The Hawaiian Home
Bathroom Remodel


Ready to Remodel
Bathrooms remodeling usually starts with an old and worn out bath and/or a desire to upgrade and expand the existing décor. One thing for certain is to not wait until the bath or kitchen for that matter have continuous wet spots and plumbing leakage. Nothing will attract Hawaii’s notorious ground termites faster then a predictable water source. Major damage can occur before anyone realizes there’s a problem. Seriously, if you think there is continuous leakage it can save lots of money if it’s taken care of it as soon as possible.


Type of Tubs
All this aside, the bath remodel is usually to replace and upgrade the existing bathroom fixtures. If there is a tub it can be replaced with a new one. Tubs are cast iron with a ceramic finish, acrylic or fiberglass compounds and steel with a ceramic finish. I generally use a Kohler cast iron tub though special sized tubs and spas are usually acrylic and are a bit more fragile but quite serviceable. If you’re not sure which your existing tub is give it a slight pound on its side if it has a hollow sort of ring its steel if it’s more of a muffled solid thump its cast iron.

Replacing a tub is not difficult during the usual bath installation as long as access is relatively easy. If your tub is in good shape and you feel confident its fir for another 20+ years of service you can keep it and replace the backer board and shower surround above it if not it’s obviously time to for a new one.


Making More Room
Sometime people have smaller bathroom as were built in the 1960’s and earlier and have small ofuro style tubs or shower stalls in rooms that are not sized with the normal 5’ tub width. Room for the tub can often be found in the closet space of an adjoining bedroom. Though this creates a bedroom closet problem, upgrading the bathroom in this way really opens things up and gives it a more modern feel.


Installation and Tub Walls
Everything above an existing tub or before a new tub goes in is removed down to the T&G wall or 2x4’s which ever may be the case, over this goes concrete board. I prefer Hardibacker, for its structural characteristics, installed a minimum of 3’ up from the tub if not higher. If any green drywall water board is to be under the finished wall I water proof it with the same waterproofing compound the joints and screw heads of the Hardibacker is is finished with.

Before the Hardibacker is installed on the shower/tub fixture side, new fixture manifolds are installed and pressure tested. If the existing fixture is fairly new it sometimes can be re-used and new “trim” installed after the finished wall are in.

The finish wall for tub surrounds can be tile, cultured marble and a number of new products that are on the market. Tile has its supporters for its innumerable variety of color and textures. Trim pieces of glass tile or various rope and mosaic tile designs can jazz up a tile installation and make it truly unique. Solid walls such as cultured marble are popular for there clean surface.





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