If you remember back at the beginning of the year I did a post on our home goals for 2013. First up on the list is our basement bathroom. Right now we only have one for all six of us! But before we can do any of the fun stuff, we had to get down and dirty!
The pipes are original to the house (1938) and have holes. They need to be replaced. In order to replace them we needed to tear down the ceiling so the plumber can access them. Our ceiling is made of lathe and plaster.
We wore shower caps (makes clean up faster for our hair), safety glasses, leather gloves, thick soled shoes, and a mask.
Next time I would probably wear a long sleeved shirt because I ended up with a few small scratches. It wasn’t a big deal but a long sleeved shirt would have helped. We always stand to the side when tearing down a section so we didn’t have issues with it falling on our heads but it might be a good idea to wear a hat as well.
SAFETY FIRST!!!
(The outside was dark grey but the inside was white!)
This is what lathe and plaster lookS like in case you have not seen it before:
We used a crowbar and hammer to remove the ceiling. The lathe (the boards) is held on by tiny nails. Once you pry one end off you can pull the rest down. The plaster will come off in chunks with it.
Be careful where you step because not only are the ends of the lathe pointy but they may have nails in them.
We worked slowly and methodically because of all the pipes and wires. The plaster got thrown away and the lathe got added to my ever growing wood pile. I swept up what I could and then used the shop vac to get the rest of the dust. We had the whole thing done in a few hours.
Sometimes progress isn’t pretty. But hey, it’s progress, right?
What is the dirtiest job you have ever tackled? I would love to hear!
We’ve just bought an old small house as well (1927) and throughout the main floor we have popcorn ceiling tiles. All the walls have that thin wood panelling. My guess is underneath each of those things is plaster/lathe that someone couldn’t bother to remove so covered over instead. Our goal is to do one section/room at a time, since we really don’t have much space and won’t want to be living in constant construction. Do one room, survive, recover, rest for many many months, next room :)
I do NOT envy you. I just demoed our plaster over brick and it was a super NASTY job. I have all plaster over lathe walls and I’m putting off removing any of it if I can.
Can’t wait to see what you do with this space.
What a big, messy project! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out in the end. I am sure it will be fabulous. :)
Holy cow! That demo project (and you) are a mess! Hopefully the worst of it is over, so you can move onto the more fun, planning stages. Can’t wait to see what you have envisioned for the space!
Good for you for getting down and dirty!! What an exciting project this will be!
I love to see your home projects and am so excited to see how you’re bathroom will turn out. It is awesome that you do most everything yourself. I am always blown away by your creativity and skill. I know this might sound a bit Napolean Dynamite-ish, but I am jealous of your sweet skills. :)
Becareful there girly! I onle stepped on a rusty nail!
That lathe and plaster demo is a brutal job….yay for it being over!
Good lord I leave all the demoing to my husband! I just stick to designing and decorating it! Lol
Don’t you just LOVE how sturdy things were built back in the day! Our dirtiest job (to be fair, our only big job) has been the master bathroom. I swear, based on how solidly it was built, they must have thought no one would ever want to renovate it. Excited to see how this project takes shape!
We have lathe and plaster too. AND we have torn apart our upstairs bathroom. So excited for you to get a new bathroom!
Ooh! Sympathy! We just finished ripping down a plaster ceiling and have more to come in June. It is SO darn messy…but a major step in the right direction. Looking forward to seeing your basement come together!