How to Remove Wire Lath/Mesh Tile Walls Bathroom Demolition
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- You can't remove your bathroom walls made with wire mesh, plaster and tile? This DIY video has bathroom wall demolition tips for this. Plaster wall removal is very brutal, and you just have to go old school to demolish walls and remove plaster. Wall demo is not so easy with 2" of tile walls over plaster and lath. Tearing down a tile wall in a house is simple if it is drywall, but plaster and lath and wire mesh walls add a level of difficulty that requires you to go old school, to remove plaster walls, using a combination of large demo bars, small wire cutters for surgery, and big hammers.
Tools used in this wire lath wall demo project:
RYOBI AG4031G 4-1/2" 5.5-Amp Angle Grinder amzn.to/2BNYYjr
Ridgid 4" Dry/Wet Continuous Rim Diamond Blade for lath walls amzn.to/2SqFSXN
DEWALT DW4774 4-1/2-Inch Double-Row Diamond-Cup Grinding-Wheel for tile floor amzn.to/2BMzm6E
Here we show you how to remove the seemingly unmovable 2" thick wire mesh lathe, plaster walls and cement slab tile walls you sometimes find in older houses, when you try to remove wall tile. It can be a real pain to demo wire lathe walls, but we make it easy for you. Forget trying to smash the thick wall with large heavy sledgehammers and waste your time and kick up dust everywhere and the bathroom tile wall does not budge anyway. Your plaster and lath wall demolition strategy needs a boost.
First, look how they build the wire lath and plaster walls. Builders get a roil of wire mesh, and unroll it like chicken wire, and nail it to the studs. Then they apply layers of mortar, then the plaster. If it is a tiled kitchen wall or a tiled bathroom wall, they about another inch of mortar and tiles on top of the plaster walls. This understanding helps your wall removal efforts.
How to demolish walls in the bathroom and tile walls
For demolishing and removing bathroom walls in a house, forget the sledgehammer, it won't demolish plaster and lath walls with tile remove the wall. It's a real pain to remove wall tile from these thick plastered walls.
Now let's show you how to remove tile walls with wire mesh and plaster:
Instead focus on removing the wire mesh walls by peeling the plaster wall with the mesh still intact away from the studs, so we we locate the edge of the sheet of wire lath buried in the wall, and peel and pry back the wire lath where it was nailed to the studs. When we remove wall tile we try to cut around it and peel it off in sheets, rather than trying to remove wall tile by hammering the tiles off or chiseling.
wall demolition tips
When we demolish walls, we know how to remove bathroom walls and how to remove wire lath. To demolish the bathroom tile wall and the kitchen tiled wall, we find the edge of the wire mesh, knowing it is nailed to the studs, it is easier to loosen the wall in huge chunks off the stud wall by prying it away from the studs at the nails.
How to remove bathroom walls with our wall demolition tips
By scoring a fault line down the thick bathroom tile wall with an angle grinder first, this makes the slab flexible enough that when you start to peel the wire mesh lath away from the studs the cement and wall comes with it. This can be accomplished in large whole sections of the wall being removed intact, no wall demolition with hammers. There is no such thing as the perfect wall demolition hammer. The angle grinder makes wall demolition fun.
A quick recap on how to remove wire mesh under tile is to find the left or right side of where it ends, and make some holes in the plaster and lath wall, and get behind the wire lath with your demo bar and pry the wire mesh off the stud walls.
how to remove tile walls
As you perform your wall demolition, remember Reagan's famous words to motivate you: "Tear down this wall!" Wall demolition is tough work, and make sure you wear a mask and eye protection.
Congratulations, you now know how to demolish and remove old wire mesh plaster bathroom walls. If you liked our wire lath and plaster wall demolition tips, click the thumbs up icon, and remember to subscribe. Now you can show your friends how to remove bathroom walls with plaster and lath.
00:00 Introduction: Old Bathroom wall of tiles 2" thick, wire mesh
02:50 Remove all bathtub hardware
03:22 Start scoring lines into the 2" thick tiles and mesh mortar
04:40 Getting behind wire mesh with pry bar
06:24 Use aviation snips to cut through exposed wire mesh
07:53 Hoe to pry off large sections of wire mesh and tile
09:20 Hammer plaster & Drywall around tile border to get behind it
14:25 More hammering holes into walls to pry out wire lathe
16:17 Grind through the wire mesh from the back side 
Видеоклипы
Tools used in this wire lath wall demo project:
RYOBI AG4031G 4-1/2" 5.5-Amp Angle Grinder amzn.to/2BNYYjr
Ridgid 4" Dry/Wet Continuous Rim Diamond Blade for lath walls amzn.to/2SqFSXN
DEWALT DW4774 4-1/2-Inch Double-Row Diamond-Cup Grinding-Wheel for tile floor amzn.to/2BMzm6E
Hey what about breaking up that cast iron tub with a sledge hammer? That's something I really wanted to see!
@@dandavis8300 We were going to, but turned out to be just a thin metal tub, still heavy, but not cast iron. The way we were going to break it up was to put movers cloth over it and just slam the side, to prevent metal pieces from flying.
Nice
Thank you so much for this video. I had a Contractor come out to see what we could do about the bathroom in my 1940s home and he gave me an estimate of 10-15k just to demo. Because of your video, I may just do the work all on my own. Being a young lady with no experience I'm thankful I have patience.
How large is this bathroom? That is insane...
That's just ridiculous!
that is a pricey estimate.. wow demo is fun when you know what tools to use ..
10-15k for a demo? He must’ve thought you had a red nose 🤡
That’s crazy. I own a demo company and charge about $1,800 for a bathroom this size gutted to the studs. Labor, dump, dust containment $1,800
This is exactly what i was looking for to help with my bath reno. Thanks
Awesome, glad we could help you!
I love mid century modern and this video broke my heart!!! Love this blue!!
Yes, it was ready for some early 21 century century modern
jeffostroff we are redoing our 1964 pink bathroom and ran into the cement lathe. I am trying to save the pink tile. Your vid really helped! Thank you!!!
@@Carlie12345 I don't know what the heck wa sup with all those p[ink bathrooms. 2 years ago we demolished my friend's pink bathroom and remodeled it. PAll pink, all Pepto Bismol! It looks even worse when it's old and filthy.
jeffostroff I would have paid you for the sink!!!
im remodeling 80yr old kitchen. plaster/mesh walls. My walls are not 2'' thick...maybe .75" - 1.00"...but i found using my reciprocating saw (sawzall) with an aggressive metal blade works best. I cut top down just inside of each stud , sometimes across as well and i was able to remove pretty well intact sheets of plaster/mesh. My mesh was layered like a shingle so these sheets were about 11"X16". Good luck.
That's a great strategy thanks for sharing. I only wish our slab of plaster had been a lot thinner it just seemed like nothing would budge that stuff.
I was complaining about my bathroom soffit being like this but I stopped after watching your video, omg that was a big job. Great job man!👍🏽
Yay! Thank you!
@@jeffostroff 😁👍🏽
Need to reno the primary bathroom , my whole 1949 house is built like a tank with that wire mesh everywhere. This video confirm what I had in mind with the angle grinder, still i didnt realize how much of a world of pain im getting myself into, hard core mode doing it solo.lots of tips in the video i can leverage
I have a 58 year old house. When I went to remove the tile in the bathroom, I found this stuff. I actually watched this video at the beginning, to see if there was an easier way. Basically, he was doing what I was doing. So, I threw it up to a different set of guys and asked for suggestions. These were the guys that worked in the engine room with me on my Destroyer, years ago. We were a group that could make anything work with vice grips and bubble gum, so I knew they'd come up with something.
The winning method:
AIR HAMMER!!
Get a cheap, pneumatic air hammer. Follow me here:
I could cut through the tile and the cement just fine with angle grinder and a diamond wheel. The problem is that most angle grinders (including mine) have 4.5" wheels. They make nice cuts through the tile and cement...but they just physically don't go deep enough to cut the mesh.
Grab an air hammer. BEAT the tiles off of the cement. Now, what you have to cut through is just THAT much thinner. Without the tile in the way, when you cut with your grinder you will start to see sparks. That is your grinder reaching deep enough to cut the mesh!
The first wall I did, doing it a lot like the video here, took me all day. The other three walls, once I brought in the air hammer...were down in 4 hours.
You are all welcome.
Thanks for the video, I been looking for a way to demo my bathroom walls that have the same thick plaster with mesh lathe, all the other vids shows wooden lathe
Awesome Dolly, let us know when you finish if ti worked out for you. We enjoy hearing feedback from our successful visitors!
Worked like a charm, Jeff. And on to the floor. I have demo'ed the floor and stripped it down to the original plank floors. Some of the planks were cracked and I reinforced them where they were really "sinking in".
Here's the thing, there was the floor tile laid on top of 1" cement laid on top a wire mesh. My plan is to put down 1/4" underlayment (reinforcing the planks further), then the 1/2" cement board and then my tile. I would like to use my pnuematic nail gun with the 1/4" wide staples to fasten the plywood. I figure the cement screws fastening the cement board will go through the plywood as well and into the planks. Do you think this will be secure enough?
Thanks, Ken
yes, I would use stainless steel screws, or wonderboard screws if you're using the cement board. Depending on the flexing, you might consider using Schluter DITRA as an isolation membrane to further assist with preventing cracking tiles.
Good video. Cannot emphasize enough how sharp that metal lathe is.
I had a bathroom with floor to ceiling tile just like what you had but over rock lath wallboard. It was even the same color tile. Bunker walls.
Steven Meyer Yes sir we even got a couple of scrapes ourselves removing it he almost need to be wearing the same outfits that the guys that do the Olympic fencing sword fights used.
Hello, I have this same wall, but it extends to the ceiling, should I remove the ceiling too or will I be able to only tear down the walls and work with the existing ceiling. I am not sure how to get a clean cut on the wire mesh at the joint to add the dry wall.
Hi! Do you have an after video for this showing how you built the bathroom back up??? Thanks!
I am trying to get a short video done next week that shows a bit of the demo we did on this bathroom, plus wall repairs, and limited photos of the finished product. In the meantime, you can see this video we made of installing wire shelves on one of the closets in this house, and near the end you can see we did a brief tour of the kitchen that we built, with all the new cabinets, granite, and the back splash I built for it.
This is what I had to do. Thanks for the info on OLD walls. My question now is, you have tile cove moulding around the room. How do you remove this? When I tried it I broke out the bottom 4" of wallboard. Do I now piece in a 4" strip around the bottom of the room?
Yes, you might end up replacing wall board then tiling straight to the floor
run the grinder vertically every 2 feet to take off chunks
I had to take mine down layer by layer as the shower stall is like a cubby in the wall. I wish mine came down like this did and yes the mortar and tile depth was about 2 inches as you said they built it to last back then lol
Do you have a video where you installed a new tub and tile in this bathroom or how you would install the wire mesh concrete over a block wall?
No, I dd not install the new tub in this bathroom, because they had a plumber and a tile contractor doing this. I did the kitchen though, see my video here: ruclips.net/video/HX_LLaQJy3U/видео.html I also did the closets, and all the demo, framing, adding new doorway to kitchen. But I am working on a bathroom remodel where I did install a new tub and overflow hardware, exactly as we would have done it in this house. That should be ready in a couple of weeks. I never do anything with re-plastering so we don't have any videos on that either.
I have a mud job to demo in a few weeks. Just me. Floor stays, tub has been refinished. The whole bathroom has to be done with precision. And its up stairs hallway just been painted and brand new wood floors
Cloths cloths cloths everywhere! I like to tape brown paper rolls down first.
Wow! Termites and a rusted through DWV stack. Good reason to open the walls. I was hoping to see what you did with the ceiling but you skipped that part. Did you cut it from the walls or pull it down also?
Steve Kinkaid In this case the ceiling was resting on top of the walls, But it was still held in place by about a 4" mesh that was bent to fit into the corners along the ceiling so 2" down the wall and 2" across the ceiling. Once you get through that stuff the ceiling will pretty much almost come down on its own, Even now there are drywall screws screwing it to the Ceiling twist above and still comes down fairly easy.
i Just finished 2 bathrooms that had this nightmare and a i realized an ax is a great tool for removing big parts of this hell material, just gotta be careful with the pipes
I have a question. Im' working on a shower with these exact same walls but there aren't any wooden studs except for the original skinny metal rods holding up the wire mesh. Before installing Durock, do I need to build a wooden frame to hold it up ?
Yes, you need some type of structural frame to secure you shower tile backer boards omto, whether it is wood studs or metal studs.
Had to demo a bathroom like this today it was brutal
We did it in 95 degree July weather and the AC was not hooked up yet!
Good job, do you have a follow up video on the shower/tile install?
In this bathroom, we only did the demo and framing, and I did all measurements and helped design what would go where, and helped with tub removal and install. But a tile contractor did the bathroom as I was too busy on my other flip condo. I did get some great photos of the finished bathroom, it was awesome. But I did do the kitchen in this house, and have that video here: ruclips.net/video/HX_LLaQJy3U/видео.html
jeffostroff ok thanks.
I feel the pain of this video. The bathroom I'm working on is very close to this. Using same tools as well. Not easy, but doable.
How about the floor for a bathroom of this age? Does it have same wire and difficult to clean up to the sub-floor?
No this 1946 floor had a typical poured Terrazo floor common in that era. Tile guys cam in and added layer of mud and mortar to install modern tile that looks like wood planks.
Great video! starting a remodel just like this. I was worried if there was any asbestos concern with the materials used in the 50's, do you have any idea? thanks!
The only way to know for sure if your wire lath and plaster walls contain any asbestos is to have an asbestos abatement contractor take samples and give you lab results. That's "asbestos" I can tell! LOL!
Need to get the materials tested for asbestos to know for sure. However I can tell you that those bathroom tiles from the 50s and 60s definitely have lead in the top coating of the tile where the color is. When you break and cut it up you are most certainty releasing lead into the air. The best method is to break the entire system off in large pieces by prying the drywall or wire mesh off the wall as one and not disturbing the tile. Always where a high quality respirator and hazmat abatement suit. Also seal off the room by tarping and taping off the door so dust doesn't travel around the home. That customer's home was contaminated with lead for sure.
I have a similar pastel blue bathroom and floor is 1.5” step up into bathroom, did they wire mesh the floor? Maybe it’s original ‘20s floor under?
No mesh on the floor, tiles and we grinded the rest of the thin set mortar down
Good tip with the angle grinder. I’ll definitely try that on the next bathroom. First bathroom I did which was only 5x6 took me at least 10 hours to do by myself with hammer and crowbar.
Yes indeed! the angle grinder made all the difference in the world.
Check out the new demolition bar I invented!! It has been a life changer! I hope you will follow me for more updates!! 😀
instagram.com/pryger_demolition.tools/
Does this work if its plaster over concrete brick? Older home in AZ, walls are concrete brick they put wire over and slathered (badly) plaster over.
I would certainly try this method the wire as probably hammered into the brick and if you can get behind it you can pry it off of the brick
Looks like I have a similar bathroom to this video that I will be demolishing. , was there any signs of a asbestos in the walls or anywhere ?
cough, cough! I couldn't tell cough cough Not sure what to look for, but we all had masks on.
Maybe you're reconfiguring the bathroom but a demo hammer will take those tiles off the wall if the remodel keeps the same layout. If it all has to go, that angle grinder with a ceramic wheel is your friend, just buy the BIG package of wheels, mask/goggle/ventilate, and cut it through mud/wire into manageable sizes. I found welding gloves were the best for handling the pieces without getting all cut up, not just on hands but all up my forearms...
This bathroom is almost identical to mine. I even have the same bathtub. Luckily I only have the metal lath in the corners of my walls. I’m in the middle of tearing out all the walls up to the ceiling. But I’m worried I’m going to mangle my ceiling when I try to cut the lath from the corners😬😬😬
How do you rip the plaster off the wall at where it meets the ceiling without ruining the ceiling? I want to add drywall and fit it nicely with the ceiling.
If the tile goes all the way to the ceiling it will be difficult. If it doesn't then run a sawzall in the seam cutting the wire mesh in ceiling/wall seam. once the mesh is cut you can remove the plaster from the walls and the ceiling will be intact. Then you can push new drywall in behind it. I did this in my 60s 1/2 bathroom with these insane monster 2 inch thick walls. I am finally getting around to doing the final 3rd bathroom but these walls give me nightmares.
I have that wire mesh going across my entire living room what would be the best way to remove it or should I leave it and just replace the sheet rock?
If you can remove it like we showed in this video, it's best to start with empty studs.
Do you need a thicker drywall to put back up? My walls are exactly like this and I’m demoing my bathroom soon
The tile guys came in later and used durock cement backerboard and did the red guard waterproofing coating over it
Took me 3 days to get mine to the studs and my plaster was only 1 inch but mine went floor to ceiling and even had that mesh on ceiling
I feel your pain!
I have a good question for you ? I have run into this problem several times , how do you locate studs in plastered wall's over metal lathe ? My solution was to cut a long slot across the wall ! This is messy and extra work ! Stud finder's don't work , because they also locate metal studs and electrical wiring to ! If you have any better way let me know ! Thanks for your time !
Your method is good. Studs are usually 16" apart, and you know there is one in the corner, so start from there go out 16", drive a nail and see if you hit the stud.
Quick question, can you leave the bathtub and still put up all new walls and tiles?
Yes you can leave the tub, which we do 90% of the time, and we have a company come in to re-glaze the bath tub at the end of the project.
Lol the water pipe burst at 16:18.
LOL, yes, when he slammed the wall piece that last time with the sledge hammer, the wall fell on our capped off shark-bit pipe and it gushed. Luckily the shutoff was just outside the door, and we shut the water, recapped, and were back in business 90 seconds later. It was a classic!
It is hard work, nicely done. I suggest to get a pro to do it. I demolished dozens of these, I would strip walls ceiling and floor in 8 hours, cleaned and nails removed ready to rebuild. A hammer and a heavy duty crowbar is all you really need.
We have this wire/plaster in all our ceilings. should we just remove the cement and leave the wire? or should we try to remove the wire too?
Pull everything down or the wire is likely to interfere with the new drywall ceiling going up.
Can the same be expected for the floor?
The floor should come up way easier, it is not wire lathe
I'm afraid my bathroom is extremely similar. 1948 duplex in Ohio. Tile and tub look the exact same.. not exactly encouraging. Great demonstration and video though! Thanks for convincing me I should just resurface the tiles and paint over them until I am not living in the unit.
It was a team of 4 of us that took 6 hours!
@@jeffostroff I am on day 3 of the demo of our bathroom. Any advice for when the cement can't be pried off? It's stuck to the studs.
Doubt you guys will see this since it’s a 6 year old video, but I’m redoing my bathroom that looks identical to this. I used your technique which has worked great at getting the majority of the walls of in pieces. But I’m struggling with getting the bottom 1-3 inches of tile/mesh off thats connected to the floor. I’m not removing my floor so trying not to damage it.
These bathrooms were built like bomb shelters. I am just starting my third bathroom demo in my house with the exact same construction method. Absolutely dreading doing this job. The angle grinder method did work better than hammer and crowbar after my first go around. The only positive about the last bathroom is that the tile isn't tucked into the floor. Those pieces of mesh are a bitch to get out that is why prying full sections works so well the weight of the wall helps rip those wire mesh nails out. Thank god this last bathroom is much smaller than the master. That was a 20+ hour demo by myself even with an angle grinder.
Wow, that would be brutal with tile wall embedded in the floor
Quick question, Jeff -- if I were to try and screw into this wall in order to secure a banquette, would I need a plastic anchor? What's the best method? Thanks!
no, I never use plastic anchors ever, they are forbidden on my projects, I don't even own any. For this you would use a combination of ceramic and concrete drill bi\ts to drill through, and use Tapcon anchor screws. If you are drilling through the drywall part, just use a concrete drill bit and tapcon screw, as you are likely going to drill through plaster, then hard wall board, or maybe lathe and mortar behind it.
@@jeffostroff Thanks so much. I never even knew about these... After repairing water damage to the plaster yesterday, I discovered there were not studs or lathe... only 2" of plaster, wire mesh, and the occasional slim vertical iron bar (not even spaced out at 16"). Building was built in the 1950's. These screws will work you think? Thanks again.
You can do any plater and lathe shower in under an hour . Jackhammer the center of the back wall from top to bottom. It will cut the lathe while you do it. Get another dude.get two claw hammers behind it by smashing two holes. Pry on those claw hammers and loosen up the lathe. And then pull hard. Be careful you will pulling half the wall offmat one time lathe and all
That's getting medieval on it lol
We are redoing a house with this exact tile in San Angelo, Texas. Stuff was meant to last forever.
We were frustrated at first I thought for sure that tile was going to last forever but four of us pounding on it for hours were finally able to breakthrough
....and so it does!
Is it possible to break the outside wall out prying on the bricks? My wall with the exterior has the 2 inch cement slab . Will I break the outside wall prying on it ?
I would not recommend breaking the outside wall, it could be structural support, loading the roof.
@jeffostroff no I mean could prying on the wall to remove the slab actually break it
Best way to remove it is to punch to holes on each side of the 2x4 and then use a pallet buster. 5-10 minute job with full sheets coming off
Great idea, how do you cut the metal lathe though. For me an angle grinder is better than nippers, but that is my cement mortar mix.
I’m doing this now solo. 😂 It’s a tough job.
But so glad when it's done
Would asbestos ever be mixed into this mortar?
In the 1940's anything is possible. That is when this was built.
Would you diamond blade cut through the lathe?
I believe on the grinder we had a diamond blade tile cutting wheel, and we also likely used a metal blade as well
Excellent video. However, much more efficient with a hammer drill with a tile removal attachment. Dusty and messy but also faster. Also best to check for asbestos in plaster. BTW, I found using sledge to loosen then hammer drill very effective.
That's why we choose the slower pry apart instead of kicking up dust. We don't know if there is asbestos
Hammer chisels work great on most tile projects, but are close to useless on houses build before 1958 or 1960. Taking it down in big sections is much faster. So glad cement board and Hardiebacker changed all that.
Nice
Hi bro
Thanks
Did a water line or something break when you pulled that wall down? Sounded like it. Besides that great job.
Yes, on the small wall by the door, it clipped a shark bite plug on the copper pipes and knocked it off.
@@jeffostroff ahh ok
Nice video but one thing you might want to consider. Those snips you are using are aviation sheers, designed specifically for aluminum.
They did the job great too!
how do I hang a 55" TV on these kind of walls?? any help?? anyone??
Bob Abooey You can try using a stud finder to find studs. If that fails, try little magnets to find screwheads/nail heads in the wall, which are in studs.
I'm dealing with mesh in the corners of my walls the stuff is like razor blades.
Yes we used a combination of slicing through wit with the angle grinder, and using aviation snips.
Why didn't you put down a painter's drop cloth in the tub ? Saves the tub and cleanup time to ?
I don' think my friend had one there yet, he just wheeled in his large garbage bins, and we filled up to 150 pounds each and he stuck them outside for bulk trash.
I would have done everything I could to save the CI tub. Also, since you have access to the backside of that wire mesh wall, what you should have done is use the angle grinder and cut the mesh side between the studs, the use the sledge to knock out the entire section. Much faster using this method.
Yes on the rest of the bathroom wall, we sawed through a little bit to get it started. This was so thick and angle grinder could not slice all the way through it, you would need a diamond blade concrete saw
this is the one! this is almost identical to my bathroom that my wife wants me to demo.. I don't have an angle grinder tho.. is it even possible to do?
It will be a lot more work, but harder, and since you don't have the angle grinder to score the slab in half, this means you now have to really rely on prying it at it from the ends, and swing it off the wall like a door.
Angle grinders are cheap...Try harbor freight if you dont have any cash...
Lowes has them for $60
I just came here to see if there is better way to do it as I started one today that was hidden with drywall. I thought is gonna take me only two days to do it until I saw the tile under drywall. It is a real pain in every sense! tomorrow i have to do it in the shower with smal space and I already know that is gonna take me the entire day. the only way I caña do it is demolishing the entire wall because they run the wire all around with no stop on the corner and is a really small space the shower. I think the worst part is taking the material out to the truck in contractor bags. Soooo heavy!
Yes, big time heavy chunks. You may just have to bash into it in one spot until you can get behind the wire lathe, and find a stud and use the big demo bar to start peeling it away from the stud. But remember how we did it in this video, score the front with the angle grinder then peel it off the studs. Also once you have large chunks off the wall, lay them face down metal wire facing upward. Then with the angle grinder cut a line straight down the piece with the angle grinder, just scoring and slicing a line through the metal lathe, give that large chunk a few bangs with the hammer along the fault line you just made, and it should bust in half. Some pieces took 2 or 3 of us to carry out.
I'm in the process of doing one of these now. Best way is to remove the tiles first and then use the claw of a hammer to rip the wire mesh off the studs. Wear gloves!! It's a real pita job!
Does the wire mesh still necessary when we lay down new floor tile?
No in modern times we don't use the wire mesh for setting tile. They've changed all of the tile setting to be what we call dry set mortar, even though thin set is a wet substance when you mix it up. They used to soak tiles and water first and then set them on the concrete. But now you try all the wet mortar into place and set the tiles onto the mortar. The wire mesh which is known as lathe is really for the support of the plaster as they build up the layers of plaster around the mesh to form the wall. We don't use mesh anymore for the most part because we have drywall now. But back in the day that's how they formed the walls was with wire and lathe.
@@jeffostroff oh Thanks I am planning to reno my bathroom, just a 15+year house. When I try to remove just one old floor tile and I saw the mesh. Definitly will be harder to demo but I have to as I need to do piping. Just wonder should I again place the new mesh for flooring tile. Great info and answer promptly!
I'm in the middle of demoing my bathroom walls which are exactly like this. However, I'm stuck as to how to cut the walls where they meet the ceiling. I don't want to take the ceiling down. Do you have any suggestions?
Mk McDowell Typically the ceiling is still attached with screws or nails to any rafters that run across the top of the Room. So what we did was we took and angle grinder and just slit all the way across the corner where the wall meets the ceiling to separate the wall from the ceiling.
Thanks for the quick reply! I should have mentioned I have a strip of that mesh running along ceiling, and the ceiling is plaster as well. I take it the angle grinder will be able to cut through the mesh?
Mk McDowell Yes that is exactly what we had also that was the common methodology of building back in the day we had the exact same 3" strip of wire mesh that rolls along the top of the wall at the ceiling and so we had to slice through all of that with the angle grinder. We also used a good pair of tin snips that we got from home depot that will be useful in cutting through individual strands of the wire mesh as needed.
Thank you! That is very helpful!
Great Scott!!! I had already determined on my own that this is the process I’ll need to follow but I was hoping to find an easier solution. Instead I found confirmation of my renovation fears 🤪
explosives! LOL
I prefer the old design I hate new design I love those vintage bathrooms and houses
You say tomato, we say tomaaaaato
How many grinder blades (wheels) did it take?
We still use the one grinder wheel today that we used on that day.
@@jeffostroff Wow. I would have thought 4 or 5!!! lol
@@theropesofrenovation9352 Yes, this is the Rigid Blade we used Ridgid 4" Dry/Wet Continuous Rim Diamond Blade for lath walls amzn.to/2SqFSXN
, that thing is real tough, and I've used it so many times to cut through tiles, and slice straight edges out of crooked tile floor transitions, grind down a tile here and there where I made the grout line too thin and you use it to perform surgery and get in there and widen the grout line.
Was there asbestos in the plaster walls?
I did not taste any, no! We have no way of knowing, but we all wore masks.
@@Nova_7611 I like using access panels. I just remodeled my friend's house and put and access panel 14 x 14 behind the stove in the kitchen which is right on the back side of the shower and bathtub. You can easily reach everything!
I'm tearing down a wall in an old house.. wasn't nearly as thick, but the "chicken wire"/wire mesh totally caught me off guard!! Lol. I was not prepared for that! I thought it was wood lathes & plaster like the ceiling..
We should be so lucky! Wasn't in the cards for us.
lol, I use to be a tile finisher, Id get in a 3x3 with 10 pound sledge and have it demoed out in no time, you gotta ground 'n pound baby! ;-)
Right on, next time I'm buying an even better tool: 1 case of corona, a lawn chair, and I will watch the 6 young strong guys I hired to do the job for me.
I’ve been looking up videos on how to remove stuff like this and I can’t believe how hard this is going to be.. why was this even used in the first place? Our entire basement ceiling has this crap and we need to tear it all down so we can get the entire ventilation system/furnace/ac replaced in our 1940’s home.. these videos make me cringe but at least I’m learning how we need to take it all down..
Love how at 16:17 a section of the wall falls and breaks a water line...
Yes those are the fun things that happened from time to time. We were capping that off with a shark bite and cap anyway since we weren't going to be using that water line until the new floor was in place and we were ready to install the new toilet
I have a finished shower wall directly on the other side of one of the walls. I'm terrified of cracking that tile during the demo of this bathroom
Just don't slam any sledge hammers, not needed. I doubt you can cause any damage to it, just pry the tiles with their plaster right off the studs
9:09 back to the future lol!
Hey McFly!
Why not use a demo hammer?
Nothing will break this concrete we even had that big sledgehammer and it did not work either. The only thing that worked out the best was to get behind that chicken wire and literally peel it off of the studs in big sections
Omg! Finally a video showing my mini nightmare! Lol. Why are u gutting to the studs tho? Just take the time to remove the tile. I did....and I'm a chic....not four dudes! 😆 True, it was hard as hell to do, but I bet it takes me less time my way then all your extra demo work and materials to buy and reinstall it back to tile stage.
the house was 1946, so the owner wanted it all open to the studs, and new plumbing was being put in to remove all rusted and decayed cast iron pipes, the foundation was carved up and new sewer lines were installed, new electrical everywhere, converting from old 2-wire to newer 3-wire grounded outlets, new lighting, new AC and ducting, new bathroom ceiling fan and a vent through the attic was added. Always best to gut down to the studs so you can see what's up and it gives you maximum flexibility for making changes before walling it all back up.
I'm betting you don't have the same kind of wall construction. The way this was done, the tiles become an integral part of the wall, they seldom come off without taking some kind of cement chunk with them. What you have when trying to take just the tiles off is many areas of differing thickness, some areas have nearly the full tile left, some have a depression where a cement crater was left, some show the metal lath. It's a nightmare and there's no way to begin rebuilding any kind of wall without some kind of even substrate. This is really the only way to remodel one of these 40's/50's bathrooms, you have to take it all out. Bob.
@@bobnan9815 I'm ripping my bathroom tile off, and the thinset is left perfectly smooth underneath. I want to leave it and tile over it, maybe just do a skim coat of thin set, but I'm just worried about how to bump the shower fixtures out 1/4"
I had to do this in my bathroom. It was not fun! And I had no help!
Was your bathroom wall 2" thick like this? What methods did yo use to remove it?
Gerald L It has been 11 months now since we did this video and I still have not psychologically recovered! LOL. On top of that when we did this video it was July 3rd the hottest day of the year so far in the brutal south Florida muggy sun with no breeze outside and no air conditioner working in the house because the AC guys were supposed to be done the day before and slacked off. We had to stop every 10 minutes and have ice pops outside.
jeffostroff Hi, I'm sorry that I'm just now seeing your question from 10 months ago. Yes, our walls were precisely like yours, laid out exactly like yours. The only difference was the border tile was black instead of that cream color.
Removing the plaster from the upper wall and ceiling was messy, no way around it. To remove the tiled portion, I used a 4lb sledge, a 12" pry bar, and a sawzall.
I cracked the tile vertically in a a place, then used the pry and sledge to pull a big section of the tiled walk away from the studs. I then cut the metal mesh vertically with the sawzall. This allowed me to carry it out in sections (heavy as hell) and minimize mess.
Oh, and the tile walls were connected to the floor (also tiled), so after removal, I had to chisel where it didn't break clean from the floor. I didn't want to remove the floor because it would create a 2" step down into the bathroom.
And I left the tub in place. Opted to refinish it rather than replace it.
That's a good fruitful day of work! Miller Time!
Looks exactly like the Harundale homes in Glenburnie Maryland. They were built during world war two for the soldiers. These houses would withstand anything
Yup! That is the way they built houses back in the day. Overkill in some aspects if you ask me.
Doing a reno job rn its a nightmare cause most walls are old concrete/drywall on metal studs like get fucked. Ive found whats best is a Sawzall, an SDS with a chipping bit, hammers, prybars and a whole fucking lot of sweat/patience haha, also i feel like removing the tile first would have made it easier (less weight)
You just have to go old school on it
I liked that bathtub the way it was 😢
Why remove it? The pastel blue tile with mustard trim was very attractive....
"Was" attractive.
I agree and look how well made it was
Me too. Only my floor was two layers of tile over an inch of cement on my shiplap. Two days of hell getting it all out. You guys are not to worried about asbestos i see. No masks.
We had masks on when we were using the cutting tools. We had no AC and 90 degrees on July 3, the hottest day so far in south Florida and real muggy. That;s why we used the vac when we had power tools on too. But we kept dust to a minimum.
@@EastRiverHomestead This is in Ft. Lauderdale
I would had the whole bathroom demo'ed by myself with in 30 minutes tops. It took you couple of hours to do one wall, you slow. You waste money on labor. Sawzaw, long prybar. Using an Angle grinder, takes too long. Plus you have a fan as an exhuast.
Just removed 5300lbs of tile concrete and sand from my bathroom only got 8 stitches in my arm! Lol
rodmaciva Yep indeed that can be really dangerous material. I got away with only a few scrapes , no matter how careful you are you're still bump against the metal wire lathe or deal will flying debris.
The wire mesh combined with the weight of the concrete makes removing that stuff a nightmare!
Mr. Top, yes it sure does, that is why we flipped it over and with our angle grinder we sliced through the back of the mesh to cut the larger pieces down into sizes that one person could carry.
I have a Wire Mesh video 😐 but it's much more righteous 🤗
Impossible, mine is the most righteous! LOL
Fuck it. I’m gonna just put beadboards up over the cement.
This was back when things were actually made to last. Those walls still looked like new after all of those years. The bathrooms made nowadays might only last 10 or 20 years and are made out of plastic or thin materials.
Yes, many modern bathrooms we can do the entire bathroom demo in the time it took us to pull down one of these walls!
I had to remove 4 of those bathrooms in an old apartment building. Worst job of my life. Messy heavy and dusty.
I will never do it again, if anyone asks, don't make eye contact
I tried prying mine off and broke the 2x 4 on the wall .
yikes, that must have been a weak 2x4
What a nightmare.
Tornado can’t wipe this bathtub for sure
Hottest day of the year too, July 5, and no AC iin the house, new AC was supposed to be installed day before, but installers were not ready
This is hell. My house has this in the bathroom. My house was built in 51
Built like a tank!
@@jeffostroff yep it sure is my man
Went to go bash out the walls they have horrible texture on them but they are indestructible! LOL just going to skim coat over the walls to make them smooth with drywall mud. Or maybe screw that real thin drywall sheets over the entire walls
It is a beast of a job for shore it took 4 of us about 5 hours to do that bathroom
Should have just used your grinder to cut the wire mesh
You need to do both. The grinder cant pull the mesh off the nails I. Order to separate the mesh from the studs
what a pain in the balls:(
Everyone is in a hurry to tear it all down home depot style. This cement over mesh lathe is tough as nails and a great substrate for tile. Why not just knock the tile down and retile?
Go ahead and try your idea out and let us know how that worked out for you. The tiles part of the mortar, and will not just chisel off gracefully and go away quietly into the night. when you need to get inside the walls to repair plumbing anyway, the walls have to come down.
vladlashing You can probably get away with that when the tiles were put in with adhesive, but not the way this guys tiles are, which is the same way mine is, are they have to be demoed fixer-upper style
You can see that the tiles are curved? These are hollow and the mortar behind is maybe 3/4 thick. You'd never get them off without pulling huge chunks out
I'm wondering the same thing. Ppl are just demo crazy ripping up these old homes to throw in cheap drywall and big box store crap that will only warranty maybe 10-20yrs, if even installed properly. My house is over 80 years old and built like a damn tank with cement and plaster. If the bath wasn't half mutilated for a senior walk in tub I would have left it or painted it white. Classic retro is in after all and old school materials & ways are top notch craftsmanship. Anyway I'm a damn chic and I got most my pink tile off my walls and shower area without damaging much of it. It is hard as hell to do for sure, but I'm almost done. The area by window was the only easy area because it was damaged from lack of window caulking over the years. The builders left an access area through the bottom kitchen cabinet in the joint plumbing wall to access the tub plumbing and u can usually rip out the opposite wall then rip out tile to access plumbing. All I have to do now is patch the bad areas and re-grout for new tile. An old guy once said to me that the reason these old tiled baths last is because they are made so that they can breathe slowly, like brick does if it gets moist, hence the thick ass walls. We'll only know in a 100yrs if putting up vapor barriers and adding new glues and hodge podging materials together with tile will even hold up or fail like many complain about. Plus most of any of problems with homes stem from poor installation or craftsmanship or pure laziness of care on the owners.
Did you notice the rotted wood behind it? I have it on walls, ceiling and floor. Subfloor under the tub has rotted. I could live with the strange color tile, and fix the odd one, but the tub is sinking down. Anyone know a good angle grinder dust shroud to use with a Makita grinder?
With all due respect, did you test those tiles for lead? Working with Lead containing ceramic without HEPA respirator, enclosures and a HEPA Vacuum is not recommended.