added that to the growing junk pile in the yard. Don’t worry I’ll get a disposal bin from our local waste management company once the pile is big enough. Thankfully we don’t have neighbors close by or an HOA so nobody cares about the growing junk pile.
Next, unhook the water supply lines to the sink. Then, unhook the sink p-trap plumbing. Now the sink and countertop are ready to remove.
Next, I took a large crowbar to the sink countertop and pried it off the vanity. The vanity cabinet had a few screw connections to the wall that I unscrewed and then pried the vanity out of place.
Shower Tub Demo:
The fiberglass shower tub is an absolute beast. There is no way I could get it out in one piece. So I grabbed a reciprocating saw, some safety glasses, and a good respirator mask and had at it. Be careful not to cut too deep into the wall so that you don’t hit an electric or water line. I made small cuts and they tried to pry sections of the shower wall away from the wall framing so I could see what was inside the walls.
Here is a photo of the demo’d fiberglass shower walls. You can see I had to work around the shower plumbing and an electrical wire on the shower head wall. Thankfully all is still in tact!
The fiberglass dust is nasty and bad for your lungs, so get yourself a good face mask!
Next, I hacked away at the bathtub and got it out in pieces. The yard junk pile is looking really classy now!
Here is a progress photo of the small bathroom demolition. The space feels a lot bigger now. You can see some water marks on the plywood subfloor, but thankfully the plywood is still in good condition.
Door Removal & Pocket Door Framing:
The original bathroom had a swinging door that blocked off the laundry area and made the use of the space really awkward. I want to change this to a pocket door. Thankfully, per a consolation with a structural engineer, this is not a bearing wall so I am able to modify the door framing without much trouble.
Here is the original door framing. I took off the drywall to prep for the pocket door modifications.
Here I am after demoing the door framing and imagining a modern classic pocket door with a full-length mirror. This bathroom will function much more smoothly with a pocket door.
The easiest way to install a pocket door is to buy a pocket door framing kit with a top track and simply follow the kit instructions. I used a Johnson Hardware 1500 Series pocket door kit for 2×4 stud walls. It was easy to install and works smoothly to this day. Here is the installed pocket door framing after some late night construction. The photo mostly shows the pocket or hidden section of framing.
Bathroom Vanity Wall Framing Changes:
After I got the sink and cabinet out of here, the demolition of the vanity wall consisted of lifting the mirror off the hanging screws and pulling off the drywall. Then I got to work installing wood blocking per my remodel plan.
Here you can see a lot of blocking between wall studs. I added sections for potential towel racks above the toilet. I wanted to give myself height options so I was somewhat generous with the blocking. Make sure to take notes and photos of your framing layout before closing this up! It’s priceless information to know exactly where everything is lines up behind the drywall.
Blocking in the sink area is placed to provide support for the wall brackets of the sink vanity. Yes, I have already ordered and have the vanity waiting to be installed. I wanted to make sure I have the dimensions correct. It’s always better to measure in real life. I’ve found out the hard way that sometimes the manufacturer’s written info is not exact.
You can also see framing set up for a recess medicine cabinet. I found an amazingly classy looking mirror medicine cabinet that will work great here. One other thing: see the square framing on the pocket door wall? That is a small recessed wall nook that I plan to use for a toothbrush older to get that off the sink counter. Blocking below that is for a small towel holder.
Why install wood blocking for towel holders? Can’t you just use drywall anchors and make your life that much easier? Well, I’ve found out the hard way that drywall anchors can loosen over time with anything that gets touched regularly. Once the anchor fails, you’re left with a big hole in the drywall. I’d rather just add wood blocking now so I can use a proper screw to anchor things and sleep well knowing they aren’t going to fall out over time.
Once the framing updates were complete, I added some leftover Rockwool insulation I had laying around after replacing the exterior wall insulation. Rockwool not only provides some fire resistance, but it also helps provide some sound dampening. That’s a good thing for a bathroom…
That’s it for the small bathroom demolition. I will make a few more framing changes in the tub shower area, but let’s wait to do those until after the new tub is in place. I want be able to measure from the tub to determine placement for some shower wall niches. Stay tuned!
