Two plumbing tips:
1. When the directions say "finger-tight" or "finger-tight plus 1/4 turn" or something very specific like that, they probably say it for a reason.
2. If you're going through all the trouble of replacing a toilet (or sink for that matter) and supply line(s), replace the old shut-off valve at the same time. It's $3.49 for a new 1/4-turn shut-off valve people, spend the freakin' money.
I bring these items up because I didn't bother listening to my own advice, resulting in a toilet replacement which took twice as long as it should have. I decided to replace the last remaining original toilet in the house because I'm sick of wasting water with the old one. I had the new one sitting here waiting for the past three months, but the bathroom remodel is still a month or two away. Might as well get rid of the old crapper while I have the dumpster! I decided to "save time" and re-use the original shut-off valve, even though it sprays water unless it's fully open or fully closed. Well, with the new toilet in it drips water through the packing. Ten minutes later, the water is off, the new valve is on, and the water is back on. That problem is solved. Now it's dripping water at the braided-stainless supply hose where it connects to the valve. Damn, I just tightened it down with a crescent wrench, well beyond the 1/4 turn recommendation. Off it comes so I can check the rubber washer. It looks OK, so I re-install and tighten the recommended way and it's finally done.
For now.
It'll have to come out soon so I can gut that bathroom for the renovation. At this time, I'm planning on moving the toilet location to help open up some room in there, since it's kind of a small bathroom in it's current configuration. We'll see how that goes.....
Showing posts with label toilet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toilet. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thursday, April 5, 2007
What has been started must be finished
As I get my battle plan ready for this coming weekend, I've come to the conclusion that before I start any new projects I really need to put the finishing touches on projects I've already started. The 1/2 bath is mostly done (I consider it done because I can use the toilet) but I need to swap out the tank because it drips a little water near the supply line. After screwing around enough with it trying to find the leak, I've determined that it's got to be a defect in the tank. The supply line and connection between the tank and stool is dry, so the water must be seeping out somehow. I've got another tank ready to go, I just need to do the actual work. The floor also needs a couple of coats of sealer for the travertine and I need to stain and install one last piece of base molding.
In the basement, I've got the new laundry sink installed to the point where it is functional, but it's got to be secured to the wall so it doesn't wobble on the cheap plastic legs and f' up the trap. It's great having a faucet for the sink which actually works. The old one on the cement sink (which is still sitting in the basement laughing at me because it knows I can't lift it without help) leaked and the faucet itself was seized towards the left-side tub and wouldn't turn to allow me to use it on the right-side tub.
The following conversation will happen this weekend:
Crappy Old Laundry Sink: "Ha ha, you can't lift me. Now if we were on the moon..."
Me: "Yeah, I know you'd weigh 1/6th as much. Bite me."
COLS: "Hey, what are you hiding behind your back?"
Me: "Oh that? It's just a new friend who wants to meet you."
COLS: "Wait a minute, that looks like a sledge hammer!"
Me: "Yeah - get ready to eat hot death!"
COLS: "Aaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhh! Not in the face!"
Me: "No open coffin for you, beyotch!"
After my trip to Fantasy Land, I'd also like to get the new back door installed as that's taking up valuable wall space in my temporary work-room/family-room. I still haven't decided if I'm going to add a storm door for the rear door or not. Maybe if money permits... Ha!
Last project for the weekend is to BBQ a brisket. I've been waiting for the weather to cooperate for a weekend cook, and even though it's supposed to be in the 30's this weekend, we're not expecting rain. If that weather report holds true, by Saturday evening I'm going to be in brisket heaven!
In the basement, I've got the new laundry sink installed to the point where it is functional, but it's got to be secured to the wall so it doesn't wobble on the cheap plastic legs and f' up the trap. It's great having a faucet for the sink which actually works. The old one on the cement sink (which is still sitting in the basement laughing at me because it knows I can't lift it without help) leaked and the faucet itself was seized towards the left-side tub and wouldn't turn to allow me to use it on the right-side tub.
The following conversation will happen this weekend:
Crappy Old Laundry Sink: "Ha ha, you can't lift me. Now if we were on the moon..."
Me: "Yeah, I know you'd weigh 1/6th as much. Bite me."
COLS: "Hey, what are you hiding behind your back?"
Me: "Oh that? It's just a new friend who wants to meet you."
COLS: "Wait a minute, that looks like a sledge hammer!"
Me: "Yeah - get ready to eat hot death!"
COLS: "Aaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhh! Not in the face!"
Me: "No open coffin for you, beyotch!"
After my trip to Fantasy Land, I'd also like to get the new back door installed as that's taking up valuable wall space in my temporary work-room/family-room. I still haven't decided if I'm going to add a storm door for the rear door or not. Maybe if money permits... Ha!
Last project for the weekend is to BBQ a brisket. I've been waiting for the weather to cooperate for a weekend cook, and even though it's supposed to be in the 30's this weekend, we're not expecting rain. If that weather report holds true, by Saturday evening I'm going to be in brisket heaven!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Renovating the Half Bath
I posted another "before" picture of the half-bath a few days ago, showing the original toilet and nasty old flooring. Those were bad, but the cultured marble vanity, crappy base, pitted and leaking faucet, really complete the picture of an outdated bathroom. There was also an old-style medicine cabinet/mirror and 60's era light not pictured here. Overall, the only thing worth saving in this room was the oak trim around the door and window.
The vanity was easier to tear apart than I could have hoped for. The top wasn't glued down at all - only gravity held it in place. While tearing it apart (and I'll admit that I wasn't careful at all about how I did it) I broke the P-trap where it goes into the wall. This was actually a good thing, as I found that the drain line was about 75% blocked. After tearing it apart, I found out a little about the history of this bathroom. The first color on the walls was that light blue you can see little bits of in the following picture. You can see a lot more of it where the base molding was in the following pics as well. It's a pretty nasty color, in my opinion. After blue came an avocado green and then a layer of off-white. Next was that beautiful wallpaper. After the wallpaper was on the walls, the original pedestal or wall-mounted sink was replaced with the vanity I got the pleasure of destroying. Eventually the wallpaper not covered by the vanity base was removed and more off-white was applied. 20 years later, I get to ridicule it on the internet. Yay for me.
I had to break into the wall to replace part of the drain line. At this point, the wall is ready for drywall to cover my destruction and the hole left by the old medicine cabinet. I've also sanded the walls where the vanity was to try and even out the ridges left by the layers of old paint. New shut-offs were added to the supply lines for the faucet, as there previously were none.
The old linoleum was covered with a 1/4" layer of cement board, held in place with thinset cement and about 100 screws. On top of that was laid travertine tiles in two sizes for some interest in this small room. In this picture, I've got the tiles installed and have just finished pushing grout into the joints. 20 minutes later and the floor would be finished.
A couple of days later and the trim is back in place, the walls are painted, and the new toilet and sink are installed. I went with a somewhat classic style and tried to keep everything with the same look. There are still a few details to take care of, such as cutting the extra material from the toilet bolts, but it's essentially ready for action. We're extremely happy with how the flooring turned out, and plan on using the same tile in the kitchen, full bath, and entry of the house. For the full bath we'll probably use a heat-mat under the tile to take the chill out of it on cold winter mornings.
The vanity was easier to tear apart than I could have hoped for. The top wasn't glued down at all - only gravity held it in place. While tearing it apart (and I'll admit that I wasn't careful at all about how I did it) I broke the P-trap where it goes into the wall. This was actually a good thing, as I found that the drain line was about 75% blocked. After tearing it apart, I found out a little about the history of this bathroom. The first color on the walls was that light blue you can see little bits of in the following picture. You can see a lot more of it where the base molding was in the following pics as well. It's a pretty nasty color, in my opinion. After blue came an avocado green and then a layer of off-white. Next was that beautiful wallpaper. After the wallpaper was on the walls, the original pedestal or wall-mounted sink was replaced with the vanity I got the pleasure of destroying. Eventually the wallpaper not covered by the vanity base was removed and more off-white was applied. 20 years later, I get to ridicule it on the internet. Yay for me.
I had to break into the wall to replace part of the drain line. At this point, the wall is ready for drywall to cover my destruction and the hole left by the old medicine cabinet. I've also sanded the walls where the vanity was to try and even out the ridges left by the layers of old paint. New shut-offs were added to the supply lines for the faucet, as there previously were none.
The old linoleum was covered with a 1/4" layer of cement board, held in place with thinset cement and about 100 screws. On top of that was laid travertine tiles in two sizes for some interest in this small room. In this picture, I've got the tiles installed and have just finished pushing grout into the joints. 20 minutes later and the floor would be finished.
A couple of days later and the trim is back in place, the walls are painted, and the new toilet and sink are installed. I went with a somewhat classic style and tried to keep everything with the same look. There are still a few details to take care of, such as cutting the extra material from the toilet bolts, but it's essentially ready for action. We're extremely happy with how the flooring turned out, and plan on using the same tile in the kitchen, full bath, and entry of the house. For the full bath we'll probably use a heat-mat under the tile to take the chill out of it on cold winter mornings.
Friday, March 30, 2007
I'm in it past my neck.. (Part 2)
From the outside, you can't tell just how funky this place has been over the years. In my son's bedroom I found traces of old paint which were saved by window treatment brackets. That peach color isn't my favorite, but by compared to the blue it was covered with...! Yes, all four walls were painted that color blue. How bad did it look?
Imagine living in this closet! That's the same blue. This color is NOT in our long-term plan for the house. I wonder if the people who picked colors for this place were imbeciles or if they were all just color blind.
In my daughter's room I found traces of another blue used in the past. The master bedroom and the half-bath were painted this lighter shade of blue at some time. Not much of an improvement over the darker shade, and still nothing I'd ever want on my walls.
The front closet holds another classic color for us - piss yellow. Again, not a color we plan on keeping! I haven't found evidence (yet) as to what the rest of the living room this closet is in was painted yet, but I can't believe that they would have used this color for the main room. Then again, I can't believe the blue paint used in the other rooms, so anything is possible.
In the half-bath, ugly is more than paint deep. The toilet is the original 190 gallon tank version - flush a turd in the morning and by lunch the tank is filled and ready. The vanity was added about 20 years ago, and the linoleum is original (I think). Other than that, the room is perfect. This will be the first room we tackle, as it's not a necessary room for us and it'll give me a good idea as to what other items I'll need to do the full bath. As I buy supplies for this room, I'll just buy the extra pieces needed for the full bathroom which should save me plenty of trips to the store later on.
Imagine living in this closet! That's the same blue. This color is NOT in our long-term plan for the house. I wonder if the people who picked colors for this place were imbeciles or if they were all just color blind.
In my daughter's room I found traces of another blue used in the past. The master bedroom and the half-bath were painted this lighter shade of blue at some time. Not much of an improvement over the darker shade, and still nothing I'd ever want on my walls.
The front closet holds another classic color for us - piss yellow. Again, not a color we plan on keeping! I haven't found evidence (yet) as to what the rest of the living room this closet is in was painted yet, but I can't believe that they would have used this color for the main room. Then again, I can't believe the blue paint used in the other rooms, so anything is possible.
In the half-bath, ugly is more than paint deep. The toilet is the original 190 gallon tank version - flush a turd in the morning and by lunch the tank is filled and ready. The vanity was added about 20 years ago, and the linoleum is original (I think). Other than that, the room is perfect. This will be the first room we tackle, as it's not a necessary room for us and it'll give me a good idea as to what other items I'll need to do the full bath. As I buy supplies for this room, I'll just buy the extra pieces needed for the full bathroom which should save me plenty of trips to the store later on.
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