PSA: My bathroom tile job in the old part of the house took a full weekend, not an afternoon

I figured replacing a few cracked floor tiles in my 1920s bathroom would be quick, but the subfloor was a mess of old mortar and uneven boards. It took me about 16 hours over Saturday and Sunday just to get it level before I could even think about the new tile. Anyone else run into a simple fix that turned into a major project because of an old house?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_christopher2mo ago

My 1954 kitchen floor last spring. I pulled up some ugly vinyl to put down laminate, figured it was a one-day thing. Found three layers of different linoleum glued down with what felt like tar, and a plywood patch that was half an inch lower than everything else. Spent two full days with a floor scraper and a whole bag of leveling compound just to make it flat.

ray_miller842mo agoTop Commenter

That plywood patch saved you a week.

ellis.susan2mo ago

Man, does this ever bring back a memory. My buddy tried to redo his bathroom floor and found a weird soft spot. Turns out the previous owner cut out a huge rotten section and just laid new vinyl right over the gap. He had to sister in new joists and put down all new subfloor before he could even start tiling. That plywood patch was hiding a total nightmare.