Wallpaper and Toilet Paper Holder

I usually do my own prep, but this time the homeowner had her contractor strip the existing wallpaper. This photo is to show you the toilet paper holder close up. You’ll have to imagine it without the wallpaper, as it was when I arrived to start this project.

Fixtures like this, including towel bars and rings and many light fixtures , can be removed by loosening the recessed set screws , which are usually on the bottom of the fixture. They will take either a very small flat-head screwdriver , or a small allen wrench . These sit very close to the wall, so you have to be careful not to let your tools scratch or mar the wall as you work.

Here’s a close-up of the underside of the fixture, showing the recessed set screw. In this case, an allen wrench was needed. Most fixtures take the same size wrench. Here I’m using my American set. But you occasionally will need a metric set.

Once I got the holder off, I discovered that the contractor had not bothered to remove the toilet paper holder, but had cut around it. In doing this, he also left some of the original wallpaper. Also, by cutting around the fixture, he scored into the wall, which is not good because it breaks the surface and creates a potentially unstable surface that can come apart over time. In addition, it took them a whole lot of time to work around this fixture to remove the old wallpaper and then repair and smooth the wall.
The whole business makes little sense, because it’s ultimately easier and faster to simply remove the thing. No damage to the wall, and then wallpaper can go behind the fixture leaving no cut edges around it.

Here I’ve hung the wallpaper and marked the holes for the screws.

Mounting bracket back in place.

Toilet paper holder reattached.

Metal Mars Surfaces – Prevention

In the top photo, I am using an allen wrench to remove the tiny set screw that is holding a toilet paper holder to its mounting bracket. Turning the screw causes the wrench to rub against the wall, and the metal is leaving a dark mark on the wallpaper primer. You wouldn’t want this to happen once the new wallpaper is up!

To prevent this, you could put a piece of scrap paper in between the wrench and the new paper. Or you can make tiny, 1/4 turns, so that the large end of the wrench does not come in contact with the wall.

Or, better, use a smaller wrench with a narrower profile. These are usually included in the box when you buy fixtures like this. As you can see in the second photo, there is plenty of clearance, and no damage to the new wallpaper.

Allen Wrenches – American and Metric

Digital Image

Many bathroom fixtures (towel bars, etc.) are removed by the use of an allen wrench (also called a hex key).  My American (inch) set on the left works most of the time.

But it helps to have a metric set (right) on hand, too, for the occasional fixture calibrated to European measurements.

Unusual Mounting Bracket for a Bathroom Mirror

Digital Image

It’s best to take accessories off the wall before installing the wallpaper, so that the wallpaper can go behind them, and leave a smooth, uniform look. “Accessories” can mean anything from light switch plate covers to towel bars to light fixtures to artwork to, as in this case, mirrors.

This mirror (not shown) was supported by a bracket that held it a few inches away from the wall, and allowed it to swivel up and down. I had not seen one like this before, so it was interesting to me to figure out how it worked and how to get the mirror off the wall – and then back onto the wall, after the wallpaper was up.

This mirror was affixed with “female” mounting receptacles that fit over the “male” rods protruding from the bracket on the wall. Then there was a largish hex-shaped set screw that fit into the top and joined the rod and the receptacle together and held them tight – with the help of an allen wrench. Now the apparatus is ready to support a heavy, framed mirror.