Bathroom Demo in Boise: Demolition Services for Tile and Tubs

You've picked out the new vanity and tile, and now the old bathroom is the only thing in the way. Pulling it out looks like a weekend with a hammer. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it's the reason people start looking up demolition services in Boise.

Here's what the work really involves, what tends to hide behind the walls, and how to tell whether it's a job you want to take on yourself.

Bathroom demo in Boise is harder than it looks

A bathroom is a small room packed with heavy, stubborn stuff. You've got tile, a tub, a toilet, a vanity, pipes in the walls and floor, and sometimes a built-in shower pan. All of it was put in to stay put.

The tile is usually the first surprise. Newer tile is often set on cement board and comes off in chunks without much of a fight.

Older tile is a different story. A lot of older homes in the North End and on the Bench have tile set in a thick mortar bed, which is basically a slab of concrete with wire mesh running through it. It doesn't peel off. It gets broken up and carried out a bucket at a time.

Then there's the tub.

The cast iron tub question

If your house has some years on it, there's a decent chance the tub is cast iron. Knock on it. If it feels solid as a rock and doesn't flex at all, that's probably what you've got.

They're brutally heavy. Getting one out in one piece takes several people, a dolly and a clear path, and that gets tricky with a tight hallway turn or a bathroom upstairs.

The other way is to break it apart where it sits with a sledgehammer. It's loud and the pieces are sharp, so eye and hearing protection aren't optional.

So which is better? It depends on your layout. Taking it out whole is cleaner when the doorways and stairs allow it, and breaking it up is usually safer when they don't.

Either way, cast iron is scrap metal, so it can be recycled instead of buried. Steel tubs often can be too, while fiberglass and acrylic units usually end up at the landfill.

What's usually behind the walls

This is the part nobody budgets for. Once the tile and drywall come off, you finally see what years of hot showers have done.

Rotted subfloor around the toilet flange is common. So is soft, stained framing under the tub where a slow leak dripped for who knows how long.

Older homes in Boise, Nampa and Caldwell can also have galvanized supply lines or cast iron drains. Your plumber will probably want to swap those while the wall is open.

None of that is a reason to panic. It's a reason to plan, and it's why good demo takes the room down to the studs and subfloor so whoever's rebuilding can see exactly what needs fixing.

Heads up: In homes built before the 1980s, old tile, the adhesive under sheet flooring and some drywall textures can contain asbestos. You can't tell by looking. Have a sample tested by an accredited lab before anyone starts swinging, because finding out halfway through is a much bigger problem.

DIY or hiring demolition services in Boise

Yes, we'd love the work. But honestly, plenty of homeowners can handle a simple bathroom demo on their own.

If you're in a newer house in Meridian, Kuna or Star with a fiberglass tub surround, drywall and a vinyl floor, basic tools and some patience will get you most of the way. Shut off the water, cap the lines and go slow around the plumbing.

Hiring it out starts to make sense when there's mortar-set tile, a cast iron tub, a second-floor bath, or a remodeler waiting to start.

Disposal is the other big piece. Bathroom debris is dense, and so much of it is tile and concrete that even a small room can mean several heavy dump runs.

Ada County's landfill takes construction debris, and Canyon County runs its own landfill for Nampa and Caldwell with its own rules and fees. Check what each one accepts before you load up, because you'll be lifting every bucket yourself.

What sets the price on bathroom demolition services in Boise

There's no single price for bathroom demo, because no two bathrooms come apart the same way. The room itself decides it.

How much is coming out matters most. A full gut to the studs is a lot more work than pulling a vanity and toilet, and mortar-bed tile or a cast iron tub adds labor and weight.

Access comes next. A main-floor bath near a door in Eagle is a very different job than an upstairs bath at the end of a narrow hall in Harris Ranch, since every trip out of the house adds up.

Testing and permits can move the start date. If asbestos testing is needed, demo waits on the results. The plumbing and electrical work that follows often needs permits, so check with your building department in Boise, Meridian or Garden City before the rebuild gets rolling.

Season plays a part too. Spring is when everybody starts remodeling, so schedules fill up. Winter demo works fine indoors, though icy mornings slow down the hauling.

Before the first tile comes off

Most of what you need to know comes down to three questions. Is the tile on a mortar bed? Is the tub cast iron? How old is the house?

If you'd like a second set of eyes on it, Boise Demolition does free on-site estimates around the Treasure Valley. You'll get a firm price based on the space and the work before anything is touched, with no hidden fees, and much of what we haul out gets donated or recycled.

Give us a call at (208) 296-6153 whenever you're ready.