About Odus Sweetin Expertise For over 30 years my profession has been a full time homebuilder and remodeler.The range of my projects has been from a few hundred to 750k. Since the home improvement laws` inception, I have been a TN State Licensed Home Improvement Contractor, involved in remodeling and repairing homes. Evolving from the older lead carpenter system of the mid sixties, I have been a master carpenter, a journeyman plumber, and a journeyman electrician. If you are interested in asking someone who actually has qualified as proficient performing the task, ask me. I am willing to try to help you.
Experience Starting in 1969, I have continuously been a residential home building and remodeling contractor. During the seventies and early eighties, I was a residential electrician. During the early to mid seventies, a residential plumber. Now I still advise and lead my sub crafts in all phases of residential and light commercial remodeling. We limit our commercial work to light office remodeling.
Licensed Tennessee State Home Improvement Contractor Certified Master Carpenter Former Licenced Journeyman Plumber Former Licensed Journneyman Electrician
As a long time of the local Home Builders Association affiliated with the NAHB for many years, I have received numerous awards including Remodelor of the Year for 1997 and 2000, President's Award, etc. Chairman of the local National Association of Home Builders associate HBA of Southern Tennessee Remodelors[tm]Council. Published nationally as an example in Remodeling Magazine.
Question We would like to remodel both of the bathrooms in our 25 year old single story home. However we are on a concrete slab and I think that causes problems.
Is it even possible to move the tub, shower, stool, etc around when everything is in concrete?
Answer Hello Jack,
Yes, it is possible and really not that difficult, at least from our propective. It is mostly just brute labor.
Seal the bath floor/wall junctions.
Wet saw cut the concrete.
Using an electric breaker hammer, break up the concrete into more manageable pieces. Remove it to disposal container or other.
Dig out and move plumbing where desired. Install to height of new concrete.
Refill, packing/tamping as you go. We do it by hand with a hand tamper, so we are tamping as every four to six inches of fill that is replaced. It will probably require more fill material. Always does for us when we do this.
Tie in new replacement concrete reinforcement to old.
Install/replace vapor barriers sealing to the existing vapor barriers. We use an adhesive to do this when they join or overlap. It is not absolute, but our seal is.
Replace concrete slab finishing smooth.
This is about a day and half work for most baths for us, but takes about four to six days on the calendar by the time all is completed.
Though it may not be exactly as your baths require, it will serve as good generally guidelines. The caution flag is always up when new or different items are cut into to. Also caution must be present when breaking up. You need the water, but it is probably still in the lines below the slab. You do not know if they did this buried tasks correctly before so we sometimes have to deal with water lines directly under the slab vapor barriers.
Sometimes only small areas of concrete have to be taken out. This is an ideal but not usually what we have an opportunity to do. I guess others get the easy ones I hear about?
Have a good day,
Odus
