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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Alright, now the entire room is ready to be transformed. If you’re keeping the original tub then you have less work to do. Maybe you’re thinking of tiles or a tub surround (unless you have one of those one or two piece fiberglass tub/shower units) to change the looks of the tub/shower area. We can work with anything here.

Now is where the creativity begins. Take a look at your plans for the room and decide where you want to start. With just a light remodel you will have a toilet and vanity/sink combo to change and with complete gut and replace everything you will have a good amount of work on your hands.

With this article I’m going all the way for the gut and replace. I will also have details for the light remodel but I want to cover the complete picture so as not to leave anyone out.

I’ve told you how to remove all of the items in the room except the cabinets on the wall. Maybe a built in medicine cabinet or a wall mount one with a mirror on it. These generally are removable with screws. Be cautious that you don’t pull out the last screw with nothing holding up the cabinet. When they fall they don’t do well. There are also towel racks to remove. Most of these have a little screw under the bottom edge of the wall ring that holds them to a bracket. No need to pull the screw all the way out. Just a little ways to get the plate off the bracket.

Ok, here we go. To gut the whole place you will have to remove all of the drywall/plaster and discard it. No sense in reusing drywall if you are gutting a room. once you have all of the drywall pried off the wall you pull out all of the screws and or nails and get clean studs. The outside wall needs to have insulation when you put the new drywall on. So if there is none there now plan on getting some.

This is the perfect time to add new outlets, move plumbing or move a wall. You can make a raised deck if you have the room and you can install a sky lite. Maybe a new quieter and more powerful exhaust fan and/or recessed lighting. It’s your call.

If you are thinking of moving plumbing and not sure if you can do the work then hire a plumber to come move it for you. That way it will be done correctly. You aren’t looking for a complete re plumb of the house so you shouldn’t have to pay a huge price. A true plumber will be fair and get the work done fast and to code.

You can do the same with electrical or just get one of those electrical books from the library and do it yourself. This is not a good platform for me to go into how to wire and how to plumb. There are many books available for that.

Now when everything is where you want it it’s time to start putting the drywall on. This is not a hard task to perform. It is awkward and a little heavy and you may want to have someone else do it for you. This is fine and I would hire a drywall company to hang and tape it to paint ready. This will be the easiest way by far but if you are ready to tackle it yourself then I’ll walk you through it.

First thing is the ceiling, otherwise known as the “lid” in drywall terms. Get a friend or two and keep the beer away from them till the drywall is up. This way you will get a better product with less damage of the drywall. In the ceiling there are going to be cutouts for the lighting and ventilation. The easiest way to make these holes is with a drywall saw. You will need to locate the spot on the drywall for the hole before you hang it on the ceiling. This takes two measurements, one from the side and one from the end. The drywall is designed to run across the ceiling joists not with them for it’s best strength. Now get your measurement from the end and make a pencil mark on the drywall. Then take the other one from the side. If it is the light box then the measurements are of the center and if the exhaust fan then you will get each side. A drywall T-square is handy here.

Once the drywall is marked out with the holes try to visualize if you grabbed the sheet and rolled it upside down over your head if the holes will be on the correct spots. If it seems backwards then the measurements could be from the wrong side on the sheet. When you are satisfied they are in the right places it is time to saw the holes out. The round hole for the light box needs to be cut out round and close to the size of the box so you don’t have to fix it with taping. So just big enough to slip over the box edge and same with the fan box. Now get the sheet lifted up and screw or nail it into place. You will need screws at each point available around the perimeter and then along each ceiling joist in the middle you will need at least 3 screws evenly spaced across the sheet. This will make a permanent application.

Now it is time for the next sheet. Follow the same steps as before and take all of the side measurements from the side of the drywall you just hung till you have covered the whole ceiling.

Now comes the walls. There are three way to hang the walls. You can stand the sheets up from the floor to the ceiling or you hang from side to side which is the professional way. There are two ways to hang from side to side. One way is to hang the top sheet first and then the bottom and the other way is hand the bottom first and stack the top on it. When you pick out the way you like you will be ready to get started.

Let’s say you will be stacking with the bottom first. Measure the length of the wall. If the wall is longer than the drywall then measure to the nearest length but not longer and you will cut the sheet to the middle of the stud. If there are holes to be made in the sheet then the same methods as before should be used. This time you will measure from the floor up and from one of the sides. Tackle the water wall first to get it out of the way. Once that is done you should be able to tackle the rest of the room from what you have learned so far.

See you on the next post. Where I will go over the taping of the drywall you just hung.

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