Could this have been someone's attempt at making a tornado shelter?

So when I moved in, I could tell it was likely all done improperly. There was a lot of janky shit done on the plumbing and electric so it screams budget “renovation” with unprofessional “contractor”. I don’t know much about tile but I can see it’s a very inferior tub, likely why broken and needing replacing. I pulled a few tiles off the non-plumbing end and can see it’s just 1/2” cement board and tile. Looks like maybe non-shower area is greenboard. Is it bad to replace the same way?

Edit: much appreciated response btw

Second edit: looks like it’s worse than I knew and it should have received some kind of water proofing system, which seems to be the norm even when this bathroom was done. 🤬 man the people that did this bathroom make my blood boil.

[removed]

[removed]

Oh I know, I've done mine. They were covered with some sort of gummy paint that clogged sanding pad 5 second after putting a new one. Took me like a week of sanding a single flight. Even though wood is just pine I think It was worth it though.

Thing with covering old treads with new ones is that you'll raise the height of the first step and lower the last. Not a big issue but may look awkward. Second issue is that raisers will still be visible so you may end up sanding them anyway. Same goes for stringers.

I like this suggestion. One thing that would worry me is whether I will be able to remove a layer and not end up with a piece that really looks badly chiseled. I think the dye on the most offering pieces is just a layer on top. This gives me some hope. The grey and beige "stones" seem to have the dye all throughout. Have you tried sandblasting? Any experience with how it will look at the end?

No, but the hard part is the waterproofing behind and above. If not done correctly, you can get water behind the new tub.

good point. It is front and center afterall.

It's probably not going to be possible to go lighter, but darker would be easy. Concrete stain as the other guy mentioned. If they're manufactured stone , the color is likely mixed into the material, so you probably can't remove the outside layer to reveal a more base color. You could try chipping away the surface on a more out of the way stone, see if it's a different color underneath. If it is, then you can abrade the color off with a sander, chisel, or sand blaster. If it's solid color all the way thru, your only chance is to dye it darker

I think it is really a cement mix so this would work you are right. Thanks!

if you have a scrap 2x2/x3/x4, you could see how it might look.

my other thought would be to use a multi tool and the height of your tread/riser to score a line along the stringer. then a small, sharp chisel to knock it out cleanly. though I'm pretty sure that would be more work and not look any better...

Looks structural (checks notes) says you should call A structural engineer.

yeah don't sand it. it'll be a pain, and it's garbage wood underneath. the red oak tread you've found is much better quality.

Good point. I hadn't taking into account how far out the nose of the new treads would be. I might have to make it a 2x4. Thanks.

As if load bearing framing doesn’t look differently than non-load bearing framing. You can identify it with ease - planning a modification is a different story. Our city requires permit and engineer assessment before modifying load bearing walls. Not having that can severely impact the ability to sell your house later on.

Sanding it down smooth would be a pain, even with an electric sander. I think I'll try to cover it up with the new treads and something over the stringers. Thanks for your help.

I would do what you're suggesting. just make sure the height of that 2x2 is ABOVE the nose of the tread cover you're going to put on. I feel like it would be... but confirm before you get to it

No one can tell you what is happening without inspecting the property. Is there are reason you doubt the professional? Seek a second opinion if so, a professional opinion not reddit.

The mold is a concern, but the white fluffy stuff is mostly allergy issues that develop over time. If no one has respiratory symptoms it's not any acute threat.

But in general, moisture/vapor problems are quite serious and absolutely need to be addressed. It's worth taking the effort to really identify the issue and fix them properly. It might take a lot of effort finding an appropriate inspector and contractor.

Nice, we built one with that same kit. But I have to say your final product looks a little nicer than ours.

When you put the sock pipe in, I would try to round the corner at more of a curve and not the 45 degree angle. The water will want to go straight at the bottom and you want it flowing around the curve. I think that spot will be where you have issues no matter what you do so that might be where you take the rock off the top each year and hose it out there. If you find not an issue, wont need to keep doing it.

If You want to replace the treads You can pretty much replace the whole stairs because of the amount of work necessary to do it. Stringers, treads and raisers are parts of a whole structure, rather hard to disassemble where they are.

Trimming treads and putting 2x2s is a good and easy option imo. Stairs will look better.

I'd try sanding the whole stairs and, if they look fine stain or paint them.

Yeah :) wanted it big. No dressers in the master bedroom so that room is smaller. The cabinets in the middle of the closet are the dresseds

Ah.

I say it because my cousin's husband didn't, and then his shed collapsed into the basement (of the shed) while his kids were putting canned produce away.

Dang is that your closet?

Yeah not that it’s not good advise for a lot of people, but it gets mentioned every single time someone makes a post about removing a wall, especially if OP says they did check.

I swear it’s just one of the Reddit Pavlov’s now for free karma in this sub