Fixing up the house

Now that the toilet has been loosened and you are ready to take it out you need to know that there is a wax ring at the bottom of it that makes the seal to the plumbing and it sticks down under the toilet. This will need to be covered with plastic (like one of those grocery bags) or paper or removed so it wont make a mess if you set it down on the floor. I don’t think you are going to want to clean the wax off the floor.

Maybe you should get some help carrying the toilet out of the house. They are very awkward to carry alone. Now plug the hole in the floor so you don’t have to smell the sewer gases while you take the vanity apart. You can stuff an old rag in the hole or there are plastic plugs you can get from the hardware store that are made just for the floor flange.

If you have an old house that has the lead toilet plumbing you will need to upgrade this. I have gone and purchased a new flange that will slip down into the lead and then sealed it between the flange and the lead with the wax ring and then screwed the new flange to the floor. Use a new wax ring for this. The one that is just wax with no plastic in it. This is a little messy but it makes a seal that will last as long as the plumbing will.

If you can get to the main drain from under the toilet without tearing out your ceiling then it is better to change the lead to ABS and glue it together. You can get rubber grommets that hook the ABS to the cast iron sewer pipe and make a very tight seal.

Now back to the vanity. You should have the water supply lines disconnected now but if not go ahead and remove them. (turn off the valves so you don’t get a shower under the sink. Usually a clockwise rotation to turn them off.)

Remove the drain P-trap. Now it is time to get the top off the vanity. You will have a few different possible ways to get the sink off. If it is a one piece top with molded sink then it will be glued somehow to the vanity so you will need a putty knife to wedge under the top between the vanity and top to get it cut loose. If the screws holding the vanity to the wall can be accessed when the top is in place and you can get them out then the top can just remain on the vanity and the screws removed and the vanity carried away complete.

The other way of getting the sink off is a drop in sink that is simply glued with adhesive caulk to the top. Once again the putty knife comes into play and you wedge it under the sink edge and cut it loose. (Caution here, if you are reusing the sink be careful and gentle when cutting it loose so you don’t chip the edge and make it ugly.)

Now the counter top pulled loose and the screws or nails that hold the vanity to the wall are removed and the vanity carried out.

Now you should be down to the bathtub on a simple bathroom.

You will have already made the decision on whether or not to keep the tub. If you are keeping it then maybe you want to cover it up to protect it. You can purchase a thin plastic tub liner-protector from the Home Depot or Lowes that will work great. They are cheap and worth it.

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I got very busy the last couple months and haven’t had much time for posting here. But I am back now and here we go. The last thing we were on was the taping of the drywall in the bathroom. If you have already done taping in the past you have a good idea of the basics for doing a good job.

The desired result you are looking for is not being able to see where the taping joints are and a smooth wall. The wall can be textured any way you prefer or it can be left smooth. Smooth wall finish is the most work of all the ways to finish. First thing is to get all of the tools you will need together. Also you are going to need taping compound, enough drywall tape to cover the seams in the whole room, corner metal for any outside corners and some method of getting up to the ceiling and high seams (ladder, bench or plank across buckets). You will also need a few different taping knives, such as a 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″ and a 12″ should be enough for the job. Also a inside corner knife would make the corner taping easier. A mud tray for holding the joint compound, sanding pole and strips of sand paper that are made to fit it. 100 grit paper for the rough sanding and then the 150 grit for the finish sanding.

Now you should be ready to go. Make sure there is nothing in the room that doesn’t need to be there so you are free to move around without having to look for obstacles on every step. Using the 4″ knife you will scoop a portion of mud (joint compound) and you spread a thin layer on each side of the seam you are going to cover. The mud goes on the wall first and then the tape is placed over it. Then you take the 4″ knife and pressing firmly on top of the tape you drag the knife across the tape to push the excess mud from underneath the tape, this is called “wiping”. If you use too much mud it will fall out and splatter on the floor as you go. So try to be a bit sparing as you go to avoid a huge mess but you also have to make sure there are no air pockets under the tape. Play around with the amount you put on to see what works best for you. This is where a second person can be of help. You place the mud and tape and they help you hold up the tape for long lengths. When you are doing an inside corner you will use the corner knife to wipe the mud from the taped seam and this will give you a nice clean corner. When you are wiping the tape it is a good idea to carry the mud tray so you can put the excess mud in it as you go. Wipe a foot or two and then clean the knife on the edge of the tray so the mud goes back in the tray.

Any mud you put on the seams needs to be wiped down before you take any breaks. If it hardens in lumps on the wall it is more work than you want to get it off. Likewise with the mud tray. If you are going to take a break then take a wet rag and lay it over the mud tray and scrape the knife off so it is clean. Then take your break. After you have taped every seam in the room and wiped every seam so there is no excess mud on the walls and ceiling it is time to let it dry completely.

What I have found over the years is best for me is to make sure I have no large amounts of mud left on any part of the job. This will pay off in the end as you will have far less sanding to do. I really dislike too much sanding.

Now when the first layer is dry it is time to apply a first coat over all of the seams. This is done with the 6″ knife so you are spreading out wider than the 4″ you did in the beginning. Make as smooth a coat as you can and try to keep the edges tapered as thin as possible. This will pay off in the next step by cutting down on the sanding. Once every seam now has a second coat and there are no excess lumps of mud it is time to clean the tools and tray. The unused mud can be returned to the bucket to be kept from drying out and can be used again later. Get all of the tools cleaned of all the mud and then get them dry.

If they are not stainless steel they will get a fine layer of rust and this will get on your taping job and look ugly. Of course it wont hurt anything but I personally don’t like my good work looking dirty.

Now when the joints are dry again it is time to put on another thin coat and to make it wider than the last one. You are getting close to finishing. When the third coat is all dry you will sand it all smooth and look for imperfections like lines and gouges or dimples. Fill these and let them dry then a light sanding again. Look for the imperfections again and when you are satisfied that you did a good job it is time to paint on the primer. Once the primer is on and dried look the job over again to see if there were any missed imperfections that show up nicely when the primer is there. If you find any then take some mud and fill them and let them dry.

Now smooth the repairs out if there are any and it is time for the texture. Texturing is not a difficult job but it does need you to pay attention to what area you have sprayed and to keep the spraying as even as possible. You can rent a texture hopper and air pump to do the job with If you don’t own a hopper and a compressor or have access to them then rental is the best way. If you don’t intend to do more texturing then don’t go and buy any equipment.

Try to spray as evenly as you can so when the paint is on the whole wall and ceiling are uniform. Try to stand back as far as you can from the wall so you can have better control of the amount of texture you get on the wall. Remember that texture sprayed on too heavily will run just like paint and the only way to fix it is to scrap it off the wall and spray again. The best way I have found to mix texture is to use the taping compound and mix more water in to it. This will thin it out so it can be sprayed easily. you need it like thick pea soup, not runny but it will slump when scooped in a pile. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

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Cheers for now

Glenn

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