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Home stuff šŸ” Home Improvement

Is it difficult to replace a toilet? I need advice from you pros. Should I just hire a plumber? Thanks is advance.
 
Richmond Jake said:
Is it difficult to replace a toilet? I need advice from you pros. Should I just hire a plumber? Thanks is advance.
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"1. I don't want to know what a toilet auger is or what it's used for. Not my job, man."

I think you answered your own question.
 
Richmond Jake said:
Is it difficult to replace a toilet? I need advice from you pros. Should I just hire a plumber? Thanks is advance.
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No. It's pretty easy. There's not much to a toilet, it's literally held on with two bolts. If you have a cast iron flange, you may need to be prepared with a repair kit for it. The most difficult part is usually getting the old bolts out because they are generally fairly rusty. I pulled one of the toilets at my parents house to replace the wax seal. Took maybe a half hour, very easy stuff. NOW, that said, see Dandy's quote below!

dandy_warhol said:
We have so many home improvement projects to attend to but are scared to start because in my experience any little thing you start snowballs into 4 additional projects. We ain't got the time or money for that.


*stares at water stains on ceiling*
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THIS is why I haven't replaced the toilet in my guest bathroom. Pull the toilet out, uh oh, rotten floor joists or a broken toilet flange, etc. etc. Once it's out, be prepared for the worst!
 
Our house is built on a concrete slab so I'm not worried about rotten floor joists. ZG informed me that I will be hiring a plumber to replace the toilet. #SheDoesNotTrustHerHusband
 
Replacing a toilet is relatively easy. The worst is usually getting the 2 bolts off the bottom of the old one. There's a good chance you'll have to cut them off with a hacksaw but no big deal. Clean up the flange really well and get as much of the old wax off you can. Stick an old rag in the pipe to keep sewer gases from coming back up. Be careful with the connections and you should be fine. A good tip I have when placing the new toilet is to take some straws and place them over the toilet bolts. It makes it a lot easier to line up with the holes in the toilet base.

I hate to risk the wrath of ZG but it really is a pretty easy job, especially if it's on a slab. You're going to spend a few hundred extra that you really don't have to. You can do this!
 
MD Planner said:
Replacing a toilet is relatively easy. The worst is usually getting the 2 bolts off the bottom of the old one. There's a good chance you'll have to cut them off with a hacksaw but no big deal. Clean up the flange really well and get as much of the old wax off you can. Stick an old rag in the pipe to keep sewer gases from coming back up. Be careful with the connections and you should be fine. A good tip I have when placing the new toilet is to take some straws and place them over the toilet bolts. It makes it a lot easier to line up with the holes in the toilet base.

I hate to risk the wrath of ZG but it really is a pretty easy job, especially if it's on a slab. You're going to spend a few hundred extra that you really don't have to. You can do this!
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That's the problem. I'd probably cut an essential artery and bleed to death.
 
Richmond Jake said:
Our house is built on a concrete slab so I'm not worried about rotten floor joists. ZG informed me that I will be hiring a plumber to replace the toilet. #SheDoesNotTrustHerHusband
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Oh yeah, easy stuff there. Check out the bolts and if they look fine just do it yourself.
 
Guess what I didn't get accomplished this weekend?? Yup, it was paint. We moved the furniture so that we could paint... and then we went in the living room and watched another episode of Castle. (Spoiler alert -- they caught the murderer.)
 
I painted half of my steps yesterday. The cat immediately walked through the paint and spread cat prints everywhere. My wife's cat was dumb enough to do it twice.
 
Tried my hand at caulking yesterday. Surprisingly easy with the little caulk tool kit I bought. I had to caulk the backsplash to my master bedroom vanity. It had a huge gap on the right hand side and I couldn't get my tool in there so I used the rear end of a Sharpie :lmao:. Unfortunately in my haste to do the work, I accidentally used the wrong caulk type (standard cabinet/baseboard caulk). It probably worked out for the best because the bathroom/kitchen mildew resistant type is nearly 10 dollars a tube as opposed to 3 for standard caulk. I'll run a bead of the mildew resistant stuff over the regular I put down last night so that should work.

No one caulked the crown molding on the kitchen cabinets, so I'll need to do all of those, and basically all the baseboards throughout the house. Basement leaked again today. :-@
 
Kitchen table arrived today. Looks great!

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AG74683 said:
...Basement leaked again today. :-@
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Happened here last spring. My contractor proposed digging into the concrete basement floor 12", filling with gravel, several thou$and.

Instead, I picked up patio pavers to add to the walkway,

Before
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In progress

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Excavating the area to place the new stones made a lot of soil available, which I put alongside the foundation. Eventually this was about 4" additional deep, and I sloped it towards the walkway and edgers...then planted all kinds of stuff in the new strip.

No basement leakage since.

Last fall
12188968_10153209811319562_3802078396199312203_n.jpg
 
Regarding RJ and the toilet replacement - I concur with the others that it is pretty straightforward, especially if you are on a slab (we are on one as well). Shortly after we moved in, I had a plumber out to replace 2 of our 3 toilets and was amazed how easy he made it look. I think each toilet took him about 15 or 20 minutes total. I replaced toilet number 3 myself about a year later and while it did take me a bit more time, it was still pretty easy. However, I hate making the trips to the hardware store for the toilet, seal, etc., taking out the old toilet, cleaning everything up, etc. I probably wouldn't bother doing it myself again.

After a few years of planning, we finally had our old wood deck torn out two weeks ago and they have started putting down a larger brick paver patio complete with some wall bench seating built into it. They should have been done already except we keep getting tons of rain so they are constantly waiting for things to dry out. They got most of the base down on Wednesday but couldn't work yesterday because of rain so they are finishing the base today and the contractor told me they should have the patio surface completed today and then the wall/benches Monday or Tuesday. I keep looking out the back door at the empty spot where the patio should be and wishing it were finished... but the temps are supposed to be in the 30s this weekend so it's not like we would use it yet.

Once it's done, I think it will encourage us to get rid of our old, cheap, drafty, rear sliding doors and windows and replace them with something nicer.

Now if only I could get the cable company to come out and bury the cable lines that go from the pole to the connections in the back of the house...
 
Bought a replacement fixture for the kitchen, something nicer than the standard Wal-Mart flushmount that was in there now. Should be an easy replacement right?

The kitchen/dining room is the only area of the entire house without a swirl texture on the ceiling. Turns out that rather than sand and remove the texture from the original ceiling, they just added another layer of drywall over it. The fixture mount needed spacers to drop it down far enough to mount the new fixture (semi-flush). Once that's done, I painted the ceiling around the fixture so I don't have to take it off when I paint the entire ceiling. Waited two hours for that to dry and went to mount the fixture...just to find out that the hole cut in the second drywall sheet is too large and a half inch gap shows with the new fixture. Cut a drywall patch piece and tried to screw it in with a standard drywall screw...nope...no wood on the other side to bite in to so it's worthless. I laid down some gel superglue and just pushed it up there. I think it will hold since it's not actually bearing any weight and the heat should be mitigated as it's a semi-flush. First patch is on now. It's not gonna look perfect but it will be hard to see anyways I think. Ugh...every 10 minute project turns into hours. :r:
 
AG74683 said:
Bought a replacement fixture for the kitchen, something nicer than the standard Wal-Mart flushmount that was in there now. Should be an easy replacement right?

The kitchen/dining room is the only area of the entire house without a swirl texture on the ceiling. Turns out that rather than sand and remove the texture from the original ceiling, they just added another layer of drywall over it. The fixture mount needed spacers to drop it down far enough to mount the new fixture (semi-flush). Once that's done, I painted the ceiling around the fixture so I don't have to take it off when I paint the entire ceiling. Waited two hours for that to dry and went to mount the fixture...just to find out that the hole cut in the second drywall sheet is too large and a half inch gap shows with the new fixture. Cut a drywall patch piece and tried to screw it in with a standard drywall screw...nope...no wood on the other side to bite in to so it's worthless. I laid down some gel superglue and just pushed it up there. I think it will hold since it's not actually bearing any weight and the heat should be mitigated as it's a semi-flush. First patch is on now. It's not gonna look perfect but it will be hard to see anyways I think. Ugh...every 10 minute project turns into hours. :r:
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You're welcome.
 
Crappy old wooden deck removed:

12512770_10101635045607676_4374478571131011751_n.jpg

12321689_10101635045627636_7310113376418420801_n.jpg


New larger brick paver patio installed:
12717594_10101635045687516_5980627124985309275_n.jpg

10399817_10101635045702486_7341968275922965074_n.jpg

(Yes, that's snow coming down in April :not:)

The contractor is coming over today to replace one broken brick and power wash the back siding, walkway, and driveway and then we're ready for warm weather... if it ever arrives.

Next step, picking out a new back sliding door to replace the drafty, leaky old one.



Veloise said:
You're welcome.
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^ That was going to be my suggestion as well. Those covers come in a pretty wide variety of styles too so you should be able to find one that matches the look you want in the room.
 
Veloise said:
You're welcome.
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Actually not a bad idea! I don't think it would look good in the kitchen though. I'd also then feel compelled to put one on every fixture to match. In any case, my patch looks perfect. I think I may have made it a little too small though, I might have to add another drywall wedge tonight. I pushed some caulk up there too just to make sure it won't budge. Even though I complain when I find stuff like this, I enjoy fixing it. Gives me the chance to learn something new.

I just hate living 30+ minutes from the nearest Lowes Hardware. It's an hour for me to get up there and come back. I need a switch plate and the only Lowes that has it (seriously THE ONLY ONE) is like 35 minutes away. I can order it online, but with shipping the dang thing comes up to about 20 dollars.
 
AG74683 said:
I just hate living 30+ minutes from the nearest Lowes Hardware. It's an hour for me to get up there and come back. I need a switch plate and the only Lowes that has it (seriously THE ONLY ONE) is like 35 minutes away. I can order it online, but with shipping the dang thing comes up to about 20 dollars.
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Amazon? (or Amazon Prime if you roll that way)

I always use it to order small things like that if I know exactly what I need and don't want to make a trip to the hardware store... and I only have to drive 15 minutes to get to two Lowes stores and 3 HDs!
 
WSU MUP Student said:
Amazon? (or Amazon Prime if you roll that way)

I always use it to order small things like that if I know exactly what I need and don't want to make a trip to the hardware store... and I only have to drive 15 minutes to get to two Lowes stores and 3 HDs!
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I've used it A LOT. Funny thing though, they are distinctly lacking in the home improvement area. Plus some of the cheaper items (receptacles, switch plates, etc.) are add on items requiring you to get up to $25.00 to ship. The switch plate I need is not on Amazon either. Most of the time I'm going to Lowes, I don't really know what I need so I just have to browse around.
 
Got a fancy tree this weekend to plant in the yard. Didn't paint (shocking, I know). Cleaned the common rooms. That's improvement, right?
 
ceiling medallion

AG74683 said:
Actually not a bad idea! I don't think it would look good in the kitchen though. I'd also then feel compelled to put one on every fixture to match. In any case, my patch looks perfect. I think I may have made it a little too small though, I might have to add another drywall wedge tonight. I pushed some caulk up there too just to make sure it won't budge. Even though I complain when I find stuff like this, I enjoy fixing it. Gives me the chance to learn something new.
...
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Or look it up on one of those hipster "hack" blogs for a different solution. I once added onto a hole in the tub (my replacement faucet was smaller, so the off-center hole-making was very evident) by way of a white rubber disc. It might have been a doorknob drywall patch cover. There might be a ceiling-colored ceramic or metal plate you could drill a hole in. Kitchen? Dinner plate. Get you a clock with utensils as the hands while you're at it.

Keep in mind things don't have to all look the same; when I replaced my el cheapo white plastic switchplate covers, some ended up being embossed brass, others oak-tone in various shapes. (thanks, Habitat ReStore!)
 
OMG, we painted this weekend!! And let me tell you -- changing roller types to do the touch up third coat was NOT a good idea! Now to head back to the store after work to buy some more paint and a new roller to try one more time. Grrrr!!
 
No changing rollers in the middle of a paint job! I have to do some painting to finish up my steps next week.
 
dvdneal said:
No changing rollers in the middle of a paint job! I have to do some painting to finish up my steps next week.
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I had no idea! The big roller was ready for the garbage so we thought we'd just use the little roller for the few spots that you could see needed a smidge more paint. But of course, the little roller had a smooth finish and the big roller had a bit of texture. Now there are just three spots on the entire wall that are somehow lighter because of the smooth finish. Grrrr!
 
lesson for other Cybs. Smooth rollers are for doors and cabinets. Medium nap is for walls. Rough is used for selected types of paint like patio restore or creating texture with drywall mud. It also helps to pick the right kind of brush, but that isn't as much of a problem since most everything is water based now. If you decide to go oil based, make sure you get the right brush. Whatever you do, don't get a cheap brush! Spend a couple bucks on a good one or just higher a painter.
 
dvdneal said:
lesson for other Cybs. Smooth rollers are for doors and cabinets. Medium nap is for walls. Rough is used for selected types of paint like patio restore or creating texture with drywall mud. It also helps to pick the right kind of brush, but that isn't as much of a problem since most everything is water based now. If you decide to go oil based, make sure you get the right brush. Whatever you do, don't get a cheap brush! Spend a couple bucks on a good one or just higher a painter.
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NOW you tell me!! Where were you all these last few weeks that I've been putting off the painting job? ;)
 
Feel free to ask me your future painting questions. I used to think painting was no big deal because I learned to do it when I was 18. I didn't realize that not everyone knows how to paint until my wife tried to paint a wall in the bathroom back in 2007. She's not allowed to paint anymore.
 
dvdneal said:
Feel free to ask me your future painting questions. I used to think painting was no big deal because I learned to do it when I was 18. I didn't realize that not everyone knows how to paint until my wife tried to paint a wall in the bathroom back in 2007. She's not allowed to paint anymore.
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Can you help with a color selection issue? We found out that our interior color (Sherwin Williams color Mindful Grey) is difficult to touch up. Our builder is asking if we really want that color or if we want something different, mainly because we have 3 little boys, one of which likes to write on the walls.

Do you have any suggestions of any Sherwin Williams colors that would be comparable to that? We are going with a medium/dark hardwood floor, white trim, light cream cabinets, dark gray island, white tile backsplash, and classic salt/pepper granite countertops.


BTW, the town approved the building permit yesterday. I have already contacted to the builder to find out about scheduling the pre-con meeting to get this moving. I still have a goal of being in house by Aug 1.
 
michaelskis said:
Can you help with a color selection issue? We found out that our interior color (Sherwin Williams color Mindful Grey) is difficult to touch up. Our builder is asking if we really want that color or if we want something different, mainly because we have 3 little boys, one of which likes to write on the walls.

Do you have any suggestions of any Sherwin Williams colors that would be comparable to that? We are going with a medium/dark hardwood floor, white trim, light cream cabinets, dark gray island, white tile backsplash, and classic salt/pepper granite countertops.


BTW, the town approved the building permit yesterday. I have already contacted to the builder to find out about scheduling the pre-con meeting to get this moving. I still have a goal of being in house by Aug 1.
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Touch up paint is the hardest thing to do. You never get it just right since the old paint will have some fading and the new paint wont. If it's a small enough area or if it has enough shadow you can get away with it. The bigger the touch up, the more you should just go ahead and paint the whole wall. My advice, use at least satin paint to make cleaning up the crayons easier. The higher the gloss the more durability the paint has to withstand cleaning. The downfall of high gloss paint, the more shine, the more it shows off flaws in the wall.

I'm no color expert. I'm just good at putting the stuff on the wall. I'm not sure why mindful grey would be harder to touch up than another color. I guess it depends on how well colors can blend shades. I would just go a shade lighter or darker, or maybe one hue right or left, but I don't know that it fixes the touch up problem. I like the Dorian Grey just for the name, but it's hard to tell with computer screen colors.
 
michaelskis said:
Can you help with a color selection issue? We found out that our interior color (Sherwin Williams color Mindful Grey) is difficult to touch up. Our builder is asking if we really want that color or if we want something different, mainly because we have 3 little boys, one of which likes to write on the walls.
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If a little one likes to write on the wall, make sure you have a supply of Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. It works great in removing Sharpie pen marks on walls, furniture, ceramic and glass. Don't ask me how I know this, but I can guarantee it works.

Carry on.
 
cf558e8afeddc0d2254aa0752b4f7bf6.jpg


I'm thinking about painting this wall in that chalkboard paint whenever I get around to repainting the kitchen. I'll probably hang a shelf up above head level. Thoughts?
 
You need a smooth wall to do chalkboard paint. If you're good at it, pull out the drywall mud and get to work. Prime it before you paint and the paint now comes in colors. I made a couple pink chalkboards for my girls last year although I don't think pink is your color. Also put in a little ledge to catch the chalk dust.

Easier way to do it:
Get a piece of 1/4" hard board (that thin brown stuff)
Paint it and hang it
Put up some trim around it to make it look fancy.
 
AG74683 said:
cf558e8afeddc0d2254aa0752b4f7bf6.jpg


I'm thinking about painting this wall in that chalkboard paint whenever I get around to repainting the kitchen. I'll probably hang a shelf up above head level. Thoughts?
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My only thoughts are caulk and beer. Nice choices :)
 
dvdneal said:
Touch up paint is the hardest thing to do. You never get it just right since the old paint will have some fading and the new paint wont. If it's a small enough area or if it has enough shadow you can get away with it. The bigger the touch up, the more you should just go ahead and paint the whole wall. My advice, use at least satin paint to make cleaning up the crayons easier. The higher the gloss the more durability the paint has to withstand cleaning. The downfall of high gloss paint, the more shine, the more it shows off flaws in the wall.

I'm no color expert. I'm just good at putting the stuff on the wall. I'm not sure why mindful grey would be harder to touch up than another color. I guess it depends on how well colors can blend shades. I would just go a shade lighter or darker, or maybe one hue right or left, but I don't know that it fixes the touch up problem. I like the Dorian Grey just for the name, but it's hard to tell with computer screen colors.
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This ^. The grey isn't a problem, it's a decent color that will hide some of the normal grime that little kids spread everywhere. If it's a high traffic area like an entryway, corner, stairwell where little hands end up do consider a satin finish which aids in cleaning. The magic eraser works wonders on most cleanups and I make a spray out of warm water, a squirt of dishwasher detergent and two caps of ammonia which pretty much cleans anything tough.
 
Got a house in the heart of the SoCal valley roughly 3 years ago and i've been taking my time to design it and make more modern without overdoing anything. Its been a fun, challenging and unfrogettable learning experience so far. There have been ups and downs (categorized by when i figure out something either works or doesn't work, somedays you just cant get it right). The front of the property used to have a lawn and a garden (that was mostly made out of weeds when i got it) along with an old white picket fence. The back was pretty much the same (in terms of the weeds) and they each required a lot of time and work. My goal was to get rid of all the grass and the weeds, even though i love greenery. However, in California it makes much more sense to have a rock garden or something similar, simply because of the water shortage that we are currently experiencing. So thats what i did, i transformed the front of the house into a beautiful rock garden with a sitting area and it looks great. I did the same thing to the back of the house by surrounding the pool with a partial rock garden.
As for the interior, it was something out of a horror flick when i got the house. The walls were painted about 7 different colors, and the kitchen and the living room were barely recognizeable. I had to break some walls down, move things around and rework the entire color scheme of the house. I ended up going with white, a light grey and black as the colors and they turned out amazing. Those colors really allow light to bounce around the room and makes it feel like there is much more space.
 
MaloneJ said:
My goal was to get rid of all the grass and the weeds, even though i love greenery. However, in California it makes much more sense to have a rock garden or something similar, simply because of the water shortage that we are currently experiencing. So thats what i did, i transformed the front of the house into a beautiful rock garden with a sitting area and it looks great. I did the same thing to the back of the house by surrounding the pool with a partial rock garden.
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One great thing about xeriscaping, though, is once you've installed it you're pretty much done with it. Think of all the time you gain not having to spend X hours every month maintaining the yard.
 
dvdneal said:
You need a smooth wall to do chalkboard paint. If you're good at it, pull out the drywall mud and get to work. Prime it before you paint and the paint now comes in colors. I made a couple pink chalkboards for my girls last year although I don't think pink is your color. Also put in a little ledge to catch the chalk dust.

Easier way to do it:
Get a piece of 1/4" hard board (that thin brown stuff)
Paint it and hang it
Put up some trim around it to make it look fancy.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to go with the easier way. I looked at the wall last night and decided it was just too large to completely cover in chalk paint, especially since I plan on hanging a shelf there, most likely with pegs for a few hats. I get restless in that house with no projects to work on. I think I'll start hanging stuff on the walls this weekend and work on clearing my guest bedroom.
 
Was painting and cleaning for mom's arrival in TWO days when I found a wet spot on the floor in a bedroom. Uh-oh. We pulled everything out of the closet, most of which was my SO's stuff from kidhood. We salvaged some (ugh!), shut off the toilet in the adjoining bathroom, and ended up pulling up moldy carpet at midnight last night. Did I mention we have company coming tomorrow?? And also I'm allergic to mold?

I think we're going to move.
 
Maister said:
One great thing about xeriscaping, though, is once you've installed it you're pretty much done with it. Think of all the time you gain not having to spend X hours every month maintaining the yard.
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I know right? It looks amazing (white stones btw, to contrast with the light greys and whites of the exterior paint) and it reduces the amount of water we will use for the upkeep of our plants and the lawn. Plus it also takes care of the weeds, although they tend to crop up in random pockets of space, but thy are much easier to maintain now.
 
Has anyone installed solar tubes for natural lighting? One bathroom and the laundry room are both interior and have no windows.
 
My city installed smart meters earlier this year for both power and water. They are pretty cool in that you can get instant readings. My meter for my rental property showed that it was using 100 gallons per hour and they called to inform me. I leave work to search for a leak and didn't find one. I called the utility to find out more info and discover that my account was associated with someone else's meter. That explains the higher than normal bill last month. Hopefully, I will get a credit for the over payment.
In the process of searching for the leak, I found a hvac duct that had fell down so I was able to repair that. So it wasn't a wasted search.


michaelskis said:
Has anyone installed solar tubes for natural lighting? One bathroom and the laundry room are both interior and have no windows.
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Ordinarily, I am not a big fan of putting a hole in a perfectly good roof, but solar tubes aren't as bad as skylights as far as leaking goes. I looked at installing one in my master bathroom. The only thing keeping me from doing it is the fact that there are two roofs in the location that I would like to put it and also the ideal spot is in the same location as the existing light fixture. I am looking at installing a new roof in a few years so I might wait and do it then.
 
Big Owl said:
My city installed smart meters earlier this year for both power and water. They are pretty cool in that you can get instant readings. My meter for my rental property showed that it was using 100 gallons per hour and they called to inform me. I leave work to search for a leak and didn't find one. I called the utility to find out more info and discover that my account was associated with someone else's meter. That explains the higher than normal bill last month. Hopefully, I will get a credit for the over payment.
In the process of searching for the leak, I found a hvac duct that had fell down so I was able to repair that. So it wasn't a wasted search.
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Good Lord! Who uses 100 gallons an HOUR for a residence?!

My meter is a smart meter I think. It's super crappy. It's not sitting straight in the box, it is turned towards the left and I can't really read it. It's also permanently full of condensate. I really want them to put a new one in, but I'm not entirely sure they'll do that.
 
Big Owl said:
... solar tubes aren't as bad as skylights as far as leaking goes. I looked at installing one in my master bathroom. The only thing keeping me from doing it is the fact that there are two roofs in the location that I would like to put it and also the ideal spot is in the same location as the existing light fixture. I am looking at installing a new roof in a few years so I might wait and do it then.
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Solar tubes are available in a light fixture version.

Solatube%20Smart%20LED%20image%20500kb.jpg



In my very first house, 1993-2000, I had a contractor place one in the kitchen, to eliminate what was pretty much a black hole. It's possible to add extensions so that the dome part is not shadowed in a roof valley, and I recommend you/your contractor do that.
 
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