How to Replace a Wooden Bathroom Floor

There are all kinds of reasons that wood floors in bathrooms fail. Most of those reasons come down to the fact that it was a bad idea to install them there in the first place. Wood floors, no matter how well laid and sealed, just aren't a good fit for the high-moisture environment of a bathroom. About the only good thing you can say about them are that they tend to be easier to remove than most floors, because of the buckling and rotting that has probably already started. The best course is to get the wood out of there and replace it with a sturdy ceramic floor over hard cement board. It's an involved project, and you shouldn't attempt it yourself unless you've got some carpentry skills.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Tape measure
• Hammer
• Chisel
• Prybar
• 1/2-inch cement board
• Carpenter's glue
• Drillgun
• Drywall screws
• Jigsaw
• Mesh drywall tape
• Mortar joint compound
• 10-inch drywall knife
• Snapline
• Thinset tile adhesive
• Notched adhesive trowel
• Ceramic tiles
• Plastic tile spacers
• Tile cutter
• Tile nippers
• Grout mix
• Bucket
• Rubber grout trowel
• Sponge

Instructions

1. Remove the toilet and other fixtures on the floor. Remove all floor trim.

2. Use your hammer, chisel and prybar to take up the old wood floor. If the planks don't come up easily, use your circular saw to cut a 3/4 inch deep line across the room in the opposite direction as the planks, and use that line to get under them and pull them up. Remove all nails from the floor.

3. Lay your cement board right over the old underlayment by speading carpenter's glue on the backs of the boards, pressing them into place, and sinking drywall screws every six inches. Stagger the boards so there are no four-way intersections. Cut the end pieces to fit with your jigsaw as needed. Then press mesh tape over the seams and spread mortar compound smoothly over the tape with your 10-inch drywall knife. Let dry.

4. With your tape measure and snapline, divide the floor into four even square sections. Starting at one section, from the intersection at the middle, spread thinset adhesive with your notched trowel and lay your tiles along the marked lines. Put spacers between them. Use your tile cutter to cut straight pieces as needed at the edges of the room. Use your tile nippers to chip tiles as needed to go around the toilet hole. Pop out the spacers with your flathead screwdriver. Let the tiles set overnight.

5. Mix your grout as instructed and spread it onto the floor with your rubber grout trowel. Working in sections, let the grout sit on the floor for two to three minutes, then wipe it down with your sponge, cleaning the grout off the tile face but leaving it in the lines. Let set for a day.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear eye protection when ripping out the old floor.

References

• Installing ceramic tile.