Bathtub Leveling

tjbingha

All -

I have my bathroom gutted and am prepping for my bathtub installation. The floors have a sag in them due to the age of the house (100 years). The subfloor is out of level approx. 3/4 of an inch or so from the non drain side (high) to the drain side. The joists which have been previously cut through are now sistered so that we could purchase any type of tub with no structural problems.

I have been reading many things online about mortar beds to level, drywall mud, etc. I am hoping to get a game plan together for the best possible option for a 60 inch tub. I have not purchased a tub yet, so any advice on tub material for my problem would be great.

My plan of action is to take masons mortar and put down a bed for the tub to sit in to level. I am hoping that someone experienced can provide me with a bit more guidance on this issue.

Thanks all for your help.

Tom

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Thomas

Soon To be Dad, Accountant, and DIY Rehabber
South Jersey - Camden County

Beepster

What about the rest of the bathroom floor, is that unlevel? What are your plans for the flooring in the bathroom?

B

tjbingha

The rest of the floor is "flat" no level, so we are planning on tiling.

I am assuming you are asking b/c that is a large amount, and may look bizarre with the tub level and the floor out? Haha...working on that one too.

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Thomas

Soon To be Dad, Accountant, and DIY Rehabber
South Jersey - Camden County

TheEplumber

I don't know much about tile except that it hurts my knees- but I'm sure there's a way to level the bathroom prior to the tub going in. Then the tub would sit level and not have a gap

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joecaption

Really should be setting the sistered floor joist to level and not have to worry about a floor leveler.

tjbingha

yes, we could have done that, however the reason we did not is b/c we only sistered two of the "bad" joists, and removed three rows of joists that were completely notched through from previous renovations. I could have leveled the sistered joists, and also leveled the new joists, however then my downstairs ceiling for drywall would have been off, along with a few other problems it would have created, which is tough to describe without a picture. I bet your are going to tell me that would have been the better way to do it. There were a few things that were preventing us from doing it that way, so I didn't.

Either way, it is what it is now, and would love to no how to address this problem.

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Thomas

Soon To be Dad, Accountant, and DIY Rehabber
South Jersey - Camden County

firehawkmph

Show us the pictures.
Mike Hawkins

tjbingha

Here are a few pics. The side with the header (header going up the stairs - not header near front door) is going to be the drain side, with the other side being a bit high. The one pick showing the header straight on is an optical illusion, it is actually dead level from right to left. Must be the camera angle. We did not sister (sistered beams not shown here, old pictures) every joist in the bathroom, so we could not adjust them all to level. Also, where the long "new" joist connects to would have had to be jacked up as well. Hard to see in these pics as well. But you get the idea of where I am off..

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
Thomas

Soon To be Dad, Accountant, and DIY Rehabber
South Jersey - Camden County

TarheelTerp

You also could have used a taller 2X and tapered the top side

Tear it apart and do it right before you go deeper into the job?

joecaption

No joist hanger on that center joist?

firehawkmph

Thanks for the pics. Hard to tell where the floor above is off by the angle of the pics. Any chance of ripping some 2 x 4's to add to the top of the floor joists to level out the topside? Tapered if needed? I've done that on converting old closed in porches to living space where the old floor was pitched 1 1/2" in 8'.
Mike Hawkins