Old bathroom addition has mold - eek!

11 years ago

If you've seen my ridiculously long thread over on the Kitchens part of the forums, you know I"m thinking about that. But what started all of this is the fact that our first floor bath pipes froze last winter, then burst...and when we started looking around the shower surround and took off the shower faucet and hardware, we found mold. Fun times. This bathroom is a hot mess to begin with - it's a terrible location, the pipes have a pipe heater because the plumbing was installed in a former back porch with very little insulation, and the layout is awful.

My question is - if we just replace the shower (it's a corner shower) and fix the walls and mold issue, how much would that set us back? My husband thinks it will be pretty steep.

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11 years ago

A bath like you just described, with questionable framing and insulation, should really be targeted for gutting so that all of the other hidden issues, besides the mold, can be addressed. Unfortunately, there are sure to be other issues, possibly structural in nature. Porch enclosures are rarely done in a top notch manner, as you can already see for yourself. Costs to pay a pro to do a bandaid can approach that of the gut, but without solving the real culprits of the problems.

What is your experience level for DIY projects? A $50 box store acrylic surround placed over the existing walls with a new valve and insulation could be a stopgap for a couple of months until you could plan the gut. But paying a contractor for the temp ''repair'' would take away funding from the needed gut. That IS something that someone with low to medium DIY experience could do at minimal cost as a temp measure.

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Comments (9)

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
11 years ago
Is there another place on the second floor for a bathroom or are you going to have to live with the placement you have? I honestly would not do the band-aid solution on this one because mold is nasty stuff and you want to make sure you get rid of it and you want to guarantee that it doesn't come back.
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Jennifer Weinman
Original Author
11 years ago
We currently don't use this shower and have basically been on hold to fix this mess. We have a second floor bath and master bath too, so having it isn't the issue. It's figuring out whether a small fix is possible or a full gut. My husband thinks we should maybe spend like $1000 to replace the shower and fix the mold situation. But really, like someone above said, there are bigger structural and design issues. Personally, I feel like if we are going to open up to fix a bigger problem, mighty as well get t ALL right. But really, a full wall and shower gut with the potential to need to redo floor and walls...I feel like that's going to get up there in price, right? Currently, we have a space open in our basement where we can view the plumbing, and it's all wrapped in insulation or something and the ground underneath is...I have no idea. Maybe a picture is necessary. Lol!
Jennifer Weinman
Original Author
11 years ago
Here's some pics. That's underneath the bathroom. And then the two pics of the bath now (also known as our random storage area right now). As you can see, the wall paper is peeling, and the shower is busted. It's definitely not in great shape in here.
loves2read
11 years ago
Is there any issue with asbestos??
Jennifer Weinman
Original Author
11 years ago
Not that we know of. Our main house siding and porch is asbestos tile.
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
11 years ago
I think putting a bandaid on the shower is a waste of money because it might just get moldy again if the structural issues are not addressed. I think you might have to consider putting the bathroom remodel ahead of the kitchen remodel. Also you don't know if the mold is coming from moisture from the exterior coming in or from moisture within the shower itself. If you take everything apart and find out it's from the outside you will have to address that. You might as well remodel on your own terms instead of on an emergency basis. Mold is not something you want growing in your bathroom because, even if it's not deadly mold, it is probably stinky mold and that's not something you want in your house. In the meantime there is a spray that you can use on mold to retard its growth if you can expose the area enough to get at it.
Jennifer Weinman
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, if this bath issue is as big as we think it is, it would actually mean our kitchen remodel might be more feasible since we'd be tearing that part where the bathroom shower is anyways to open things up for kitchen and entry. Basically, if it IS an easy fix, we will do it and be done. But if it's not and is a bigger deal, then we sorta have to evaluate how far to go with things and if it's better to just rip EVERYTHING out and start fresh.
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
11 years ago
That sounds like a good solution. The most important thing is making sure the mold is dealt with and that can be either very simple or full gut, as you have surmised!