Bathroom Remodel in Wood Frame Condo Building

[Jeffs66]

Hi All - I'm currently in the process of finding a contractor to complete a renovation of both of the bathrooms in my second floor condo. The units are all stacked in identical layouts and the ceilings drop approximately 1 foot in the bathroom which leads me to believe there may be some additional space in the ceiling. The building is a four story stick construction over a concrete podium and my unit is on the second floor of living units with units both above and below.

As part of the renovation, I'm planning on moving the toilet to the location of the bathtub as seen in the drawings below.

I've been told my some contractors that this is no problem at all and by others that this isn't possible and I should change my plans. I was just hoping to get some advice on what the possible implications are and the level of possibility before starting on the project.



Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Terry]

Do you have concrete floors?
Do you have access to the unit below if you need to plumb there?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jeffs66]

Do you have concrete floors?
Do you have access to the unit below if you need to plumb there?

It's plywood floors, but I don't have access to the unit below. Thanks!

 

[Terry]

If it's plywood, it looks doable. Not lightweight concrete over plywood?
Which way are the floor joists running and do you have to cross them for the 3" line for the toilet? That would be my worry. If you can run with the joist, then it's just a matter of throwing a 90 on it for the turn.

 

[Jeffs66]

Got it, thanks. Yes, it's just plywood floors.

Yes, that's my big worry is that the 3" line would have to cross joists. I'm not sure what direction the joists head in and haven't been able to figure out a good way to check before demo'ing the bathroom. I'm worrying that if the joists head in the wrong direction it would require significant structural modifications.

 

[Jadnashua]

What's on the floor now? If it's say vinyl, drill a small hole where it shouldn't be an issue, then take a steel wire coat hanger, break it apart, bend it into an L, push it down through that hole and rotate it. That should give you an idea of where the joist bay is, and how they run. If you have an inspection camera, they're fairly cheap these days, that should be able to tell you as well.

If the depth is 1', depending, they may be trusses or I-joists, which either have openings, or you can cut them in more places than you could a solid wood joist. Until you know, it's hard to tell. It's also possible that the ceiling is dropped, and there's room beneath the joists. Is the ceiling in the bathrooms lower than the rooms/hallways outside of the bathroom? That may give you some room to deal with the pipes as well.