Anyone ever dealt with remodeling an old house ..

[DAWGSANDSAINTS]

built in the 1950’s and having to take out old thick bathroom tile that has an inch of freaking concrete and a metal mesh behind the concrete?
Am I dealing with an asbestos issue ?
Can any good contractor demo the walls down to the old studs and basically start over with it possibly ( most likely ) being asbestos contaminated?
Do I have to hire a special contractor that deals with this stuff that’s probably charging $6K ?

 

[PBRME]

My contractor took it out and never said anything.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

Good question, ask the contractors.

 

[thatsbaseball]

What is this "good contractor" you speak of ?

 

[paindonthurt]

built in the 1950’s and having to take out old thick bathroom tile that has an inch of freaking concrete and a metal mesh behind the concrete?
Am I dealing with an asbestos issue ?
Can any good contractor demo the walls down to the old studs and basically start over with it possibly ( most likely ) being asbestos contaminated?
Do I have to hire a special contractor that deals with this stuff that’s probably charging $6K ?

Taking it out is easy and fun! And will save you some money.

 

[RocketDawg]

built in the 1950’s and having to take out old thick bathroom tile that has an inch of freaking concrete and a metal mesh behind the concrete?
Am I dealing with an asbestos issue ?
Can any good contractor demo the walls down to the old studs and basically start over with it possibly ( most likely ) being asbestos contaminated?
Do I have to hire a special contractor that deals with this stuff that’s probably charging $6K ?

They're certainly careful with asbestos abatement on "This Old House". Don't know what the laws in Mississippi are, but it's probably something you don't want to toy with.

 

[3407Dewey]

I did a bathroom and kitchen in a house built in 1945. I know what you’re talking about but I don’t believe it is asbestos. Stripped it down to studs, new plumbing, and then drywall.

 

[champdawg.sixpack]

Can you see the worm like strands in the cement?

 

[jethreauxdawg]

The term to use is “vinyl”. And go ahead and move now.

 

[champdawg.sixpack]

In 2009 my house burned. Contractor told me any house/buildings built after 1975 could not have asbestos in it. However, a house built prior to that can leave any asbestos products. I had asbestos in my siding. It was allowed to stay

 

[Delta_dawg]

Our house was built in 1963 and it had what you are describing in our bathroom. I was gonna save some money and demo it myself but the contractor only charged $1,000 for the demo so I let him do it. After watching them do it that was the best money I spent

 

[Motodawg]

built in the 1950’s and having to take out old thick bathroom tile that has an inch of freaking concrete and a metal mesh behind the concrete?
Am I dealing with an asbestos issue ?
Can any good contractor demo the walls down to the old studs and basically start over with it possibly ( most likely ) being asbestos contaminated?
Do I have to hire a special contractor that deals with this stuff that’s probably charging $6K ?

That’s a mud bed. You are fine. You should wear a mask only because of dust but it isn’t asbesto. You are fine. Thinset is called that because it is much less tall and doesn’t require wire but neither are asbestos. Your new floor height will be much lower

i run into it on water heater flue pipes (exhaust) and I know it’s used on old siding. I don’t see it elsewhere.

 

[tbaydog]

Restored a pre civil war home. Had a contractor. Fired the M17er after roof and foundation...........

 

[DAWGSANDSAINTS]

Taking it out is easy and fun! And will save you some money.

I could demo it, just not sure I want to wear a mask and protective glasses and swing a sledge hammer for a day or two or more!

That’s a mud bed. You are fine. You should wear a mask only because of dust but it isn’t asbesto. You are fine. Thinset is called that because it is much less tall and doesn’t require wire but neither are asbestos. Your new floor height will be much lower

i run into it on water heater flue pipes (exhaust) and I know it’s used on old siding. I don’t see it elsewhere.

This is on the walls in the bathroom but I’m going to have to demo the old floor tile too just because it’s ugly a sin. Have no idea yet what’s underneath that?
Could be black mastic, have no idea but the more I think about this, hiring a contractor to do the demolition and stripping it all down to the bare bones sounds more reasonable than me trying to do it.

 

[Lettuce]

Restored a pre civil war home. Had a contractor. Fired the M17er after roof and foundation...........

Wooof

 

[Motodawg]

Wooof

God i would love to have been the plumber on this one. I’ve done a lot of work on a historic home with a green sign in front in Belhaven but it’s not pre civil war

 

[Duggar Hall Desk]

My workplace is a house built around 1900 and converted to office space in the 1970s. We did some remodeling a couple of years ago, and the only place they found asbestos was in the unfinished basement. You are right - asbestos abatement is not cheap, and the problem with spending a little money checking for it is that you might find it (and then you're committed). I will echo the thoughts already given - you are probably fine but definitely wear a mask to reduce dust inhalation (cement dust can also cause health problems).

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I could demo it, just not sure I want to wear a mask and protective glasses and swing a sledge hammer for a day or two or more!

This is on the walls in the bathroom but I’m going to have to demo the old floor tile too just because it’s ugly a sin. Have no idea yet what’s underneath that?
Could be black mastic, have no idea but the more I think about this, hiring a contractor to do the demolition and stripping it all down to the bare bones sounds more reasonable than me trying to do it.

Get yourself a chipping hammer for the floor, a good respirator and let her rip. As Moto said it's just mortar. For the walls, get a sawzall and cut around everything and pry the whole wall out. Gypsum included.

I did my 1954 bathroom 15 years ago. It was Pepto pink tile. Word to the wise... If you have a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, see if there is a slot at the bottom. That slot was for razor blades. When I ripped my wall out 10,000 rusty old razors crumbled from the cavity between the two studs that the medicine cabinet was between.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

My first house that I bought was a house built in the 50s that we did extensive work on over the the 10 years we lived there and there some tiles like that in the bathroom. They were not asbestos.

 

[Lowdog]

I told a friend of mine that I needed to hire a contractor to do some remodeling work. Friend said I needed to hire Billy Bob. I asked friend did he show up on time and reply was sometimes. I asked does he work neatly, sometimes. Does stay under budget, sometimes. I asked is finished project quality, sometimes.

Why in the heck do I wanna hire this guy? Friend replied because he is better than the rest!

Before my contractor brothers get mad it is just a joke!

 

[99jc]

what year does asbestos go back to?

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

what year does asbestos go back to?

I think a lot of it was fazed out in the 70's. But not all. James Hardie siding still contained asbestos until the late 80's.

FYI if you ever read up on James Hardie, they new it was bad since the 30's and covered it up. They're an Australian based company and about 20-30 years ago were the most hated company in Australia and possibly the world. They replaced asbestos siding with fiber cement siding.

On a personal note, in 20 years I think fiber cement cladding is going to be talked about the same way asbestos is today . Silica dust is nasty stuff too and fiber cement siding holds a lot of moisture up against your home which is a really nice recipe for mold growth. So much of that stuff was put up in the last 2 decades that will start getting replaced en masse over the next 20 years.. people are going to figure out it was not much better than the asbestos when all was said and done.

 

[Boosh]

Our 1950s house had plaster walls which has a metal mesh. Could be that behind the tiles. They came down quickly though with a good pry bar.

 

[40 acres and a mule]

One thing I learned when we built our new house is that most contractors will lie like a dog, even if they don't need to. Beware.

 

[paindonthurt]

I could demo it, just not sure I want to wear a mask and protective glasses and swing a sledge hammer for a day or two or more!

This is on the walls in the bathroom but I’m going to have to demo the old floor tile too just because it’s ugly a sin. Have no idea yet what’s underneath that?
Could be black mastic, have no idea but the more I think about this, hiring a contractor to do the demolition and stripping it all down to the bare bones sounds more reasonable than me trying to do it.

If you can’t get someone to demo for what you consider a fair price, let me know. I have some contacts.

 

[Mr Todd French]

I live in a 120 yr old house so I’m renovating it every damn day! I can tell you this. What ever you think it’s going to be it will be more. Also what ever you think you’re about to do get ready. As soon as you start pulling up or off you’re going to see something else that need to be fixed first or can’t be ignored.

 

[Wesson Bulldog]

One thing I learned when we built our new house is that most contractors will lie like a dog, even if they don't need to. Beware.

The contractor that built our house told me two things. One, that he has a legal license to lie, and two, that we would hate him after it was all said and done. He was right on both counts.

 

[LandArchDawg]

built in the 1950’s and having to take out old thick bathroom tile that has an inch of freaking concrete and a metal mesh behind the concrete?
Am I dealing with an asbestos issue ?
Can any good contractor demo the walls down to the old studs and basically start over with it possibly ( most likely ) being asbestos contaminated?
Do I have to hire a special contractor that deals with this stuff that’s probably charging $6K ?

That's just the way they did it back then before modern rock backer board for tile mounting was available, no asbestos there, it's just cement with wire mesh reinforcement. We lived in a 50s rancher in East Memphis and I had to remove a rotting window due to the tub being retrofitted into a shower. I had to cut the cement backing to the next tile grout line since the window fit into the existing tile field halfway into the pattern, and to tile over the window area to make it look intentional. I used a concrete blade on a circular saw to cut through both the cement and mesh and worked like a charm, but it kicks up a hella lot of dust. If you are redoing the bathroom and want to replace the reinforced cement with modern tile backer rock board, then cutting it up this way to remove it is the way to go. Just mask up and contain the dust from the rest of the house.

 

[99jc]

I live in a 120 yr old house so I’m renovating it every damn day! I can tell you this. What ever you think it’s going to be it will be more. Also what ever you think you’re about to do get ready. As soon as you start pulling up or off you’re going to see something else that need to be fixed first or can’t be ignored.

My house was built in 1920. Thank God it had just been entirely remodeled by previous owners. Everything rewired, Pex plumbing installed, new Furness, new central air unit., totally repainted. This house is a monster 5000 sq feet with 12 foot ceilings. It is a beast to heat and cool so I had mini spilt units installed in the bedrooms. best investment ever for this type of house. We can heat or cool the bedrooms without the cost of trying to heat or cool the whole bouse. The front of the house is setup like a bed and breakfast with and office off the front bedroom and kitchen setup. our guests can heat or cool with the Mini Splits to their desire.

 

[Mr Todd French]

I feel you brother on heating and cooling. We’re a little over 3,300 sq ft with 13 ft ceilings. Ms power added insulation to our attic at no cost to us after I went to pay my bill two years ago after it was 115 for two weeks. The lady took my check and said “ Oh my gosh!”. She said was the highest residential bill she had seen. I will say getting spray foam insulation under the house was worth the money. I did have to go around after the with a razor/scraper for about a month cutting down all the places it oozed up. There was a knot hole in the floor that blew out and they insulated the back of my recliner too.

 

[bolddogge]

I bought my wife a new stove for valentines day one year... she asked for it! It was a nice JennAir gas unit that had a lip that was to sit right on the countertop. When I sat it in place it was about 3 inches higher than the countertop - even with the stove's legs in their shortest position. I found out whoever built the house installed the cabinets prior to putting down lath and pouring about 2.5 inches of concrete to lay the tile on. The pepto colored tile was ugly anyway, so out it came. Swinging a pick and sledgehammer inside for a few days without damaging anything else was nerve-racking. In the process of removing this crap I found water damage to the subfloor then warped / damaged floor joists underneath - not only by an exterior door that was leaking also with water damage to the sill and jams, but also to another area where a small dishwasher water leak had run across the tar paper under the concrete and out onto the subflooring about 10 feet away. I ended up removing all the lower cabinets to replace the damaged subflooring - breaking the countertop in the process. That allowed me to see the concrete had ruined the finish on the bottom part of the cabinets causing me to refinish them. Since the new finish no longer exactly matched the upper cabinets, I had to refinish them as well prior to installing all new countertops. I recall standing up from the crawlspace as I was replacing the joists and looking around my destroyed doorless kitchen wondering if buying that stove was such a good idea after all. Now that it is done, I love the new kitchen but wow... what a pain!

 

[T-TownDawgg]

I bought my wife a new stove for valentines day one year... she asked for it! It was a nice JennAir gas unit that had a lip that was to sit right on the countertop. When I sat it in place it was about 3 inches higher than the countertop - even with the stove's legs in their shortest position. I found out whoever built the house installed the cabinets prior to putting down lath and pouring about 2.5 inches of concrete to lay the tile on. The pepto colored tile was ugly anyway, so out it came. Swinging a pick and sledgehammer inside for a few days without damaging anything else was nerve-racking. In the process of removing this crap I found water damage to the subfloor then warped / damaged floor joists underneath - not only by an exterior door that was leaking also with water damage to the sill and jams, but also to another area where a small dishwasher water leak had run across the tar paper under the concrete and out onto the subflooring about 10 feet away. I ended up removing all the lower cabinets to replace the damaged subflooring - breaking the countertop in the process. That allowed me to see the concrete had ruined the finish on the bottom part of the cabinets causing me to refinish them. Since the new finish no longer exactly matched the upper cabinets, I had to refinish them as well prior to installing all new countertops. I recall standing up from the crawlspace as I was replacing the joists and looking around my destroyed doorless kitchen wondering if buying that stove was such a good idea after all. Now that it is done, I love the new kitchen but wow... what a pain!

This is the tale of every project I ever started.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

I bought my wife a new stove for valentines day one year... she asked for it! It was a nice JennAir gas unit that had a lip that was to sit right on the countertop. When I sat it in place it was about 3 inches higher than the countertop - even with the stove's legs in their shortest position. I found out whoever built the house installed the cabinets prior to putting down lath and pouring about 2.5 inches of concrete to lay the tile on. The pepto colored tile was ugly anyway, so out it came. Swinging a pick and sledgehammer inside for a few days without damaging anything else was nerve-racking. In the process of removing this crap I found water damage to the subfloor then warped / damaged floor joists underneath - not only by an exterior door that was leaking also with water damage to the sill and jams, but also to another area where a small dishwasher water leak had run across the tar paper under the concrete and out onto the subflooring about 10 feet away. I ended up removing all the lower cabinets to replace the damaged subflooring - breaking the countertop in the process. That allowed me to see the concrete had ruined the finish on the bottom part of the cabinets causing me to refinish them. Since the new finish no longer exactly matched the upper cabinets, I had to refinish them as well prior to installing all new countertops. I recall standing up from the crawlspace as I was replacing the joists and looking around my destroyed doorless kitchen wondering if buying that stove was such a good idea after all. Now that it is done, I love the new kitchen but wow... what a pain!

Reminds me of the time I decided to put some new concrete pavers on the patio, which led into:

Pumping out the septic tank….
Cutting trees….
New field lines….
Re-sodding the yard…..
….Then an entire landscape remodel, complete with R&R’ing 2 retaining walls and both porches re-tiled.
#FML

 

[Dirty Dirk]

This old house is free on Samsung tv, hope this helps.