Repairing the Toilet

The master bathroom has a toilet that has been very difficult to flush. This was probably due to the type of flush valve it had on it. Instead of a normal flapper, it had a tube that was lifted vertically, requiring the entire seal to be broken at once rather than peeled up like a flapper would. See the pictures below to help understand what I'm describing. Well the plastic flush lever finally gave way last night so while I was replacing it I figured I would replace the valve as well to make it easier to flush.

The broken lever.

Here is the strange flush valve that pulls straight up.

The first step in any toilet repair is to turn off the water and drain the tank. The tank is typically held on by two or three bolts (mine had three). I also removed the filler at this point to avoid breaking it as I worked.

Turn off the water.

Tank removed.

The flush valve is fastened to the tank with a large plastic nut covered by the tank gasket seen above. The gasket just pulls off and the nut is removed fairly easily.

Removed the old flush valve.

Below is the new flush valve on the left with the old valve on the right. Notice the very different mechanisms.

New (L) and old (R) valves.

After replacing the old valve I just reverse the steps to reattach the tank being sure to properly seat the gasket to avoid leaks. I slowly turned the water back on to fill the tank and check for leaks. Notice that the new valve is offset to the left, this is to allow free movement of the fill bulb which opens and closes the fill valve depending on water level in the tank.

Refilling with water.

Next I replaced the broken lever with a new metal one I picked up at Lowe's. With the stronger lever and better valve, this should last quite some time.

Brass lever replaces plastic.

Adjusting the chain.

The last step was to adjust the flapper chain. This step is also useful if you have a running toilet. Adjusting the chain length determines how well the flapper valve is seated and can eliminate slow leaks that cause toilets to run every so often.

Trimming Out Cabinets

With the addition of the pantry cabinet, I wanted to add some class to the kitchen. Since I was again going to HOBO since I forgot to purchase the toekick, I also picked up some crown molding. These details add a nice touch to the kitchen and it was fun installing it all.

Missing toekick.

The bottom of the pantry was a little odd as the sides of the carcass weren't squared off for the toekick, the corner was rounded. To accommodate this, I notched the top corners of the board and it went in easily. I attached it with a few brads.

Notching.

Installed toekick.

Next up was the crown molding. Since the face frame of the cabinets was about 1/8" proud of the side panels I had to either notch the molding, notch the face frame, or build a nailing strip on top of the cabinet. I took the last of those options and nailed some 3/4" x 3/4" stock on top. This acted as a place to align my molding and nail it from behind as to hide the fasteners.

Nailing strip attached.

To cut the molding you have to position it on the saw correctly. After you get your measurements you need to flip the molding upside down in order to cut the miter properly. This video from This Old House gives very good instruction on how to do this. Thankfully I didn't have any inside corners as I do not yet own a coping saw.

Flip the molding!

First cabinet.

Upper cabinets all done.

Pantry completed.

If I do any more crown molding I will probably need a coping saw. My miters are okay but could use some improvement. A small jig may have helped to hold the molding firmly in the correct position better than I was doing by hand. The molding is just brad nailed from behind with 1 1/4" nails from my air nailer. This tool made the project go by very quickly.

Pantry Cabinet

I'm going to try to keep a record of my home improvement projects here. I want to keep this separate from my woodworking blog but to have it fill a similar role. I have quite the TODO list ahead of me so I expect this blog to grow somewhat quickly, more so in the summer. I've already done some things around the place previous to starting this record, these include installing the appliances, installing the disposal, and upgrading some of the closet space in the main bedroom.

The first project I have is a pantry cabinet. In preparation for a kitchen remodel further down the road, I sought out a retailer of cabinets that match our current ones. Reddit to the rescue! A user there was able to inform me that HOBO stocks my cabinets with the same finish and design. I picked up an 18" utility cabinet and shelf kit today and installed it.

The corner that I will be working with.

Original purple? Removed the chair rail.

Removed the molding.

I cut the molding with a Japanese razor saw from Woodcraft. This worked great except on the base molding where I couldn't cut right down to the floor. I needed to pry the molding away from the wall to finish the cut. Both the chair rail and the base molding wrap around the corner of the wall and butt up against the front of the cabinet. This required me to cut them to size which I did on the miter saw. I used several drywall screws to fasten the cabinet to the walls after finding the studs. I made sure to countersink the screws to give a cleaner appearance.

Installed.

Shelves inserted.

As I was putting up the cabinet, I realized I had forgotten to buy toe kick for it. This isn't a major problem as I just have to nail it to the base. I think we will also be adding crown molding to this cabinet as well as the others. This was a fairly easy project and I'm glad I have a hand truck which made moving the cabinet from the garage to the house much easier.