When I lived at my mother’s, I had an upstairs suite converted from an attic. It was a very self sufficient room and had lots of light thanks to the large french doors to the upstairs patio.

The only problem was the tiny bath room. It was literally 5ft across. I could reach wall to wall with my arm extended. Not only that, the ceiling was slanted from the original roof line. So to make the bathroom more manageable I did a series of bathroom renos, all on a student’s budget.

• Removing the baseboards. This is fairly simple and self explanatory. Using an Exacto knife, I trimmed along the caulking line to loosen it, and the just pried it off using a flat head screw driver. Pull the boards out slowly so it doesn’t snap and you can preserve most of the finishing nails. Use a piece of masking tape to label which piece goes where so you remember when you put them back. Unless of course, you’re upgrading then just get new ones cut.

• Removing the toilet. In order to remove and replace the tiles, the toilet had to be removed first. To do this, first turn off the water outlet. You can find this close to the bottom of the toilet along the back wall. Then, flush. This should mostly empty the tank. The rest of the water… well, that’s the gross part. Use a ladle or other scooping device… remove all the water from the tank and the bowl. Then disconnect the water line, and remove the two bolts holding the base to the floor. Also, remove the two bolts holding the tank to the bowl. Yes, it’s a two part system and makes it easier to remove. Take the tank off the base. Then with the bolt removed on the base, gently rock the base until it loosens itself from the wax ring. Get someone to help you to lift it up and out of the way. Use a spatula of sorts to remove the old wax ring and throw away. Then stuff a rag loosely in the hole to prevent fumes coming into your room.  You will need a new wax ring when you want to put the toilet back.

• Replaced the laminate floor tiles. The original flooring was an ugly gray faux marble 12×12 laminate tile. The corners were starting to peel from the floor boards. I’ve always loved wood floors and it’s a small enough area to manage price wise. Unfortunately, I didn’t own a circular saw or jigsaw to cut the board to fit the cabinet. So to make matters simple, I purchased 1 box of faux wood laminates from Home Depot. These ones are long like regular wood laminate boards and have over a lapping sticky lip to prevent peeling. It’s also textured to mimic real wood.All was required was a ruler, pencil and Exacto knife to score the boards. After scoring, a slight bend snaps it along the score line. All works perfectly. Start from the straightest corner and work your way across and down. This minimizes the number of pieces you have to cut. As well, stagger your cuts so that not all the edges line up. When staggered, the adhesive is stronger for the hold.  I’ve had the floor for about 3 years now… no sign of bubbling.

• Replace the toilet. This is essentially removing the toilet backwards. Like I said, you’ll need a new wax ring. Take the rag out from the hole and throw away. Set your new wax ring at the bottom of the toilet base following the instructions on the box. Don’t put it on the floor! Once the base is on. Tighten the two bolts on the floor. Attach the tank to the base and secure the two bolts. Don’t use any tools when tightening the bolts. Just hand screw it tight. If you use a tool you risk cracking the porceline. Connect the water line and turn it on. Your tank should begin filling. Once filled. Flush to check for leaks.  Your toilet should now function normally. Now is also a good time to replace the flap, the part that stops the water flow from the tank to the bowl. There are many “low-flow” flap options out there and very easy to replace. That’s right… you don’t need a “low flow toilet”, just a $6 flapper to be eco-friendly. They come with instructions on how to adjust the flow for your purpose.

• Replace the baseboards. With the flooring and toilet back in place, you can hammer the floor boards back in place. Caulk the seam to complete the look. If you don’t remember which one goes where… you should’ve listen in step one. Trial and error my friend… trial and error.

• Custom under the sink storage. With small spaces, the storage is also lacking. As well, with the slant roof, there’s nothing much I can do to height wise. So I was left with stuffing things under the sink. I saw these great MDF drawers in one of the Storage magazines… unfortunately, I’m not about to invest $1000  into a garage full of wood working tools. So began my search for another option…

  I decided to take half of my cabinet and create drawers since the drainage was in the way on the other half. So I measured the interior dimensions and when to Home Depot to have a piece of MDF cut to size for me.  I also found these IKEA Snack boxes that I turned into drawers. I had to trim them to size with an Exacto knife and a hand saw. But it was simple enough. And the metal corner brackets hides the rough edges. I installed full extension draw sliders on each and voila! Custom under the sink storage. I also stained shlacked the drawers to prevent moisure damage should the sink leak.

  The end result was wonderful and I got a ton more storage out of it.