How to Demo a Bathroom 101- A Complete and Easy Guide

So you bought your first house. It has a great backyard, a fabulous kitchen and was within your price range. It checks all the boxes. Well, except for one; the bathroom. A smoker’s yellow fiberglass shower stall is accented by a turquoise vanity, moldy ceiling, and purple linoleum floor. Yikes. You said that this would be a project you would take on yourself, and now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. So first things first, let’s learn how to demo a bathroom!

How to Demo a Bathroom- Considerations Before Beginning

Before you can figure out how to demo a bathroom in your house, you have to determine how much of a remodel you want to do. Is the shower fine, but the vanity and floor are repulsive? Perhaps you just need some updated fixtures and a new coat of paint. Maybe you need to get out the Sawzall and gut that thing like a fish. Having clear, defined objectives will help keep you from damaging things you might want to keep and help you stay under budget. 

For the sake of this article, we will assume that we are demoing the bathroom down to the studs. Everything must go.

Step 1- Remove Sticky Outy Things 

“Sticky outy things” refer to anything that sticks out from the flat plane of the wall, ceiling, or floor. For example, the toilet sticks out from the floor, the vanity sticks out from the wall, and the fan sticks out from the ceiling. Removing these items gives you free rein to tear out the drywall and the flooring. 

How to Remove a Toilet

Removing a toilet can feel like a daunting task, but in reality, it’s a job almost anyone can do. 

1. Clean the Toilet
   1. You are going to get up close and personal with your toilet. You will be grateful that you took the time to give your toilet a good cleaning before starting.
2. Turn Off the Water to Your Toilet
   1. There is a shut-off valve next to your toilet. Turn it to the right until it is closed.
3. Get All the Water Out of the Toilet
   1. Take the top of the toilet tank off.
   2. Flush the toilet until the tank is as empty as it will get. 
   3. Using a sponge, soak up the remaining water in the tank. Empty the sponge into the sink, shower, or bucket.
   4. Using a sponge, soak up the remaining water in the bowl. Empty the sponge into the sink, shower, or bucket. 
4. Disconnect the water line to the toilet.
   1. Unscrew the waterline from where it attaches to the toilet tank.
5. Unscrew the Toilet From the Floor.
   1. Unscrew the bolts at the base of the toilet.
6. Remove the Toilet.
   1. Place an open contractor-grade trash bag in the shower. With a partner, lift the toilet and place it into the trash bag. There is still a little bit of water left inside the toilet. Having the toilet’s base inside the trash bag prevents water from spilling as you move the toilet out of the bathroom.
   2. Move the toilet out of the bathroom.
7. Remove the Wax Ring.
   1. There will be a wax ring with the two bolts that secure the toilet to the floor around the drain. Remove this; it is a sticky mess. You will need a new wax ring whether you plan on buying a new toilet or installing the old one.
8. Cover the Drain.
   1. Sewer gas can come up out of an open drain. Sewer gas smells terrible and can be potentially dangerous. To prevent this, stuff a handful of paper towels into the top of the drain. Do not stuff anything down into the drain where you will not be able to pull it out!

How to Remove Bathroom Vanity and Medicine Cabinet

Removing your bathroom vanity is the same process as removing base cabinets in your kitchen. Removing your medicine cabinet uses the same process as kitchen wall cabinets. Click here for our comprehensive guide on how to remove kitchen cabinets.

How to Remove Bathroom Lights

Most bathrooms have two lights you need to remove before you can demo drywall; vanity lights (the lights on the wall above the sink) and overhead lights. Both types of lights are essentially removed in the same fashion. Electrical work can be one of the most intimidating parts of learning how to demo a bathroom. You can do electrical work safely and efficiently by taking precautions to avoid electrical mishaps.

• Special Tools Required
  • Voltage tester pen.
  • Wire nuts.
  • Electrical tape.

1. Turn off the power to the bathroom lights at the electrical panel.
2. Check if the power is off by flipping the light switch on and off. If the lights don’t turn on, you have successfully killed power to the fixture. 
3. Most light fixtures are attached with an ornamental nut, unscrew these and be prepared for the fixture to come off.
4. Before separating the wires, touch your voltage tester pen to the black and white wires. This is a final check to make sure you will not be electrocuted while touching the wires.
5. Separate your fixture’s wires from the wires inside the wall.
6. Twist wire nuts onto the black and white wires coming out of the wall and wrap them in electrical tape. Push the wires back inside the box from which they are protruding.
7. You may turn the power back on at the electrical panel if desired.

How to Remove Outlets and Switches

You cannot remove the drywall in your bathroom without removing the outlets and switches first. No need to worry; you can safely remove the outlets and switches by using the same amount of precaution and care you used to remove the light fixtures.

• Special Tools Required
  • Voltage tester pen.
  • Wire nuts.
  • Electrical tape.

1. Go to the electrical panel and turn off the power to the bathroom. 
2. Remove the face plates for all the outlets and switches in the room.
3. To ensure that none of the outlets and switches are live, turn on your voltage tester pen and touch it to every black and white wire. 
4. If there is no power, disconnect the wires to the outlets and switches.
5. Twist wire nuts onto all white and black wires and wrap them in electrical tape.
6. Push the wires back into the boxes from which they are protruding.
7. Turn the power back on at the electrical panel if desired.

Remove the Shower

When discussing how to demo a bathroom, removing the shower is often a large part of the process. You will encounter two main types of showers in a bathroom; fiberglass stall and custom tile. Neither is extraordinarily complex to demo, but they both require some serious elbow grease.

How to Remove a Fiberglass Shower Stall

1. Remove the Shower Head.
   1. Rotate counterclockwise until removed. 
2. Remove the Shower Valve Handle and Trim.
   1. This step is typically as easy as removing the screws from the handle and face plate and sliding them off.
3. Remove the Tub Spout.
   1. There are two types of tub spouts; threaded and slip-on. 
      1. A slip-on tub spout has a set screw on the bottom of the faucet. Remove the set screw and slide the tub spout off.
      2. A threaded tub spout has no set screw. Rotate the spout counterclockwise to unscrew it.
4. Remove the Shower Drain.
   1. Remove the drain stopper (find a step-by-step guide in our article here).
   2. Rotate the drain body counterclockwise to unscrew it from the shower. The drain body can sometimes be tough to unscrew; try using a good pair of channel locks or use a drain wrench.
5. Remove the Tub Overflow. There are a variety of styles of tub overflow; they can usually all be unscrewed or just slipped off.
6. Remove the Shower Stall
   1. The shower stall is attached via a nailing flange that runs along the edge of the shower. Expose this flange by cutting out a 6″ strip of drywall around the shower. Be very careful when cutting underneath the shower head; your water line comes straight from the shower valve to the shower head.
   2. Remove the nails or screws from the flange.
   3. Cut your shower stall into four separate pieces; three wall pieces and the floor. Cut a 6″ square around the shower drain. A reciprocating and oscillating saw are the best tools for this process. During this step, wearing a mask or respirator, eye protection, and gloves is essential. Be careful not to cut through any of your plumbing during this step!
   4. Remove each piece, leaving the drain with the square around it.

How to Demo a Tile Shower

1. Remove the Shower Head.
   1. Rotate counterclockwise until removed. 
2. Remove the Shower Valve Handle and Trim.
   1. This step is typically as easy as removing the screws from the handle and face plate and sliding them off.
3. Cover the drain with paint tape; you don’t want to get debris in there.
4. Remove the tiles with a hammer, cold chisel, pry bar, etc. Definitely a good idea to wear eye protection and gloves during this step. You will remove the concrete board behind the tile when you demo the drywall.
5. If your shower has a tile floor, you will find a concrete shower pan underneath the tile. Demo this with a roto hammer or brute force. You will also find a rubber liner inside the concrete. Cut, rip, and destroy that liner as you see fit. You want to get down to bare plywood floor.

How to Remove the Trim

Remove the window, door, and base trim from the walls using a hammer and prybar. Try to pry against studs; this will provide better leverage.

How to Remove the Fan

For most bathroom fans, you should be able to pull the outer housing down and out of the ceiling. This will leave the rest of the fan unit inside the ceiling but should not prevent you from removing the drywall.

Step 2- Demo the Drywall

Removing the drywall is arguably the most satisfying part of learning how to demo a bathroom. 

1. Start with the walls. In an area you feel confident contains minimal plumbing or wires, create a fist-sized hole with your hammer. 
2. Grab the hole and try to pull and rip the drywall. It may take a few tries, but eventually, the drywall will start coming off in sheets or at least large chunks. 
3. Repeat this process for the ceiling, but be careful; those sheets will fall, and they can be pretty destructive when they do.
4. Go through the room and remove all screws and nails from the studs and ceiling joists.

Step 3- Demo the Floor

There are several common types of flooring found in a bathroom; the demo method for all of them requires brute force.

Tile Floor

Just go to work with your hammer, chisel, roto-hammer, prybar, or whatever other tools you have for the job. Put on your eye protection and smash away.

Laminate Floor

Laminate floors are “floating floors” and are not actually attached to anything. All you need to do is lift the planks and remove them.

Hardwood Floor

Hammer your pry bar underneath a plank and pry it up. Continue this method until all of the planks are removed.

Sheet Vinyl

Sheet vinyl is glued down to the subfloor, and if your new flooring allows it, it is probably better to leave it.

How to Demo a Bathroom- In Conclusion

How to demo a bathroom is a very broad question. Use this guide as a reference for your order of operations and a general understanding of how things are done. Your bathroom will inevitably have a handful of quirky little problems you will need to figure out how to solve. Don’t be intimidated by the project; break it down into smaller pieces and accomplish one thing at a time. You can do this!