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I’m putting a dormer into the second floor of an old house to create a second bathroom. The outside wall for the dormer will be directly above the exterior wall of first floor the house, and it will be about 6 feet deep. It’ll sit on the old 2×8 joists, with a new 2×6 false floor to make room for the plumbing.
My question is this: here in Seattle, we have a cool little store called Earthsave that has all sorts of cool old salvaged stuff for cheap. As I lay in bed last night, the image came to me of a clawfoot tub sitting up against the outside wall of the dormer with windows all around it – how nice that would be. However, I’m worried about the load that would put on the old frame; I can’t really shore up the first floor bearing walls.
Anyone have any input on this?
Thanks!
Eli
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Eli,
First, I don't see why, with the secondary flooring construction, you would not be able to handle this load. The secret is to distribute the load over as large an area as possible.
If you're working from up above, could you not open the floor and add a joist or two?
If it's the pressure on the exterior wall that you are concerned with, could you not simply either add jacks or sheath the inside of the wall with 3/4 plywood?
There's always a solution, you just got to toss it around long enough.
Old tubs are cool!
Good luck....
*I have to second Fred. The best clawfoot set up I was involved in included a complete tile floor with separate floor drain. Tile wainscot went around the wall opposite the tub, 4 feet high, and all the way to the ceiling on the three sides of the tub to include the ceiling. So basically we built a shower for the tub. But hey, run in and hose the place down. Otherwise you'll be collecting dust bunnies under the tub and smacking your head on the tub lip every time you bend down to clean the floor. The old tubs are cool but they do require maintenance if you like to keep your bathroom clean.Dave
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I'm putting a dormer into the second floor of an old house to create a second bathroom. The outside wall for the dormer will be directly above the exterior wall of first floor the house, and it will be about 6 feet deep. It'll sit on the old 2x8 joists, with a new 2x6 false floor to make room for the plumbing.
My question is this: here in Seattle, we have a cool little store called Earthsave that has all sorts of cool old salvaged stuff for cheap. As I lay in bed last night, the image came to me of a clawfoot tub sitting up against the outside wall of the dormer with windows all around it - how nice that would be. However, I'm worried about the load that would put on the old frame; I can't really shore up the first floor bearing walls.
Anyone have any input on this?
Thanks!
Eli