Now what? Homasote discovered as bathroom subflooring.

2 years ago

I'm not sure what to do about my bathroom subflooring and am looking for advice.

Yesterday, I tore up the old tile from an upstairs bathroom in our 1960s house. Under the tile was a layer of crumbling concrete over a wire mesh (an old version of cementboard). I ripped this out. Under the wire was a piece of tar paper, and under that was homasote.

Today, I started working on ripping out the homasote only to discover that there was nothing underneath it except for the joists it was nailed to. At that point, I stopped. The homasote is approximately 1.5 in thick.

What do I do now?

Do I rip out all the homasote and lay down a plywood subfloor? If I do that, will I likely need to rip out the tub (not something I want to get into)? What other tricky business would be involved (for example with walls and the toilet)?
Do I simply repair the hole, then lay cementboard on top of that before installing porcelain tile? Or perhaps I look into using luxury vinyl tile instead of porcelain due to the nature of the subfloor.
Is there something else I should be considering?

Of course, I would love to spend as little time and money on this as I can, but I also want this to be done well. Any suggestions?

Featured Answer

Lucas Gerlach
Original Author

2 years ago

Here's it all turned out. It ended up being a project with the extra subfloor work and with three weeks of travel, but it's done!

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Comments (10)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
2 years ago
Tear it out and installl a proper sub floor please.
Lucas Gerlach thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
millworkman
2 years ago
Yeah, consider yourself fortunate that it has lasted 60 years and change it all out.
Lucas Gerlach thanked millworkman
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cat_ky
2 years ago
It appears, you have had a leak in that corner of the tub, so probably best to take care of all the problems while you have it apart.
Lucas Gerlach thanked cat_ky
JP L
2 years ago
OMG - no advice on the floor, but I am in love with your blue wall tile! I am currently picking tile for our renovation and it's exactly what I'm looking for! Gorgeous!
Lucas Gerlach thanked JP L
wdccruise
2 years ago
JP L: "I am in love with your blue wall tile!

Perhaps Daltile Color Wheel Classic Waterfall 4x4 square.
Lucas Gerlach thanked wdccruise
Lucas Gerlach
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for your suggestion, everyone! I am ripping out the subfloor. It's a pain but hopefully it will be worth the work!
Lucas Gerlach
Original Author
2 years ago
JP L, the tile is the original tile to the house. I am trying to save it and keep retro look. Another bathroom had pink tile, but there was no cement board behind it in the bath area and it all had to come out.
JP L
2 years ago
Thanks @wdccruise - I actually got a sample of waterfall (although in a matte in the Keystones line) - it's not quite aqua enough. I am planning a trip to MIssion Tile West (i.e. Tile Heaven) next week and will seek their counsel, but so far, Fireclay's Crater Lake is leading the pack (in a 4x4) for the primary.

Lucas - please show us what you have planned for the floor tile!
cat_ky
2 years ago
It looks very nice. Very clean and fresh too.
Lucas Gerlach thanked cat_ky