Project details
Skill
1 out of 5EasyOnly basic plumbing skills required
Cost
About $700 for toilet/sink fixture, $140 for retrofit sink
Estimated Time
1 to 2 hours for new fixtures Less than 5 minutes for a retrofit
Tools & Materials
- Wrench
- Putty knife
- Sponge
In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey discusses the benefits of a combination toilet/sink fixture.
Steps:
- To replace existing toilet, start by turning off the water at the shut-off valve located behind the toilet.
- Flush the toilet and hold down the handle to drain the toilet tank.
- Sop up the remaining water from the toilet bowl with a large sponge.
- Use a wrench to disconnect the water-supply line from the underside of the toilet tank.
- Pull off the plastic caps concealing the closet nuts on the sides of the toilet base. Remove the nuts with a wrench.
- Rock the toilet back and forth to break its bond with the wax gasket.
- Carefully lift up the toilet and carry it from the bathroom.
- Use a putty knife to scrape any remaining wax from the closet flange (toilet drain).
- Press a new wax gasket onto the closet flange, then set the combination toilet/sink on top of the gasket.
- Push down on the toilet with all your weight to compress the wax gasket. Then alternately tighten the nuts onto the closet bolts. Repeat until the toilet is fully seated.
- Reconnect the water-supply line and turn on the shut-off valve.
- To install a retrofit sink kit to an existing toilet, begin by removing the lid from the top of the toilet tank.
- Remove the refill tube from the toilet.
- Connect the water-supply line for the sink to the fill valve inside the toilet.
- Insert the sink’s drain line into the toilet’s discharge tube.
- Set the retrofit sink on top of the toilet tank. Use the included spacer, if necessary, to adjust the sink to fit the length of the tank.