Jackhammer that is. Our first time with this rental, and definitely not the last of the near future (they gave us a frequent renter punch card.) This also meant breaking out the new goggles and air filter masks purchased specifically for lead paint management.
Hard (mentally) to break up the one bathroom floor that doesn't have big cracks through the middle. But a foundation that's not sinking is sometimes more important.
100 year old concrete is hard as rock. And in that rock was something unexpected. Charcoal. Need to research a bit more to understand why but have some guesses. With 6 inches of concrete below every tile floor, unlike the 1/4 inch backerboard we use today, there's a lot of weight in each bathrooms. The charcoal bits seem to make it lighter. But there may be even more reasons we'll discover. The craftsmanship is remarkable though - each joist is cut to a point across the top for even distribution of the first pour of concrete.
The floor below the toilet was already caving in under the concrete though you couldn't have seen it above. Glad we didn't wait to be surprised.
And speaking of surprises, not sure what we expected to find under the tub but if you told me leaves and nuts packed so tightly up the sides we need a rake and shovel to remove I would have thought you were kidding. Old homes have holes in weird places. Holes in weird places invite curiosity in all sorts of small creatures. And though we may not like to share our space with them, they seem to take no mind to cozying up right next to us. Even while we're relaxing in the bath. Ew.
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