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This is a builder house, and a builder that went out of business before they could get to court on the charges the AG brought against them. However, for me that means that quite a lot of the bathroom wallpaper (along with 20 years of nicotine coloration on it) is coming off quite easily because it's only glued here and there. Unreal, but I know how to do it and it's going well and the drywall under is even properly treated.
But halfway through it suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea how on earth I'm going to get the stuff off the wall behind the toilet tank. I've got about the usual inch of space in which to work and don't, please, suggest removing the toilet or the tank, which is far beyond my abilities. What do I do?
Removal of the tank is the only way to get that paper off.
Turn off the water at the supply valve
Flush toilet
Unscrew the supply hose going to tank (bottom right side)
Unbolt the tank. Two bolts on the bottom where tank meets toilet top
Unbolt the toilet. Two bolts on left and right side at the base
Scrape the wax ring out
Go buy new wax ring and a toilet install kit. The install kit will have all new gaskets and bolts. Which should be periodically replaced anyway
It’s literally 10 minutes to remove and maybe 20 to reinstall.
The house is at least 20 years old and you're complaining that it was the fault of a "stick builder" who went out of business years ago....and you were thinking of taking them to court? Why?
Things go bad, drywall cracks, floors get scratched, plumbing fixtures lose the seals on their gaskets, the motors on fans go bad....it's called home ownership, it's called maintenance.....just replace or repair and get over it.
Besides, what's up with the 20 years worth of nicotine stains? Surely that isn't the builder's fault. I'm not sure how your first sentence has any relevance to the rest of the post.
Now, to be at least a little bit constructive:
As others have suggested, this calls for pros and a whole bathroom makeover.
Removal of the tank is the only way to get that paper off.
Turn off the water at the supply valve
Flush toilet
Unscrew the supply hose going to tank (bottom right side)
Unbolt the tank. Two bolts on the bottom where tank meets toilet top
Unbolt the toilet. Two bolts on left and right side at the base
Scrape the wax ring out
Go buy new wax ring and a toilet install kit. The install kit will have all new gaskets and bolts. Which should be periodically replaced anyway
It’s literally 10 minutes to remove and maybe 20 to reinstall.
Stick to electrical- "removal the tank" only requires shutting off water, flushing toilet to empty tank, removing 2 or 3 bolts that secure the "tank" to the toilet, remove tank. Reverse order to reinstall with new bolts, rubber washers, and a new "foam seal" where the outlet from the tank meets the inlet for the toilet.
You don't have to remove the toilet, or replace the wax ring.
don't, please, suggest removing the toilet or the tank, which is far beyond my abilities. What do I do?
This begs the question, just how many of your friends toilets have you looked behind? It's common as dirt that the area behind the commode tank is not painted or finished. You get as much of the wallpaper off as you can. Then when you paint, get as far behind the tank as possible with a long handle brush. For picky folks, the tank comes off and for most folks, taking the tank off is not a big deal but if you don't want to fool with it, I can assure you not many folks are going to go looking behind your commode.
I "babbled" about what I thought the reason was that the paper was coming off so easily. If I didn't, it would have been the first question someone asked. My experience so far is to grab the facing, pull it all the way off, then pull off the unglued paper and the few bits that are left, I spray them with room temperature water and nothing else, and they can be rolled back with my thumb. All those who have scored and steamed and scraped and suffered, and there are lots of you, sorry, and I wanted it explained right off.
All the helpful suggestions, like the garbage bag around the tank, thanks. I was going to get a thin roller, as long as possible, and use a short stick handle and I can access both sides and have some room at the bottom if I don't use the stick.
I'm female, I'm small, and I'm not young, and when I say I can't take the tank off, I know my limitations, so what's the point in telling me to go ahead and do something I already told you I'm not doing? I have no one to help me and I can't manage it and that's that. I'm getting really fed up with the snark on these forums.
Yeah, as a 62 year old woman with a bad back and a worse neck, there ain't nobody gonna convince me it's a piece of cake to remove and replace a toilet. So, I get it.
A steamer of some kind should make the wallpaper just pull away pretty easily. And as far as painting, odds are nobody will ever notice if the paint job is perfect behind the toilet. I'd just tape it off as best I could, and just go crazy with a brush to try to get the paint into the edges around the toilet as best I can.
When I paint, etc., I worry about it being perfect, but in my wise years have learned that most people never notice the little imperfections I worry about. Hence, I don't worry about them as much myself anymore.
I do believe in using the right tools, though, because it makes the job easier. Any kind of steamer or some way of getting the wallpaper really wet should make it easier to just pull it away.
Removal of the tank is the only way to get that paper off.
Turn off the water at the supply valve
Flush toilet
Unscrew the supply hose going to tank (bottom right side)
Unbolt the tank. Two bolts on the bottom where tank meets toilet top
Unbolt the toilet. Two bolts on left and right side at the base
Scrape the wax ring out
Go buy new wax ring and a toilet install kit. The install kit will have all new gaskets and bolts. Which should be periodically replaced anyway
It’s literally 10 minutes to remove and maybe 20 to reinstall.
No reason to remove the tank from the toilet. It is quicker and easier to just unbolt the entire toilet from the flange and remove it all in one piece.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
Yeah, as a 62 year old woman with a bad back and a worse neck, there ain't nobody gonna convince me it's a piece of cake to remove and replace a toilet. So, I get it.
A steamer of some kind should make the wallpaper just pull away pretty easily. And as far as painting, odds are nobody will ever notice if the paint job is perfect behind the toilet. I'd just tape it off as best I could, and just go crazy with a brush to try to get the paint into the edges around the toilet as best I can.
When I paint, etc., I worry about it being perfect, but in my wise years have learned that most people never notice the little imperfections I worry about. Hence, I don't worry about them as much myself anymore.
I do believe in using the right tools, though, because it makes the job easier. Any kind of steamer or some way of getting the wallpaper really wet should make it easier to just pull it away.
Bad back and worse neck? Seems like fighting to remove wall paper behind a toilet being all bent over and having to put your head against the wall causing your neck to be in strained positions for an hour would be far worse than simply unbolting the toilet and dragging it over to the side.
This is sort of like the guys that try to work on their own car and refuse to take advice. They will work for 2 hours trying to do something that would have taken 15 minutes if they would just take 2 minutes to simply remove the alternator to get it out of the way and make more room to work. I have seen guys do that I don't know how many times and they want to argue with you about how they don't need to remove the alternator to do it because the alternator isn't bolted to it.
Hey, it's an ordinary house. Get as much of the paper off as you can, paint behind the tank as best you can, and declare victory. It's the toilet, for cryin' out loud. If the paint job behind the toilet is imperfect, no one will care.
I am a grown man with excellent mechanical skills and in robust health. And I would not pull the toilet, or even just the tank, for something like this. And yes, I know how to pull and reinstall a toilet, whether it be the whole terlit or just the tank off the base.
I also know how 'easy' removing the tank or toilet is ....uh....except if I tried to bend over and lift the GD thing off, my back would be out for week!
I just had to have one removed for new flooring and is the only time anybody but me knew there was a small section behind it with the original color.
Hey, it's an ordinary house. Get as much of the paper off as you can, paint behind the tank as best you can, and declare victory. It's the toilet, for cryin' out loud. If the paint job behind the toilet is imperfect, no one will care.
I am a grown man with excellent mechanical skills and in robust health. And I would not pull the toilet, or even just the tank, for something like this. And yes, I know how to pull and reinstall a toilet, whether it be the whole terlit or just the tank off the base.
I would never redo a bathroom and leave an unpainted/unfinished section behind the toilet. That's just "trailer park".
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