Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Selling A Kohler Toilet On Craigslist

Remember the almond toilet that came with our master bedroom (which we recently switched out for a taller and cleaner-looking white one)? Well, for a while the old almond guy – who looks oddly white in this picture below – just sat in our entryway. What, is that weird?

Old Toilet By Front Door

The reason? We decided to try our hand at Craigslisting it. Once John found out it was an over $1300 (!!!) toilet by Kohler (more on that here) he was convinced we could get some money for it from someone in search of an upscale almond toilet. You’d be amazed what people buy on Craigslist by the way. And a few days later… we sold it! For $80! The nicest family (a man with two young boys and a baby girl) came over to grab it after work one night last week. I know it’s nerdy, but it felt so good to know that our old john was going to a loving home. Haha. The funniest part was that when they all left with the toilet and we were waving at the window with Clara (she requires that we wave at everyone walking away from our house) she said “I go in car too!” Yup, the girl apparently liked the toilet and the new family so much that she wanted to leave with them.

Although we were initially looking at the $80 that we made on the sale of the old “fancy toilet” as a nice little credit towards our new one (which was $88), a few days later we heard about a sweet local family (a single mother named Chevelle with six children) that Habitat For Humanity is helping out. And we learned that for an $100 donation we could buy them a toilet for their new soon-to-be-built house.

Toilet Habitat

So we happily put our $80 Craigslist profit plus twenty bucks of our own into an $100 toilet donation for Chevelle’s family. If anyone else feels like helping them out – here’s the link. Habitat is such a great organization. We’re fans. But anyway, now that we’ve covered the subject of used (and new) toilets, let’s get on to the whole door trimming thing.

Door Before0

You probably remember us mentioning that the bottom of our bathroom door needed to be trimmed so it would open all the way instead of getting caught on an air vent in the floor.

Door Hits Grate

Not only was it annoying that the door wouldn’t fully open due to grinding up against the vent, but we also couldn’t have a bath mat because the bottom of the door would just wad it up and push into it since it couldn’t just pass over even the thinnest options. Which meant wet puddles on the floor outside the tub every day. Which just happens to be right in front of the toilet. Do you know how gross it is to go to the bathroom with your feet in puddles? Granted they’re clean bathwater puddles, but still – your brain can go to a dark place. And if you have socks on and you walk into the bathroom: wet socks. The worst.

So this week’s bathroom door-trimming update is also this week’s Dude Get On That Already challenge, because… dude…. how have we not gotten on this sooner?

  Door Before1

To remedy this situation, we cut down the door. It really wasn’t bad at all. First we removed the door by removing the hinge screws to slowly release it (two people = the best way to do something like this to avoid the door slamming down to the ground and scaring the bejeesus out of you).

  Removing Door

Then John and I carried the door out to the patio where we had set up the table saw. John pushed the door against the guide next to the blade as I pushed the door slowly into the blade to get a nice clean cut off the bottom. Update: Matt very kindly taught us a safer way to cut down a door, so read about that here. Safety first!

  Cutting Door

We probably took between half an inch and a third of an inch off since it was such a tight fit before and we wanted to make sure it would clear the vent on the floor and the future bath mat that we’d be adding to solve the whole puddle problem.

  Cutting Door Close

Then I sanded the bottom of the door to clean up any roughness before we rehung it (since once we rehung it we’d have a hard a$$ time getting sandpaper under it to smooth that area out).

  Sanding Bottom Of Door

Then we rehung the door about a half-hour later by using the same screws that we removed from the hinges.

  Hanging Door

Oh happy day! We cleared the vent! Still have to do some quick paint touch ups along the bottom lip, but it’s looking pretty good.

Door Cut After

Then I took a minute to add a doorstop on the bottom right edge of the door so the towel hooks on the back of the door wouldn’t slam open into the art that’s hanging on that side wall.

  Door Stop

So now our bathroom to-do list looks like this:

  • paint the walls so they have some contrast
  • replace the boob light
  • paint the cream trim white
  • hang some bathroom-friendly art
  • craigslist the toilet and replace it with a classic white one
  • do something to add privacy to the window
  • nix the ugly and cluttered showerhead caddy
  • remove the door so we can shave the bottom (and add a door stopper so it doesn’t squash the art)
  • finally get a bath mat
  • replace the border tile around the room (maybe in phase 2?)
  • move the blue pendant light to hang centered in front of the window (phase 2?)
  • replace the floor tile down, just to break things up since there’s so much of it (definitely phase 2)

John and I are still discussing when we’ll tackle things like cutting out that border tile and replacing it (along with rehanging the light to be centered on the window) so we’ll keep you posted if it’s right around the corner, and will be back with a full budget breakdown for all of Phase One if we decide to hold off on that other stuff for a little while. But enough about us. What about you guys? Have you sold any secondhand toilets? Bought any new ones? Cut down any doors?

Psst- To follow this bathroom sprucing project from the start, check out this planning post, this painting post, this light-swapping post, this art and trim-painting post, this toilet-updating post, and this window frosting and shampoo wrangling post.

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s definitely something that can help! If it’s a really old painted door you might want to use a lead paint test stick from Home Depot just to be sure you’re not sanding lead paint but most doors are painted a lot later (after lead paint)! Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  3. Lynn @ SafeBeauty says

    Other than installing a new flushy knob on our master toilet, nothing going on in there but the rent. But tomorrow we are off to the Habitat ReStore because mama is seriously on the hunt for some wood for our new platform bed we will be starting to make next week. Squeals all around! If it’s nice and cheap to get solid wood from there then it’s on. But if all they have are teensy weensy particle board, then off to Big Blue and Orange, and then if all else fails-IKEA here we come.

    My best, Lynn

    Reply

  4. Bianca C. says

    Haven’t cut down any doors or replaced toilets, but I’ve been helping my grandpa paint the outside of the house, and of course gardening at least everyday :)

    Reply

  7. Claire says

    Can I ask why you didn’t just take the pins out of the hinges instead of unscrewing the hinge from the door? Is there some master DIY reason why that’s better?

    Small things can make you so much happier with your home. :)

    Reply

  11. Amy Jester says

    I am so excited to see how you cut out the accent tile – we have a bath that is in need of a similar fix and I am dying to see how you do it.

    Reply

  12. Christi says

    Just when I thought I could not love your blog more, you go and…. Totally redeem yourself! Sorry for the dumb and dumber reference!

    I love that you gave your potty to a good cause! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I love that movie. My BFF and I say “you go and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF” like a million times a day. Haha. Also “Aspen, where the beer flows like wine.”

      xo,
      s

  14. Ashley says

    Big wahoo for the door opening. When we moved into our house, we had the opposite problem…we had to have the subfloor replaced in the bathroom, and they took out LAYERS of flooring…thus leaving the bottom of the door an inch from the floor…it looked like the door was wearing short pants…you know, the look I rocked through middle school until I figured out an appropriate length pant. It was a happy day when we finally replaced it.

    And I love that you donated the money for that sweet family to have a toilet…and a home of their own :)

    Reply

  16. Lauren@FilingJointly says

    Wet socks are my second least favorite thing ever. First least favorite? Running out of cheese.

    And no toilet todos for me right now, but we did just sign on our new house! And we’re having built-ins installed before we move in which means I totally get a library!

    Now I’ll have a place to house my (literally) thousands of books and my husband won’t be able to complain about “drowning in books” any longer.

    Although I don’t know what his problem was. I’d much rather drown in books than say…water or something.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Amen on the running out of cheese thing. Clara must feel the same way because on Tuesday it happened and we both had a rough time. Haha.

      As for the new house- congrats! That’s amazing! Can’t wait for pics of everything!

      xo,
      s

    • Lauren@FilingJointly says

      I find the best way to combat the running out of cheese thing is just to text my husband the word “CHEESEMERGENCY” (my iPhone actually recognizes it as a word now.)

      Then he knows to stop at the store for cream cheese on his way home. It’s actually really effective.

  19. Elaina says

    Ok, completely off topic from toilets and doors and moving onto the sandpaper pic:

    It really looks like that hand is missing half of the thumb?! I checked it out for a few mintues, comparing and moving my thumb in different positions! Does this make me weird? lol

    Reply

  20. Allie ~Theinspiredmomma says

    That’s awesome you got so much for your old toilet and donated the $$…very cool! And yay for getting the door done so you can have a bath mat, sometimes it’s the little things that make a HUGE difference in life. I hate puddles in the bathroom too! :-)

    Reply

  22. Rachel says

    Just clicked on one of the recommended posts thinking it was another YHL post, but it took me to an external article from another site. Maybe you can put Ad or Sponsored over those so that people know before they accidentally click out to a random site.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sorry about that Rachel! The last box is usually always an external site but if you roll over the “i” on the button before you click it, it says “sponsored” and even if you don’t roll over it, it says the site’s name on the bottom in italics (ex: Stylelist Home). Hope that helps! It’s not our design, it’s just the way the “Realated Posts” plug in does it.

      xo,
      s

  23. Jude says

    For anyone who wants to cut down the bottom of your door: best stick some tape or similar to the bottom to the door before you take it off the hinges. Or do something else to mark it, just make very, VERY sure you are actually cutting off a piece on the bottom.

    I know people who shortened their door and upon rehanging found they trimmed the top…

    Reply

  24. Nancy says

    Am I missing something? We put down a thick towel like bathmat after we’re in the bathroom and then pick it up and hang it to dry after we finish, before we leave the bathroom. Not that it matters since you’ve fixed the door but I don’t see why you had to step onto the bare floor before.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s just a very very small room with two hooks for towels and no room/place to hang a bath mat when it’s not in use. There’s not even room for the sink in there, so it’s really tiny.

      xo,
      s

    • mimi says

      Yeah I always keep my bathmat draped over the edge of the tub, unless it’s being used. I hate when the bathmat gets covered in dirty shoe footprints (we have a bungalow and just have a main floor bathroom and a basement bathroom, so the main bathroom gets most of the traffic).

    • monica says

      This is funny – I think this is one of those “you did what your family did when you were little” things. I always use one of the thin bathmats that come with towel sets for our actual bathmat – that is what my family did. It lives over the side of the tub when not in use. I have trained my kids to put it on the floor when they take a shower and to put it back when they are done. Sometimes the bathroom has an official rug, sometimes it does not, depending on size of the room. Like a previous poser, I don’t like the idea of my nice clean feet stepping on a bathmat/rug that has been stepped all over by shoes! (I know this is not the case in the YHL bathroom cause it is your master and only used by you guys. I recently moved into a one bathroom house, so that bathroom gets used by everyone who comes into my house)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So interesting! It totally must be a how-you-grew-up thing! John and I both grew up in “the bath mat stays on the floor at all times” houses! Haha. Although it does sound nice to not have a mat that gets matted, hahah.

      xo,
      s

  25. Nikki says

    Donated $25…I hope that they get to their goal! Thanks for pointing this out. It’s always nice to feel like you can help someone directly!

    Reply

  26. Taya says

    Glad your bathroom remodel is coming along so well! I stole your blue pendant light idea to switch out an old 80’s globe light in our recently bought house. It hangs over our kitchen sink and is a cobalt color. I wanted to replace it from the second we viewed the house but didn’t know what I wanted to put there… until I saw your gorgeous blue bathroom pendant lamp! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  27. Brooke says

    Congrats on getting the door to work better — it’s the little things that can drive you crazy.

    Also, thank you so much for the safety tips on the sandbox. We’re planning on building one this summer, too, so by next summer I’m sure we’ll actually get it done.

    One more also: I dreamed that your family came over to our house for dinner and after you left I was upset because I realized I hadn’t even cleaned up or closed the door to our messy master bedroom (visible from the front hall). And then I was like, wait, what did I even serve for dinner? Did I really give them burnt rice? What was I thinking? I’m sure they’ll never come back. So if you’re ever in Arvada, CO and want to stop by for dinner, I promise to not serve you burnt rice or subject you to a messy house :)

    Reply

  28. Daisy says

    A little off topic but the photos of the door outside are very fun- love the mirror reflecting the sky and the trees. My Grandparents live in Savannah and have a courtyard and my Grandma hung a sturdy long mirror from Home Depot in the garden and it is such a neat look whenever you walk past it-reflecting the greenery and their fountain. Might be a fun addition to your outdoor patio if you had a good spot to hang one. It adds some neat depth and kind of doubles whatever is growing around it- a fun, lush look.

    Reply

  29. Katie says

    I just wanted to let you know I’ve been experiencing issues viewing your blog on my iPhone. The entire background is wallpapered by Habitat for Humanity logos and I can’t read the text underneath. Love your site otherwise!

    Reply

  31. heyruthie says

    thank you for posting this. i have *THE* same setup, including the no-bathmat, wet socks, etc. BUT…..i know my door is hollow-core. can I still do this? was your door hollow? tia!

    Reply

    • heyruthie says

      OK! Thank you! And sorry for the over-questioning, but does that mean that your door is now “open” or “hollow” on the bottom? as in, you cut off the bottom piece, and now you can see up inside the door? thanks again!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup! But since it’s about an inch from the floor you can’t see it. It’s sort of thick so it’s not a big hollow area, just sort of like a slot in the middle if that makes sense.

      xo,
      s

  32. Carli says

    Random comment, I realize, but great photos! For such an awkward space to fix and have to photograph, the photos came out great. I feel like I was there :)

    Reply

  33. Bethany says

    My husband and I recently did an entire gut job of our bathroom – and our “two week project” is now finishing up around 4 months. I giggled at the picture of your toilet, because we had our toilet sitting in our dining room on top of a bright blue tarp for the entirety of the remodel :) And kudos on the Habitat plug; I once helped build a home in Augusta, GA – it’s SUCH a great organization!!!

    Reply

  34. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    I love household projects like this. They don’t cost a penny to execute, and there’s that feeling of satisfaction that washes over you. And then, every time you open that bathroom door, there’s that teeny jolt of happiness when the the door swings all the way open.

    Weird, no?

    Katy

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, totally! I can’t tell you how many times I have announced “I am going to the bathroom, where I can open the door without hearing a loud crash as it grinds against the floor grate” – so satisfying!

      xo,
      s

  36. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    I was wondering what you were going to do with that toilet! Isn’t Craigslist great? We took a leaf out of your book the other day and Craigslisted the bushes in front of our house (huge, scraggly, ugly things) and someone actually came and took them! We also Craistlisted almost a full pallet of Oklahoma flagstone we had dug up in our back yard… someone paid $280 for it!

    PS. Way to go on the donation! Helping other people out feels so good. :)

    Reply

  39. Michele says

    Question. Is it a matter of personal choice where the doorstopper should go? I thought it is usually installed on the wall/baseboard behind the door vs the door itself.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The wall is tile (it wraps up the walls in our bathroom), so we didn’t want to drill into it. We had seen them on doors in places with tile walls before, so we went for it!

      xo,
      s

  40. Shelly says

    Little things make all the difference! I noticed your new toilet in the background doesn’t have caulk around the base… Our old house didn’t have caulk around the toilets and our new house does. A quick google told me there is some controversy on caulking around toilet bases. (who knew?) Are you on the no caulk side or have you just not caulked yet?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We aren’t against some caulk to make things look finished (we used some on the other toilet in the hall bathroom but the bedroom one looked clean without it so we passed on it) but we only caulk the front and sides of the toilet. In other words, we leave the back part open and uncaulked so water will seep out if we have a leak instead of being trapped in a caulk ring without us knowing!

      xo,
      s

  41. Alanna says

    i’m the family services coordinator at holston habitat for humanity in northeast tennessee and i can tell you first hand how excited our habitat families get over the toilets and all of the other things in their new homes! taking familes on a walk-through of their newly completed home is definitely one of my top 5 job responsibilities! the looks on their faces are priceless and it really helps remind you of the important things in life–love of family and having a safe, decent home in which to live!

    your continued support for the habitat ministry is awesome! the support and publicity you’re offering to the richmond affiliate branches out and helps all other habitat affiliates… even mine here in northeast tennessee! so, thank you, thank you, thank you!

    and for anyone reading this who wants to get involved with habitat for humanity, click the link below to find your local habitat affiliate:
    http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/default.aspx

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Alanna! We love you guys and all the good work you do. Thank you for all the time and love you put into giving such deserving people a place to call home!

      xo,
      s

  42. Allyn says

    You should have left the toilet by the door and told people it was a modern art piece entitled “Waste” or “Flush” or something, just to watch people react.

    Reply

  43. Susan in Va says

    Great job on helping supply a little “younghouselove” to a local family!!! On another topic: every time you mention replacing your tree border tiles in the master bath, I think there’s got to be a simpler, easier way. So, why not try painting over the border tiles? You could introduce your wonderful aqua-ish accent color, or maybe do a pattern using the cream and the aqua. I can’t tell from photos but it’s possible that the tree tiles have a relief-design…but maybe if you used enough coats of primer it would soften any tree shapes?? Since you’re going to replace them anyway, why not try the paint idea as an experiment…if you hate it, just stick with plan A of replacing it.

    Here’s a link: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/how-to-paint-tile

    Okay, now I’ll butt out of your bizniz…….XOXO

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The tile wraps around the whole room and through the shower so we just think the wetness/moisture from the shower on the tiles won’t really allow paint to hold up for the long haul- we just envision it cracking and peeling after one or two steamy showers. See the big warning on that link you sent that says “it will not work if the tile will be getting wet all the time”? Bummer, huh? But thanks so much for the suggestion!

      xo,
      s

  44. LaTonya says

    What tools did you use to attached the doorstop? I recently added doorstop (solid not spring version) and needed to use a wrench to screw it in, but I ended up completely scratching the finish. How did you get it on there and keep the finish looking so nice?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I just used a screwdriver to drive the screw in to hold the silver disk in place. Then the stop part just threaded onto the silver disk with a twisting motion, sort of like putting a key on a keyring? Hope that description helps!

      xo,
      s

  45. Kristen says

    You guys…nevermind the selling of the toilet and the trimming of the door (both awesome DIYs), but I LOVE that you donated money to Habitat for Humanity! Really very honorable. It’s awesome that a lot of us get to do stuff around our houses to make them better/nicer/etc. but it’s always important to also remember the people in the world who aren’t as lucky as we are! Good work you too, as always. :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Kristen! We love Habitat and donate 1K to them annually (along with $500 to St Jude’s and the SPCA) so we’re on their email list- and when we saw the toilet thing it was just too perfect. Haha. Is it weird to say “we couldn’t resist the toilet”?!

      xo,
      s

  46. Kristin says

    Ah, sometimes a small thing like the trimmed door can make a big difference! We bought a new wireless router because with the old one, we often had to reboot the laptop once or twice to get a connection. It sounds like a small thing – but really makes a difference to know that the thing just does it’s job and I don’t have to think about it. Just like being able to open a door all the way.

    The doorstop remembered me of this video I saw yesterday – be thankful Burger is not a cat: http://thechive.com/2012/04/17/the-most-effective-alarm-clock-ive-ever-seen-video/

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Bwahahahhahahahha, that’s hilarious. The funny thing is that Burger used to hit the door stop near the back door in our first house to signal he needed to go out! Not from under a closed door though, that’s a true skill! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  47. Ty Lee says

    Gah, I hate wet socks!

    Haven’t cut down any doors, but I did sand down some drawers that were always getting stuck. The dresser was old, and the wood had, over time, expanded to be *slightly* too large. I couldn’t really cut it, since we were talking about 1/16th of a inch, so I got a heck of an upper body work out and hand-sanded the top of the drawers down (all 11 of them) so they could fit again and close all the way. I was tired of my dainty girly foo-foos peeking out of the top of my drawers, not that anyone goes in my master bedroom, but if they DID… does anyone really need to see those?! It could be traumatic for the children. ;P

    Dang, I totally missed an opportunity for some bad punnery. I should have said that “my drawers were peeking out of my drawers”.

    Reply

  48. Amy @ Lovely Nest says

    We have a few doors that need cut down. The warmer/humid weather makes ours more difficult this time of year! I heard somewhere that if you paint the bottom of the door after you cut or sand it that it won’t expand again. Have you heard anything like that before?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, that’s intriguing. I’m not sure I believe it though, since painted wood should still expand and contract a bit, right? Maybe just a smidge less? Anyone know?

      xo,
      s

    • Ruth says

      If you don’t paint the door, it is more likely to expand because the humidity in the air is able to get into the absorbent wood. The paint helps seal it off. Anytime you sand or plane a door that is tight, you should do a little extra and paint the area, otherwise you will be right back at it the following year.

  50. Lauren says

    Aww, I thought the toilet in the dining room was a good look. You totally could have started a new trend! (kidding!)

    We recently found out the Kohler toilet in our bathroom is over $1000 too… I don’t think I could ever bring myself to spend so much money on something like that, but I will admit it looks good. I’m just glad the former owners spent the money on it and not us!!

    Reply

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