Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Change A Toilet

First: I apologize for subjecting you to more pictures of toilets. I’m sure you don’t read our blog for pictures of toilets. But on the other hand, I’m kind of excited to show you pictures of our new, distinctly not-almond toilet. Because, if you recall, this guy wasn’t exactly our cup of tea. We know some folks would have been just fine with Mr Almond, but a crisp white toilet makes us very happy Petersiks. Not only to brighten things up, be more true to the mid-century age of our home, and tie into our newly white-ified trim & shower curtain, but to LOOK CLEAN. I can’t explain it, but even after we scrub this baby down it never quite felt fresh and new. It’s not dirty, it’s just almond. So it never looks sparkling clean like white toilets do – even came-with-the-house white toilets that are ten or twenty years old. To the point that we were laying in bed saying things like “tomorrow is going to be awesome” the night before going toilet shopping.

Toilet 1 Before Straight

This almond came-with-the-house toilet is a bit space age looking for us (admittedly not as space age-y as the one we joked about getting on April Fool’s Day), but it’s actually a fairly high end fixture. According to the Kohler website, it retails at over $1,300 (click the almond box to see the price jump – it’s actually more expensive than a white one of the same model)! Who the heck woulda thunk it. But ever since we moved in 15 months ago we’ve longed for, craved, and daydreamed about a nice traditional looking white toilet. And well, our posteriors aren’t sophisticated enough to really tell the difference between a one thousand dollar toilet and a one hundred dollar one anyway.

Toilet 2 Before Side

Before picking our replacement toilet, we double-checked our measurements – mainly the “rough in” measurement (i.e. how far the bolts are from the wall) and the clearance for the door. The rough-in made me nervous because it measured closer to 11.5″ (12″ is standard). But since the existing model was listed as a 12″ we figured another 12″ model should fit. Of course since this is a small room, taking note of how much space we have between the wall and the door helped keep us from buying an elongated bowl variety, which would have caused the door to slam into it. And that wouldn’t be good. We’ve thought about switching the way the door swings, but if we switched it to swing out into the bedroom it would block half of the sink nook, which looks so nice with the chandelier reflecting in the mirror centered over the sink – so leaving that area open without any door-infringing is best for reasons of function and form.

Toilet 3 Measuring Rough IN

I’ll skip all of the toilet removal / installation pictures because I covered them fairly recently in this post. But here’s your obligatory shot of the old commode coming out. After Sherry took this picture she actually helped me carry that sucker out of the room since it’s all one piece (we’re used to tanks that detach from the bowl to be carried separately).

Toilet 4 Removing Old

And here’s the always-pleasant toilet equivalent of a chalk outline:

Toilet 5 Old Gon1

Fortunately that gunk / rust line wiped up pretty easily, so we were ready for the new potty in no time. You thought I was gonna say it was potty time didn’t you? Pun narrowly averted.

Toilet 6 Floor Cleaned

Speaking of the new toilet, here’s what we got. It was this $88 model from Glacier Bay from Home Depot. I’ll admit it wasn’t a decision we researched like crazy – it fit our measurements, has a great “flush rating”, is eco-friendly (can cut water bills by an average of $90 a year – plus we’ll add our handy little dual flush feature to conserve even more), it looked good, it was the right price, and a bunch of you had good things to say about Glacier Bay in a few former toilet posts of ours.

Toilet 7 New Box

It also came with all of the pieces you’d need to install it, but we ended up having to buy a separate wax ring kit because we needed the extra thick version since our toilet flange was kinda set into the tile. No biggie, it was just a few extra bucks.

Toilet 8 New Box Supplies

We also tried out one of the tips a few of you mentioned in one of our past toilet-related posts: placing drinking straws on the bolts to help guide the toilet bowl in for, um, a smooth landing. Oh and that stuff around the black ring isn’t anything sewage-y, it’s just leftover wax from the previous wax ring that we scraped up.

Toilet 9 Straws On Bolts

The straws were actually a big help! It was much easier to get the bowl lined up with the extra length on the bolts (although Sherry stood there tossing out hints like “a little to the left” to get things going.

Toilet 10 John Placing New

Again, I’ll breeze past all of the installation details because I covered ’em here. But I just had to share this pic, since I managed to catch that special time of day when the sun shines right into the toilet bowl and makes it glow like we just opened up a portal to another dimension. Beam me up flush me down Scotty.

Toilet 11 New Bowl Glowing

Let’s skip to pictures of it installed and looking all bright and fresh up in here.

Toilet 13 After Straigh1

We think it helps draw attention away from the beige tile and more towards the white accents in the room (which now includes the curtain, trim, door, light switch and outlet covers, and some tones in the art). And the white roll of t.p. of course. Haha. It also feels a lot more in line with a mid-century ranch and is totally a close relative to the other two white toilets that we have in our other bathrooms, so for some reason that gives us a thrill. What’s that saying? Happy wife, cohesive toilets, happy life. Oh but ignore that old brassy doorknob. It’s on the list!

Toilet 15 After Close Front

Thankfully, even though our new bathroom friend isn’t quite as high end as the previous toilet – it seems to be functioning just as well. It’s actually a bit taller so it’s more comfy to sit down on in my honest tall-guy opinion. And even the short wife said “I feel less squaty on the new toilet” which she meant as a compliment. Plus, I can retrofit this one to a dual flush (the conversion kit wouldn’t fit in the other more futuristically shaped almond one). Oh and we’ve purchased the kit, but just wanted to let it run as Glacier Bay intended for a few days before we supe it up to be sure all is good under the hood.

Toilet 14 After Close Side

So our formerly beige box of a room…

Bathroom Before1

… is slowly coming along. Still have some things to do, but it’s feeling more like us each day.

Toilet 13 After Straigh1

Of course some of the other angles are a little more fun. You know, since it’s not always just about the toilet.

Art Light 2

Here’s our updated to-do list:

  • 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
  • remove the door so we can shave the bottom to allow for a rug/bathmat (and add a door stopper so it doesn’t squash the art)
  • replace the border tile around the room (maybe in phase 2?)
  • move the blue pendant light to hang centered in front of the window
  • replace the floor tile down the road (just to break things up since there’s so much of it)

And here’s the ol’ mood board we whipped up a few weeks back (see the full breakdown here), just for reference when it comes to some of the bullet points above:

Bathroom Mood Board

We actually have the old toilet up on craigslist. Sure, it’s a gently used toilet, but it’s a $1,300 Kohler toilet – so we thought it would be nice to see if we could make some money to mentally put toward the purchase of our new toilet (we had someone offer $60 for it, so it’ll hopefully find a good home soon). We’ll keep you posted. But enough about us and our toilets. Has anyone else posted pics of their porcelain throne on their blog lately? Please tell us we’re not the only ones. Or do you have any other toilet-related upgrades (photographed or unphotographed) to speak of? Or other instances of a beige/almond/biscuit colored items that you’ve switched out for something white or stainless?

Psst- To follow this bathroom sprucing project from the start, check out this planning post, this painting post, this light-swapping post, and this art and trim-painting post.

Comments

    • Pam says

      I would have gladly paid you for that almond toilet. Its low profile design and almond color is exactly what we have been looking for, but cannot afford for the small condo bathroom we are redecorating in a modern, sophisticated downtown Chicago condo. Since the toilet is directly acrosso from the doorway, I do not want a white toilet distracting from the new textured ceramic walls and matching beige travertine floors and glass and expresso vanity. I want the toilet small like yours was and I need it to blend into the background color created by the tile, not jump out at you in all its bright white porcelain glory. I wish I had seen your post sooner. I’d have taken that almond beauty off your hands. Where our house is in FL, white toilets show water marks within a year due to rust and lime in the water that cannot be blasted off. Almond/bisque/bone hides these water marks better.

  2. annabelvita says

    I love how the new taller narrower toilet makes the room seem larger! This room is really showing how a few small tweaks can really change the whole mood of a room. Love it!

    Reply

  8. Jen says

    What a difference! It’s probably one of the first rooms you see in the morning, so it should be pretty. It is well on its way.

    Reply

  10. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    “Flush me down Scotty?!”

    I think I missed that episode.

    And have you seen all the tutorials on the web where people use the guts of cheap-o mini-blinds set to make their own no-sew roman blinds? Would be perfect in your bathroom. The texture and pattern of fabric, yet a crisp look all at once.

    Katy

    Reply

    • Lindsey B says

      I thought the same thing – I would have never guessed it was that high end.

      We just bought a new white Kohler toilet and it was $150.

  12. Bethany Annechino says

    Only $80? That would be a STEAL for someone that wants to have almond (we shouldn’t judge even if we want to) fixtures in their bathroom. It’d help if they wanted to be a more home-y version of the Jetson’s, too.

    Cheers for the new John, Sherry and John!

    Reply

  13. marti driver says

    looks great!! have you considered a pocket door or one of those diy sliding barn type doors? just though it would give you a moreopen feel than the regular door….
    love your blog! ya’ll inspire me

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Wish we could do it! The plumbing for the shower is in the wall that the pocket door would need to slide into so there’s no space. Same for a barn door- nowhere for it to slide since there’s a sink wall on the outside and a shower on the inside…

      xo,
      s

    • Nikki says

      You could do the barn door from your bedroom to cover the opening with the sink but I think it would require some furniture re-arranging. Looking good so far!!!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, that could work, but it would cut off the light from the window above the sink – we’re oddly attached to waking up and seeing the mirror above the sink reflecting our chandelier. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  15. Sarah says

    It didn’t really look dirty before, but it looks so much cleaner with the new toilet! And indeed larger. I remember seeing some of the first posts of the master bathroom and thinking, “What could they really DO in there? There’s nothing to it!” But you’ve totally rocked it out – why am I surprised? Great job.

    Reply

  16. Nancy S says

    Very nice :)
    Did you notice, in the side shot of the toilet, it looks like a figure of a guy holding the bowl? He’s just missing his head ;0

    Reply

  17. Lauren says

    We recently replaced our powder room toilet with a Glacier Bay. I have to say that I’m a little disappointed. It often takes more than one flush or at least holding the flush down to get everything down. And I’m not talking about an explosive everything…I mean even sometimes when it was just #1 with a bit of toilet paper…maybe I’m using too much toilet paper?

    Anyway, I can totally tell the difference between this and the very basic Kohler we got for our master bathroom at about $180.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I would check out the flush rating when buying a toilet. Some of the Glacier Bay ones had a 10 and some had a 3. And a 3 would definitely do what you’re describing. Stores like Home Depot have those listed out in the open so it really helps while shopping. Ours is a 10 and we joke it’s like an airplane flush- it’ll suck you in if you’re not careful. Thankfully once we install the dual-flush converter we’ll have a smaller flush for #1 and a larger one for the other stuff.

      xo,
      s

    • Katie says

      glacier bay toilets aren’t glazed in the trap part (where kohler and other brands are) – that’s where the problem comes in.. if you were to stick your hand in there you’d feel how rough it is.. and some of the models are worse than others for trapping stuffs where they shouldn’t trap anything.. (I work at home depot..)

  19. Allyn says

    That ring of funk left on the floor after removing a toilet triggers my gag reflex like few other things. I know it isn’t really that nasty, but… Ugh.
    The white toilet makes that room seem bigger and brighter though! Hooray!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, amen! It’s a dirty job. That’s why I ususally supervise and sometimes do the air-gag when John makes me carry something. Haha. Carrying that almond guy out of the room was nothing short of a comedic performance. We were a mess. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  20. Kate says

    Nice upgrade. You’re right – the color change really freshens up the room. The almond toilet against the beige tile looked very “flat.” There’s a little more interest in the room now.

    We purchased an American Standard toilet for our master and a Glacier Bay for the guest bath (both with the dual flush built in), and I much prefer the Glacier Bay. Wish we had saved our money and purchased 2 of the cheaper one!

    Reply

  21. Sarah says

    Looks so much cleaner, fresher, and larger! And since we’re talking toilets, we actually had to move Easter on Sunday to a different house because of a leaky toilet.

    Reply

  22. Karen F says

    Looks great! We have the same almond toilet in one of our bathrooms (which surprises me, since the previous owners seemed to cheap out on everything else). A new white one makes a big difference. It’s on my someday list!

    Reply

  23. Nikki says

    When we moved in our toilet was approximately 5 inches away from the wall so we wanted to replace it with something that was a better fit. It turns out that we had a 14 inch rough-in and only had two toilets to choose from. Our door swing was tight (it’s a rowhouse built in 1937) and thank goodness we got the shorter bowl of the two…it just barely clears the door swing! And yes…it’s bright white :)

    Reply

  26. teresa says

    YAY for getting RID OF THE ALMOND COMMODE! lol I not only have the almond toilet, I have an almond tub, and an almond sink. Scrub as I may, I never get that clean feeling from them. I have no idea what the previous owners were thinking when they made that purchase, I guess it was cool at some point. We are so close to gutting it and I CANNOT WAIT! But hey it could be worse… I have a friend who was blessed with a pink toilet, tub, and sink in her first house! It wasn’t even a nice pink, it was that mauvy yucky pink. So when I think of that, almond doesn’t seem SO bad. lol

    Loving the upgrades! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, our neighbor has a pink bathroom and a blue bathroom (all with matching fixtures) that she inherited. It’s adorable and quirky to me but she’s so over it. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Melissa Breau says

      My mother has a pink toilet, sink and tub in her house right now… she’s wanted to redo it for years but the house only has 1 bathroom and she’s never managed to find a good time to be without.

      The worst part is that the original owners paired it with brown. So imagine all pink fixtures and laminate brown counters, tiling etc.

    • Janice says

      My parents in the house they were renting (and are currently moving out of as of this past weekend), had a flesh-toned bathtub in the only full bathroom in the place. Thankfully, the toilet and sink were white, so the bathtub was generally hidden by a nice long shower curtain. Its such a weird color for a tub though, since its like its parents were mauve and almond.

    • Liz says

      I have that bathroom! So awful. Is there a way to paint a tub? The other parts would be easy enough to swap out a la S&J…

  27. Brenda says

    I totally agree with other readers that the added height and a narrower side make the space look a lot bigger. And yes, the bright white does look so much better. I’ll be honest, I have no idea why, but I’m fascinated by your toilet replacement posts. Probably because it’s never something I thought of, and now I’m confident I could do it myself if need be.

    Reply

  28. Lisa says

    I read every word of this toilet post and loved it! Hah! You guys can write a post about a toilet and make it effortlessly entertaining. :)

    What an upgrade! If it were my bathroom, I’d probably find myself passing by quite often just to stare at the fresh crispness.

    Love your blog, I just stumbled upon it about 2 weeks ago. I definitely find myself looking forward to new posts. Thanks for letting us share in your world of DIY and life!

    – Lisa :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I actually invited family in to use it over Easter! They all use the hall bathroom and I was like “oooh you have to try our new toilet” – haha.

      xo,
      s

  30. Sharon says

    Same toilets we have in our semi-newly moved into house. They are literally the ONLY thing we’re not replacing in our bathroom right now as we DIY remodel it. I was super impressed with the previous owners that they put in such sleek toilets, cause everything else needs so much help!

    Reply

  31. Alex (@OldTownHome) says

    Hey, toilets are one of the most frequently used pieces of furniture in the house, so I don’t mind having a few blog posts dedicated to them. And you’re pretty lucky to have a time travelling, worm hole portal opening toilet, but I just think it might be sort of gross to show up on October 26, 1955 to meet up with Marty McFly and Doc Brown all covered in toilet water.

    Did you consider using the waxless ring on this toilet? Since it’s already in place now, there’s no sense in replacing it, but the next time you do a toilet you should check it out. It’s $10 and available at Lowes/HD, has a 10 year warranty, and lets you place, pick up, place, etc the toilet. It’s great for DIYers like us who like to keep putting a toilet down then picking it up to be sure it was put in the right place. The wax ring gives you one shot, this gives you many.

    Reply

  32. Alyson says

    ” I managed to catch that special time of day when the sun shines right into the toilet bowl and makes it glow like we just opened up a portal to another dimension. Flush me down, Scotty.”

    Started my morning with a great laugh out loud, thank you! And yes, you’re exactly right—changing out the toilet to white draws attention away from the beige tile and toward the white accents in the room. It brightened everything, even that roll of TP! ;)

    Reply

  33. Katie @ explanationrequired says

    Amazing what a small change did to transform the whole room! You guys give me hope for my all beige bathroom, although it’ll be a bit more involved since it’s counter a vanity counter that spans over the toilet and is built into the tile. Ugh.

    Quick question – did you consider painting the ceiling grey too? I love the shade and think it does great things for the room, but there’s such a small amount of it. I just wonder if the ceiling being that color would give it a bit more oomph. Hmmmm…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, oh yes the ceiling is gray too in there! Is it hard to see? In the pendant pic it might be easier to tell. We love doing the ceiling the same color as a room in small spaces like a bathroom since it feels less broken up.

      xo,
      s

  34. Kristi says

    That does look better. We got a glacier bay potty for our main bathroom but it has the dual flush button. It’s quite comfy…for a toilet!

    Reply

  35. Jennifer A says

    Looking good! Now you can do “the potty dance”– have you seen those commercials?! They are weird to me.
    Anyway, have you thought about double doors? The little ones… we have them in all of the bathrooms at my parents house. They save so much space and they are really cute.
    Also, have you ever heard of 3form? You should look into it… I don’t know why this bathroom post made me think of it, but it seems like something you all would be interested in. It’s ecofriendly and you can customize! Not the cheapest stuff, but it could be worth it for a small project.
    Can’t wait to see the end result!

    Reply

  37. Amy @ this DIY life says

    All the before pictures of our bathrooms have open toilets. Seriously, why did we not think to shut the lids on the toilets. I had to title a post about our bathroom and open toilet as “Sorry Mom” because my mama taught me that toilet talk was not appropriate ;) Obviously, I’ll never be a plumber. I think the bigger toilet in your bathroom makes it look bigger and less cramped. I guess Nate was right – more/bigger furniture in a smaller space will make it seem bigger not smaller. That Nate is a genius!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, that’s so funny about the open toilets! We look back at so many pics and think “why didn’t we remember to _____” before taking that photo!

      xo,
      s

  39. Stephanie says

    $1,300 for a toilet is crazy!! That sounds more like the total budget to me for a whole bathroom makeover. I noticed in the picture with the toilet off the grout is dirty. I spent a bunch of time over the weekend testing different ways of cleaning grout. I found that while ammonia works well, it also asphyxiates you. Not pleasant. So, a good natural cleaner I found was mixing baking soda and hydrogen peroxide into a paste and you let it sit for a few minutes. Then you just scrub, scrub, scrub and wipe it all away. It worked almost as well as the ammonia, so I’m going to go with the baking soda/peroxide way.

    Reply

  40. vtgdonna says

    I totally get the toliet excitement! I replaced my low very old, cracked toliet in my mid century house, but didn’t do it for months because of having to re-tile floor, and general renovation. I had to use the bathroom in the basement(tough at 3 am!) but got the new one in this weekend and I am so happy, I keep “admiring” it!!!

    Reply

  41. Teri says

    so much better! I recently installed a new toilet. The flush is so powerful that at first I felt like I had to flush and run so it wouldn’t suck me in, lol. The problem I’m having with it though is the rubber tubing that the water shoots out of is also so powerful that it keeps popping off and then water starts spraying everywhere (I made the mistake of opening the top when it first happened, not a good thing to do!) I replaced the clip and tubing with a stronger one and it still does it from time to time. I’m plumbing dumb and don’t really know what else to do. It’s in the master bath and after being sprayed a couple of times I am now afraid of my toilet, so I use the one in the other bathroom, lol.

    Reply

    • Jay says

      Maybe try turing the water valve partially closed. I know that as a rule toilet water supplies are supposed to be fully open or fully closed, but a slight reduction in water flow into the fill valve might solve this problem.

    • Teri says

      Thanks for the suggestion Jay, now why didn’t I think of that? I gave it a try and I’m gathering up the nerve to flush, lol!

  42. Amanda says

    Are your tubs/showers also almond colored? We have the same issue but I feel like if we replace the almond toilet, it will look silly next to the almond tub.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The toilet was more of a tan color and the tub is the same creamy color as the tile, so it blends right into the room o’ tile. Thank goodness it wasn’t the same dark almond color as the toilet since that might look odd next to the white toilet.

      xo,
      s

  43. Maria says

    We got this same toilet. We ended up upgrading the seat after a couple months because the hinges weren’t that great. They kept coming unattached and the seat was sliding all over the place. The guy at the store also recommended using a different wax ring instead of the one it came with, which we did.

    Reply

  44. Carol N. says

    When we added the new master bathroom, we went with a Kohler that is ‘comfort height’ or a little taller than your average toilet. I have bad knees and my husband is 6’3″ tall so the taller toilet works well for us. Fortunately, ours was no where near $1300. Now I’m wanting to replace the other two toilets we have. The white looks so crisp and in the front view picture with the sun shining in it looks like there is a bright light around the new toilet!

    Reply

  46. Laura says

    Your old toilet looks like it was from the future and from the 80s at the same time. The white one is waaaayyyy better!

    Reply

  47. Christine says

    I feel your pain! Our house was built int he 80s, so all of our bathrooms have Almond Toilets, Sinks, and Shower/Bathtub surrounds. Adn you are right… it just doesn’t feel clean.

    To top it off, our master bedroom has an almond corner toilet! It is going to be a pain in the behind to replace it and not move the plumbing. Can’t wait to tackle that project.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  49. Kathy @ Pearls in Paradise says

    I find this quite funny since we just got rid of our old almond toilet that had been diagnosed with “lazy flush”. We also prefer white toilets over almond. We are now the proud owners of one that not only will handle what my teenage son puts into it, but also has no problems with a bucket of golf balls should we feel the need to actually dump golf balls into our toilet.

    Reply

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