Our bathroom demolition made one thing clear: putting it back together would be a huge task, full of surprises. It tested our patience and stamina, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We were definitely kept on our toes.
As mentioned previously, my dad tackled two bathroom remodels at his own house this year and generously offered to bring his tools, experience and time to help us out. I took two days off work so the three of us could turn the project into a four-day marathon. The plan was ambitious: install new drywall, put cement backerboard where tile would go, repair rotten floor sections, and tile the shower surround and the floor. My dad had hung drywall and tiled in his own bathrooms quickly before, so we hoped to have the room usable by Day Four. In reality, we achieved some goals and learned a lot along the way.
The schedule unfolded like this.
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Day Zero — Shopping (Thursday night): My dad arrived after I got home and we headed to the store with measurements and a clear list. Essentials included enough cement backerboard (hardibacker) for the shower and floor, greenboard (moisture-resistant drywall) for the non-tiled walls, 3/4″ plywood for a sturdy subfloor, and new 2x4s to repair rotted joists. We also grabbed cedar shims, boxes of drywall screws and a masonry blade for cutting plywood and cement board.
Hitch #1: the greenboard and plywood wouldn’t fit in my dad’s minivan. Home Depot rents trucks for a low fee, but it was nearly closing time, so the oversized materials had to stay at the store overnight while we brought home the rest.
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Day One (Friday): First full day: we retrieved the oversized sheets with a rental truck and loaded up on bagels for breakfast. We picked up furring strips to build the walls out so the new backerboard would end flush with the tub and existing walls. Our old bathroom walls were layers of mortar, plaster and metal mesh, much thicker than modern drywall, so we couldn’t simply set new walls back a few inches. To avoid a mismatch at the tub edge, we glued and nailed two layers of furring strips to each stud, then used long corrosion-resistant screws to fasten backerboard through both layers into the studs for a secure, sandwich-style attachment.
That work was time-consuming but straightforward — until we hit hitch #2. We’d planned to run subway tile all the way to the ceiling, which required backerboard up to the ceiling too. We had left the top two feet of old plaster intact and had assumed we could tile over it. After consulting tile pros and hardware experts, we learned tiling over painted plaster and mortar is risky unless you use special adhesives and heavy scoring. It wasn’t a shortcut we were willing to take, so we tore out the remaining plaster and metal mesh around the shower, cleaned up, and reinstalled backerboard properly. No shortcuts: we want this bathroom to last.
We finished most of the backerboard around the shower that day and ordered Chinese food — a small celebration for a hard day’s work.
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Day Two (Saturday): Saturday began with another run to the store for more furring strips, screws and miscellaneous items — multiple supply runs are typical on projects like this. With the shower backerboard mostly done, we installed greenboard on the remaining non-tiled walls under the window and behind the sink and toilet. Greenboard was easier to cut than cement board, but it required careful measuring around vents and windows and more furring to keep everything flush.
While those walls were largely a one-person job, my dad turned his attention to a small rotten section of subfloor. Only two planks and the tops of two joists were affected, so he cut out the damaged sections, glued and screwed new 2×4 sister joists to reinforce the existing joists, and installed fresh plywood planks. The diagonal, sagging subfloor was solidly rebuilt and level.
We finished Day Two by taping and mudding the shower surround so it would have time to dry before tiling. We still had one long wall to greenboard and a plywood floor panel to install, so tiling on Day Three felt optimistic, but progress was steady.
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Day Three (Sunday): Another early trip to the store (more drop cloths, mudding tools, a corner metal fitting and yes, more furring strips) and then back to the worksite. Rain forced us to protect materials during transport, but we kept moving. We fastened a metal corner fitting and installed a large 8×4 greenboard panel, carefully cutting fixture openings. Then hitch #3: we discovered a small leak running down a pipe behind the wall. It turned out to be a slow roof leak traveling down the pipe exterior. If we hadn’t been tearing out the wall, we might not have noticed. The rain that day actually exposed the issue, so I applied temporary silicone from inside and scheduled a long-term fix for the roof later.
Before installing the final greenboard behind the sink, Sherry left a small note on the surface for future renovators: “John & Sherry (& Baby P) were here on Dec 13th, 2009. The question is: who will find this note?” Little touches like that kept the project personal.
We also installed the new 3/4″ plywood subfloor. Using thicker plywood was intentional — it reduces flex and helps prevent cracked tiles over time. It also raised the bathroom floor to match the rest of the house, eliminating a small step down. By the end of the day we’d made significant structural progress despite what felt like endless supply runs.
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Day Four (Monday): After three solid days, our energy was lower but we were determined to begin tiling. We cut the cement board for the floor using the plywood template we’d created, but decided not to install it immediately. Walking on newly installed backerboard would create dust and dings, so we set it aside until other finishes were complete.
Finally, by midday we opened a box of subway tile and started sticking tile to the walls. We only managed part of the tiling that day, but that first bit of tile felt rewarding after so much prep work. We still had mudding, sanding, priming and painting ahead, plus floor tile and finishing touches, but the space was beginning to look like a bathroom again.
We wrapped up the long weekend exhausted but smiling, grateful for my dad’s steady help, patience and skill. Each unexpected problem made the final result that much more satisfying. This old house throws curveballs, but with careful work and the right fixes, the payoff will be worth it.
Psst — want to read the earlier phases of this bathroom makeover? Look back at Chapter One and Chapter Two for the full story.