Old houses and repairs..need some advice

[WeedFreak78]

House was built mid 40's, bathroom hasn't been touched since it was built..awesome pink and black.... The floor rotted out and collapsed next to my tub, so i figured I'd do a patch for now until i can afford a full remodel. Started tearing up the area and there's 1 1/2" of concrete poured on top of tar paper on top of the floorboards( old 1x9 tongue and groove). Once i replace the rotted boards, can i just lay some more tar paper and pour self leveling concrete in there then thin set on top of that? I've talked to a couple buddies in construction and they aren't 100% on how to do a repair, they both said tear it all up and replace it, but they say my plan sounds reasonable. I've already opened the can o'worms more than i wanted. I'm not looking for perfection, just something to get me by for a couple years that won't start cracking and falling apart in a few months. Ideas?

 

[Diabolical666]

a rug would fix it The concrete blows my mind...

 

[WeedFreak78]

a rug would fix it The concrete blows my mind...

It's been like this going on 2 weeks..lol. I had a rug over it, with a small table in the way, but even thought i told people to be careful someone almost stepped in the hole... now there's some plywood covering it. Concrete seems to be the way they did it back then. I'm lucky..I think..seems like it was common practice to cut out floorboards, drop a subfloor down 6-8" then pour 6-8" of concrete on top to bring it back up to level, then tile. I'm really starting to think just fill it with concrete and peel and stick tile over it. I don't think i want to deal with resetting the old tile.

 

[neosapien]

How big is the whole floor? Why do something twice, when you can do it right the first time. Tear it all up and put in a new plywood subfloor. Then peel and stick and caulk with silicone, looks grouted almost . I had this same decision 4 years ago. Glad I did it all the way. I'll take some pics when I get home.

 

[WeedFreak78]

How big is the whole floor? Why do something twice, when you can do it right the first time. Tear it all up and put in a new plywood subfloor. Then peel and stick and caulk with silicone, looks grouted almost . I had this same decision 4 years ago. Glad I did it all the way. I'll take some pics when I get home.

I wish it was that easy, because I'd love to be done with it. But..the tub eventually has to come out because of rot in the base of the walls around that area. If you look at the pics you can see the way it's set in there. I'll have to tear up the floor again to get it out in a couple years..this is a temporary band aid until I'm working and making $$$ again. At that point it gets pulled down to studs and redone tub goes..shower stall goes in and a urinal..always wanted one in my house.lol

 

[neosapien]

I wish it was that easy, because I'd love to be done with it. But..the tub eventually has to come out because of rot in the base of the walls around that area. If you look at the pics you can see the way it's set in there. I'll have to tear up the floor again to get it out in a couple years..this is a temporary band aid until I'm working and making $$$ again. At that point it gets pulled down to studs and redone tub goes..shower stall goes in and a urinal..always wanted one in my house.lol

If that's the case, you might better off using cement. I don't think the self-leveling patch is meant to fill voids that thick. I could be wrong about that though. Seal everything real good beforehand. That stuff is awfully runny at first. Then again the whole concrete on top of wood perplexes me.

 

[Aeroknow]

Are we sure that "concrete" isn't actually a mortar base?
I've been trying my hardest not to reply to this thread, because i'm not into rigging shit up, when I fix or repair.
Temp fix though: Repair structure. Than Use something like bitchathane to repair membrane. You'll want the bituthane to overlap existing membrane. Than fill void with a mortar base.

 

[hossthehermit]

If you have insurance, just burn down the house

 

[Carolina Dream'n]

I'm blown away by concrete being poured on top of the structure. That's a lot of weight.

 

[Garden Boss]

 

[Growan]

You worry too much Mr. Freak. I'd put money on your gaff being more habitable than mine by a multiple of manymany.

Get a thicker rug and bigger table.

 

[dux]

The mortar is there as a base for the tile.wood can shrink and expand with the weather which would In turn crack out the tile and grout.I'd bust out the entire floor and replace with plywood and start over with a new floor..

 

[Grandpapy]

House was built mid 40's, bathroom hasn't been touched since it was built..awesome pink and black.... The floor rotted out and collapsed next to my tub, so i figured I'd do a patch for now until i can afford a full remodel. Started tearing up the area and there's 1 1/2" of concrete poured on top of tar paper on top of the floorboards( old 1x9 tongue and groove). Once i replace the rotted boards, can i just lay some more tar paper and pour self leveling concrete in there then thin set on top of that? I've talked to a couple buddies in construction and they aren't 100% on how to do a repair, they both said tear it all up and replace it, but they say my plan sounds reasonable. I've already opened the can o'worms more than i wanted. I'm not looking for perfection, just something to get me by for a couple years that won't start cracking and falling apart in a few months. Ideas?

If the whole tub is like that, you could just replace the sub floor to just under the tub, then screw down a tight fitting piece of marine plywood, fill cracks with caulk then top with your self-level.

Save up fast for the remodel.

 

[medicropper07]

Who's this lad ?

 

[TheHermit]

What condition are the floor joists in? I am guessing that is a solid steel tub, plus the addition of concrete is a lot of weight. You don't want to fall through the floor while taking a shower. I put tile board over the plywood when I redid mine. It is similar to concrete, but much lighter.

 

[Carolina Dream'n]

What condition are the floor joists in? I am guessing that is a solid steel tub, plus the addition of concrete is a lot of weight. You don't want to fall through the floor while taking a shower. I put tile board over the plywood when I redid mine. It is similar to concrete, but much lighter.

I've fallen through the floor while showering in an old trailer. Not fun.

 

[WeedFreak78]

This house is ridiculous, the floorboards were the concrete forms they used for the foundation, everywhere except the bathroom has 1.5" thick linoleum down UDERt

If you have insurance, just burn down the house

Thought about it many times..lol!! I've already looked into prefabs..my foundation is the perfect size to drop one on..

 

[WeedFreak78]

If that's the case, you might better off using cement. I don't think the self-leveling patch is meant to fill voids that thick. I could be wrong about that though. Seal everything real good beforehand. That stuff is awfully runny at first. Then again the whole concrete on top of wood perplexes me.

Home depot sells 50lb bags of self leveling compound that can fill up to 2" in one pour..I was calling it cement wrongly.

 

[WeedFreak78]

The mortar is there as a base for the tile.wood can shrink and expand with the weather which would In turn crack out the tile and grout.I'd bust out the entire floor and replace with plywood and start over with a new floor..

see my previous reply as to why I'm not doing that right now..

 

[WeedFreak78]

What condition are the floor joists in? I am guessing that is a solid steel tub, plus the addition of concrete is a lot of weight. You don't want to fall through the floor while taking a shower. I put tile board over the plywood when I redid mine. It is similar to concrete, but much lighter.

Floor joist are solid, not a spot of rot in them..thank god. The structure of this house is way overbuilt..at least compared to anything built in the last 20-30 years. I figure the cement is about 20lbs/sqft, so it's about 1000 lbs of concrete..lol.