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Demox

Miami-Dade County

Bathroom Demolition

Fixtures, tile, waterproofing and substrate removed down to sound structure.

Who usually calls

A small, fast job where the risk is water damage and the neighbour below.

A bathroom strip-out is the smallest demolition scope that still carries a real risk, and the risk is water. What is behind the tile is usually a waterproofing layer, and what is under the floor is usually somebody else's ceiling.

Fixtures come out first, then the water is isolated and capped properly rather than throttled at the valve. Tile, backer board and waterproofing come off to sound structure, and the state of what is underneath is the thing worth photographing: rot, movement or a previous failure is far cheaper to find now than after the new tile is on.

In an apartment the job is as much about the units below as about this one. A leak during a strip-out is a claim against the building's insurance and a conversation with a neighbour, and the way to avoid it is a confirmed isolation before the first fixture moves.

Tile and mud bed coming out of a small bathroom, pan opening exposed.
Tile and mud bed coming out of a small bathroom, pan opening exposed. Generated footage, not a job of ours and not a recording of one. It shows what the scope looks like. Our own work goes up as clients release it.

Scope

What is in the job.

Included

  • Fixtures removed: pan, basin, bath or tray, screens and fittings
  • Water isolated and capped by the licensed trade, confirmed before anything else starts
  • Tile, backer board and waterproofing removed to sound structure
  • Substrate condition inspected and photographed, including any rot or previous failure
  • Floor protection on the route and containment at the door
  • Debris out, surfaces swept, services capped and labelled
Tile and mud bed coming out of a small bathroom, pan opening exposed.
Licensed stock photograph of the same kind of work.

What moves the price

We do not publish a rate for this, because a number given without seeing the site is either useless or untrue. These are the things that decide it.

  • Whether the layout changes, which moves waste lines rather than capping them
  • Tile bedding and how much substrate comes with it
  • What is found behind the waterproofing, which is the common source of a variation
  • Access, floor level and the route for debris in an apartment
  • Building rules on isolation, work hours and the service lift

Permits

Where this scope sits with the county.

Removing fixtures and tile is often not permitted work on its own; altering the plumbing or the layout usually is. In a condo the building's own approval generally applies either way. Miami-Dade requires an asbestos survey before demolition regardless of the year the building went up, and the federal NESHAP notification runs ten working days from a correctly filed notice. That clock runs in parallel with everything else, so it is filed first, not last.

Have this ready

  • Photographs of the room, the access to the shut-off and the ceiling of the unit below if reachable
  • Whether the layout changes
  • Confirmation of who holds the key to the riser or the shut-off
  • The building's requirements for isolation and for insurance

None of it is required to get a visit booked. All of it makes the number firmer and the date earlier.

The full permit sequence, with sources, is on the permits and asbestos page.

Questions

What people ask about bathroom demolition.

What if there is rot behind the tile?

It gets photographed and priced as a variation before it is covered up. Finding it is the point of taking the tile off carefully rather than quickly.

Can the water stay on in the rest of the apartment?

Usually yes, if the bathroom can be isolated on its own branch. If it cannot, the isolation is building-wide for a short window and that has to be booked with the management.

How much mess is there?

Tile dust travels. Containment at the door and floor protection on the route are in the scope for that reason, and a contractor who leaves them out is quoting a different job.

Usually bundled with