"pgg" wrote in message
news
Let's try a little long distance ESP and see what happens:

Original sink.
Ceramic installed at a later time w/o removing sink. Sink now
locked in.
Base and counter installed at later time w/o removing sink. Sink
was locked in.

This bath have a toilet in it?
ESP...ESP... ESP...
Toilet was in corner by door.
Base unit hides where toilet used to be.
Base/counter retro to fit sink that could not be removed because
it
is locked in by the ceramic tile that was installed w/o removing
and
remounting sink.

w/o actually looking at it 1st person I can not say for certain,
but
unless it possible to make a repair on the faucet, it does look
like
the plumber did all he could w/o attempting to remove the sink
from
the wall w/o damaging sink or tile. Sink has to be removed to
replace fixture. Sink must be lifted UP to remove.

Not in pictu ESP... ESP... ESP...
Tub shower, window with rotting frame and lose glass, walls soft
and/or crumbling in places especially around window and where it
meets the tub and evidence or many attempts to patch
lose/crumbling
plaster.

Sound about right or was my ESP seeing the bath down the street
because it does not work that far?? ;-)


I understand the bath is suppose to be the most bang for the buck
when it comes to increasing selling value of the house.
Maybe it's time to rip it all out to the bare lath and modernize
the
bath... including getting rid of the window and installing bath
vent
fan. ;-)

You are damn good. I've been in the house 2 years. From talking
to my
neighbors, there used to be a window in the bathroom. There is no
window
now and a plastic tub surround is now covering the wall (you can't
tell
from the outside except for a section of the house that looks sort
of odd
without a window). At least they did a good job with the outside
siding.

There was a bathroom fan present and the installation was
terrible. It
wasn't vented properly. About 3 months ago I installed a nice new
bathroom fan and vented it through the roof (I hired a contractor
to
install the roof vent)

I don't think the toilet was ever moved because I honestly can't
imagine
where else it would fit.

Your theory about the counter/vanity being installed around the
sink is
probably correct.

We are leaning towards installing a new sink/vanity. I painted
the bath a
month ago. I will need to put in new flooring and repaint the
section of
the wall where the ceramic tile will have to be removed.

Not sure if replacing the toilet makes sense. It works fine. I
will also
probably keep the mirror because it is build into the wall.

Since your ESP seems spot on, any other advice?

Advice:
Investigate and plan.
First remove a section of the caulking to see if in fact the
lavatory is indeed locked in by the tile.
If not... faucet replacement is possible. Check availability and
price of suitable replacement, or get estimate from plumber that is
aware of your findings.

Locked in...
It may also be possible to remove 1 row of tiles above the sink so
it can be removed, repaired, remounted, tiles glued back into their
original positions, grout/caulk to finish and ignore anything else
you were thinking about replacing/repairing. You risk of breaking
tiles that you may not be able to find a match for.

Decide what if anything you want to salvage. It would be possible
to remove tile along the wall to the same height as the void left
after removing (in pieces) the lavatory, and filling this space with
other complimentary tile to form a back-splash the entire length of
the new top. This would also allow some fudge factor in positioning
the new lavatory for better appearance.

Remove all the tile. Be aware that damage to the underlying wall is
likely and if it is lath&plaster may be extensive enough to warrant
removing all the plaster and applying sheetrock over the lath....
yes.... over the lath unless the house was built late enough to have
smooth planed dimensioned lumber.

Was the tub surround applied over the tile?
This is another challenge but not an impossible task to remove tile
and/or plaster up to and if desired over the top of the surround if
the tile goes that far.

What shape is the tub and surround in?

Well as you can see, a simple washer is turning into an expensive
labor intensive remodel.

Check the sink. That is easy to recaulk. ;-)

BTY... the faucet MAY have the old fashioned non-replaceable BEVELED
seat (not sure when they quit making them) that you can ream a new
face to with a special, relatively inexpensive tool if you can still
find them. This could explain why the plumber cold not remove the
seat, but don't go pointing fingers yet.
You seldom ever see these old beveled seat fixtures any more.

Oh... Where is the toilet?
It is normally against a wall so there is a place to mount a TP
dispenser... like in the corner to the right of your sink.
Exception would be where the original build had a base cabinet to
hang a dispenser on, and then it is not uncommon to locate toilet
between tub and sink.