Ideas on how to renovate Downstairs Toilet

Danny30

Hi all. I recently bought a house and the downstairs toilet doesn't look good. I was hoping for some ideas on how to improve it and if it can realistically be done by myself. The biggest issues is covering the pipes which look ugly. Any ideas would be welcome. 

Doozergirl

Wow. That looks clean. 🤢 

I'm a perfectionist in these things.  It's awful that someone has run pipes over the boxing the hides pipes. Truly defeats the object.  

I'd be removing all the boxing and tracing the source of each pipe and working out what can be diverted so they all run within ceilings, floors and walls or, at the very least, neatly clipped tight against walls.  Then you could batten the whole wall out about 25mm to contain the pipes, plasterboard over so that they all disappear within a new false wall.  Is it a wooden floor or concrete?  

As it is, there would be boxing all over the place if you were trying to cover that.  

Danny30

Thanks Doozer. Yes, the pipes look awful like a lot of other stuff in the house. The floor is wooden floorboards under the vinyl. Do you think it would it be expensive to re pipe that mess? 

grumbler

Is this really boxing? Looks like a piece of solid wood to me. What is it for?

I think it's more realistic to redo the most ugly pipes and hide all in small horizontal (at the bottom) and vertical boxing.

Doozergirl

Danny30 said:

Thanks Doozer. Yes, the pipes look awful like a lot of other stuff in the house. The floor is wooden floorboards under the vinyl. Do you think it would it be expensive to re pipe that mess? 

A day's work for a plumber. 

Good that it is wooden as they can also re route those bigger pipes coming right up in the middle.  

I wonder if you can buy a toilet where the water inlet is on the other side.  Save even more pipes running everywhere.  

Doozergirl

grumbler said:

Is this really boxing? Looks like a piece of solid wood to me. What is it for?

I think it's more realistic to redo the most ugly pipes and hide all in small horizontal (at the bottom) and vertical boxing.

I think it is boxing.  The tiles go under it and it's cut at the bottom to accommodate pipes running into it. If it's solid (eg. holding up a staircase) then it's seriously undermined and needs some attention itself.