Bedroom Update

Before moving in to the master bedroom I wanted to update it so we wouldn't have to move out of it again later. This meant updating the trim, doors, paint, and fixtures. I started by painting a corner of the room with some sample colors from Sherwin Williams.

Poised taupe and linen.

With the colors agreed upon I started to remove all of the moulding. This meant pulling the baseboard, shoe moulding, door trim, and window trim. We'll be putting up a new trim that will have a more detailed profile than the simple curved design that was installed. By removing the moulding before painting I won't have to be as precise when I cover the walls since the trim will cover and bad lines around the windows and doors and floor. We will be changing out the ceiling fan as well so I will be painting the ceiling later, too.

Bare window. 

Door trim gone, baseboard is next.

I just started removing moulding in a corner and worked my way around the room, working on the windows as I got to them. The work went quickly but now I'm left with a lot of trim full of nails that is stacked in the basement. I'll address that later since my workshop isn't put together yet and I will have to chop that debris up and bend in all the nails before discarding. I started putting up the trim I built from flat stock I picked up at Lowe's. Some 1x2 and 1x3 lumber is all it took.

Removed moulding.

New moulding style.

The new moulding is a craftsman style and will be painted white when it is all installed. I also caulked any gaps and where the moulding met the wall giving a nice clean finish.

Painted and caulked.

As part of this update I also changed all of the almond colored outlets and switches to white which helps clean up the look of the room and makes it all match. The doors are still the hollow core oak but will be replaced with white three panel doors in the future. Despite the darker accent wall, the overall look is much brighter than it was before we moved in. The refinished floors certain help and are a welcome change from the dark maroon carpets that were there.

Proper Poopers

One of the things that has bothered me since we got the house has been the very old toilets that don't quite flush right. They are also quite low for someone of my height so I wanted to upgrade them. The one in the lower bath also had a crack in the wooden seat and this finally gave way during our holiday party. The seat split totally in half and I decided it was time to just swap out both commodes. The downstairs bath was much easier than the upstairs and you'll see why below. But let's start with the simpler replacement first. It starts by turning of the supply and draining the tank and bowl then removing the supply connection and closet bolts holding the bowl to the floor.

The original pooper with tank top removed.

Using a small putty knife I removed the old wax ring from the closet flange and removed the old closet bolts. I also scraped off the caulking that was around the base of the old toilet. Then I installed the new bolts and applied the new wax ring to the bottom of the new bowl. When installing the new bowl you need to set it down flat using even pressure to ensure the wax ring makes a proper seal. Align the closet bolts and set the bowl down over the flange. Using the provided washers and nuts I tightened down the bowl snugly but not too tight as the porcelain can easily crack. Then it was just a matter of attaching the tank and new supply and filling it up.

New toilet installed.

The upstairs toilet wasn't quite so straightforward. Unfortunately the base of the new toilet is much larger which interfered with the existing supply line that come up through the floor. So in order to install the new toilet I had to move the supply line and I started by using my oscillating tool to cut the floor open. There were several layers to cut through: top vinyl, 1/4" plywood, more vinyl, 3/4" plywood, and then the 2x6 flooring over the joists.

Notice the supply location and starting cutout.

More flooring removed down to the 2x6 base layer.

After removing all of the flooring I cut the pipe below the floor and removed the above floor portion. I dry fit a length of pipe with a straight joint to get the length I need the supply moved over. I also capped a straight bit of pipe and attached an elbow for that will turn the pipe to come above the floor. This section I soldered separately since the elbow is very close to a joist in the floor and I wouldn't have enough room to solder when in the joist cavity. The only joint I needed to solder in the floor was the straight joint and I used a piece of fire cloth to protect the wood in the floor from catching fire from the plumber's torch.

Moved supply.

After all of the connections were made I turned the water back on to test the joints and everything held strong. I then proceeded to rebuild the floor back to the height of the rest of the bathroom with the pieces I removed. I bored a new hole for the moved supply line with a 3/4" paddle bit in my drill. I fastened the flooring down with some 1 5/8" screws. After the flooring was put back in place I turned the water back off so I could install the new valve for the supply line. I used a compression fitting so I wouldn't have to solder any more.

Flooring replaced.

I didn't bother gluing down the vinyl since we will replace all of the flooring when the bathroom remodel happens. The toilet covers most of the cuts anyway so nobody will really notice it.

Installed.

After all that was done I could actually install the toilet like I did downstairs. This went very smoothly from this point forward and only took a few minutes to do. If you don't have to move a water line, a toilet upgrade is actually very simple.