How To Change A Toilet

Want to change out your old short toilet for a brand new deluxe model? You can do this. The hardest part of this job is getting it home. Bear in mind that toilets come in two types of bowls. Round and elongated. Sometimes they may have installed a round bowl because of a lack of room for an elongated bowl so that is something you need to look at with your existing toilet. If your bathroom is on the small side and you currently have a round bowl, that is probably the reason and you may have to go back with that type. So definitely check that out. Next, you can get different height toilets which allow for ease in getting up. Most people today go for the higher ones. But that is a matter of choice. Some toilets come with fancy flush valves inside (Kohler) that are difficult and expensive to repair and some are pretty simple (Delta) and inexpensive to repair. Home Depot makes a reasonably priced toilet with a push button flush control on the lid which allows two flushing options. One for a liquid waste flush, which saves water and one for a solid waste flush, which uses more water. It’s sold under their Glacier Bay brand and has a Fluidmaster flush valve inside which is pretty easy and inexpensive to repair. I’ve grown fond of this toilet because I think it is a good value. I would also buy a new metal braided supply line to go with it. There are also waxless options for the toilet seal to the floor. I prefer these because if your drain line ever backs up the waxless options will not blow out like the wax ones will which would require you to pull the toilet to replace the wax ring. All in all it’s a pretty easy job.

Patching Drywall

I personally would use joint compound in a mud pan thinned out with a little water but who am I to argue with Tom Silva. Anyway, any of these methods will work for you. One thing you may run into is if you have a texture on the wall you’ll have to match it after your patch is nice and flat. For that, there are spray textures in cans that you can buy at Home Depot which will work as long as it’s not a knock-down or skip trowel texture. For those, you will need a lot of practice, a drywall guy or a wider range of acceptability.