Bathroom floor demo
Hello all,
I'm in the middle of the demo portion of a bathroom remodel and I need some advice on how to handle the floor. This second-story bathroom is original (dating back to 1963) so I wasn't sure what I'd find under the tile but it turns out it's a 1" thick layer of concrete on top of steel lath (on top of the wood subfloor, naturally) - see photos.
In order to speed things up, I rented a 20-lb Makita demolition hammer but it didn't speed the work up as much as I'd hoped (unless I wasn't using it properly, which is entirely possible). Anyway, I got the tile off without too much trouble but getting through the concrete was another matter, and after removing a couple square feet of it I stopped to take stock of things and investigate possible alternatives.
So my questions are these:
Does this concrete need to come out or can I repair what I've removed and tile on top of everything? Not sure what was between the tile and the concrete but I don't see the typical trowel/thinset marks (see photos).
If it needs to be removed, how best to do that? I had a guy out here the other day to discuss the bathroom window replacement and, as it turned out, he had done bathroom remodeling for twenty years and he insisted that the concrete had to come out and can "easily" be removed by "...'cutting' it into sections with a regular hammer and carrying it out." I replied that I found this a little hard to believe but he insisted this is the case.
I'd appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
AC
My subfloor is Advantech plywood. I need to remove a section for easy access for running water lines. The subfloor is laid down with screws and glue to the joists. What is the best way to get the subfloor off the joists since they are glued? I am guessing it will be too difficult to salvage the section of subfloor. I have additional pieces so no worries. I am more concerned with damaging the top of the floor joists. Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.