There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a job well done, especially when it’s a job that no one expects you to do.
Door Number 13 takes a walk on the DIY side.
December 13, 2025
I enjoy do-it-yourself projects. If you ask my husband, I probably enjoy them too much. I consider painting, moving furniture, and fixing stuff fun. I find yard work immensely satisfying. If I have to pick a favorite project, though, it’s plumbing. Installing a new faucet in the kitchen or bathroom instantly spruces up the place. But it’s also a good skill to have when the garbage disposal breaks or the toilet leaks.
Speaking of which, earlier this year I replaced a toilet. I’ll spare you the gory details by saying it was time. Our house is an older build, meaning the fancy new porcelain shapes don’t fit our 10″ rough in distance. Fortunately, the box store had a model that fit and was also attractive. You know you’ve a got a DIY problem when you’re standing in the toilet aisle looking at the various models and, “Ooh, that one’s nice!” escapes your lips.
It felt like Christmas came early as I unpacked the gleaming white tank and bowl. It actually came with the flush and fill valves already installed in the tank. I was beaming. Vitreous china is a girl’s best friend.
A lot of people find toilets intimidating. It’s not hard to understand why. But they are remarkably simple devices with very straightforward mechanisms of action. Once you understand how they operate, the intimidation is gone forever.
The most common question I get is if removing and disposing of the old toilet is disgusting. Just clean it before you remove it and you can plunk the bowl into the box the new one came in. Although, in doing so, you’ll miss out on how enormously satisfying it is to toss a toilet into a dumpster. Shouting a celebratory “Opa!” as it breaks is optional, but cathartic.
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