cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/59403600

Hey all! This is a bit of a follow-up to a post I made a couple months ago regarding our bathroom reno: https://sh.itjust.works/post/56769265

Long story short, the mortar bed subfloor was crumbling away, and I could literally tear up chunks with my bear hands, so we decided to take it all out. I'm going to sister all the joists to re-level the floor, put in blocking for under the clawfoot tub, then 3/4" plywood subfloor, Ditra, and tile. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about all that copper plumbing. I think the stuff above the tub spout is relatively new, but I think everything below that (tub supplies, toilet supply, sink supplies) is a lot older, maybe original, which would make that close to 70 years old. Some of it looks pretty crusty and corroded to my untrained eye, so my question is, should I redo any of that copper while I've got the wall open? If so, to what extent, and with copper or PEX? I mentioned earlier that we're putting in a clawfoot tub, so we won't need basically anything above the tub spout. I know clawfoots traditionally have supplies coming up through the floor, so I may end up reconfiguring to accommodate that, but I'm also considering taking the easy way out there and using some flex hose coming out of the wall.

I don't have a torch or a PEX crimping tool, so either way I go I'm gonna have to buy a new toy. But which one? How would y'all go about this? Thanks in advance for the input!

Hey all! This is a bit of a follow-up to a post I made a couple months ago regarding our bathroom reno: https://sh.itjust.works/post/56769265

Long story short, the mortar bed subfloor was crumbling away, and I could literally tear up chunks with my bear hands, so we decided to take it all out. I'm going to sister all the joists to re-level the floor, put in blocking for under the clawfoot tub, then 3/4" plywood subfloor, Ditra, and tile. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about all that copper plumbing. I think the stuff above the tub spout is relatively new, but I think everything below that (tub supplies, toilet supply, sink supplies) is a lot older, maybe original, which would make that close to 70 years old. Some of it looks pretty crusty and corroded to my untrained eye, so my question is, should I redo any of that copper while I've got the wall open? If so, to what extent, and with copper or PEX? I mentioned earlier that we're putting in a clawfoot tub, so we won't need basically anything above the tub spout. I know clawfoots traditionally have supplies coming up through the floor, so I may end up reconfiguring to accommodate that, but I'm also considering taking the easy way out there and using some flex hose coming out of the wall.

I don't have a torch or a PEX crimping tool, so either way I go I'm gonna have to buy a new toy. But which one? How would y'all go about this? Thanks in advance for the input!

I'm currently working on renovating the bathroom in our 1958 home. I just finished tearing out the shoddy job some flippers did a few years back, and found some issues with the floor that have got me scratching my head. I've learned that it was common practice back in the 50's to have a mortar slab subfloor, and it looks like that's what I have in our bathroom (except where the old bathtub was, where there was just 2 layers of 5/8" plywood). The tile was adhered directly to the slab with no decoupling membrane, and the only way I could get it and the thinset off was with a rotary hammer. I'm afraid that might have been too aggressive though, because now there's a bunch of cracks in the subfloor. I'm not certain if the cracks go all the way through because the bottom/sides of the slab are hidden. But I'm also not certain the actual original mortar slab is cracked, or if the flippers put a super thick layer or two of leveling compound down, and that's what's cracked, because in one area where I accidentally made a deeper gouge, it looks like there's about an inch of smooth grey mortar-like substance at the surface, but beneath that is a lighter-colored concrete-like substance with an aggregate mixed into it.

I'd like to get some more opinions on what's actually going on here, and what my next steps should be. Can I put leveling compound down as-is, do I need to patch/fill the cracks, do I need to fully chip away this smooth, grey top layer, or do I need to tear out the slab completely and lay a new plywood subfloor?

Imgur link for reference: https://imgur.com/a/xF7go4z

I can add more photos if needed. Thanks in advance!