Artemis78 asks (questions answered out of order in relation to the posting): "...we have a very tight space to fit the toilet in. The current one is a round bowl that is set out from the wall, ... will still have a tight squeeze between the toilet and the nearby tub. ... So I'm thinking this means we should stick with a round bowl to save the meager inch or two that we pick up doing that ..." Within a specific toilet model the elongated bowl version will stick out farther from the back wall than the round bowl version, but there are some brands and models of elongated bowl toilets that have shorter dimensions from the wall to the front of the bowl than the round bowl versions of other brands and models. A manufacturer's specification sheet or a tape measure taken to a showroom may help you better than general advice from this forum. Also, the base of the user's spine, or tailbone position, near the hinge of he toilet seat will be the same for the round and elongated versions of any specific toilet model, so the knees of the person who sits on the toilet will stick out the same distance whether the bowl is round or elongated. "Wondered if anyone could share which high-efficiency toilet you chose and how you like it. Our plumber recommends the Toto Drake as a good basic model, but I want to understand what else is out there, too." Understand that the best toilet designs in the world come from Japan. Until recently, the only Japanese designed toilets that have been readily available in North America have been the Toto line, and they are very good. In direct answer to your question, we installed a Toto Vespin II (the skirted version of the latest Toto Drake) in January of this year, and it fully satisfied our (high) expectations for it. It flushes well with minimal water use, and the flush action completes rapidly; it is also easy to keep clean. The "other" major Japanese toilet maker (number 2 in market share in Japan and considered more innovative than Toto) is Inax, which is just making a big push into the Nortth American market. Five years from now, an inquiry such as yours undoubtedly would have a lot of responses recommending models of Inax toilets. Inaxes are as excellent as Totos, but harder to find. Because of the way that Toto and Inax have elected to market their wares in North America, you will see neither at any big-box store. You will have to go to a specialty plumbing retailer to see a Toto or an Inax in a showroom setting. Or, you can fly to Japan, where all of the toilets in the airports, and most of the toilets in the high-end hotels, are Inax. Terry Love, who sometimes contributes to this forum, sells both Toto and Inax in the Seattle area, and also on-line. Here is a link that might be useful: Terry Love's consumer toilet reports

Oil primer doesn't expire that I know of, but inside the can usually skins up and hardens so after that many years it may not be liquid anymore. If you live in a state where all the oil based primers are pretty much gone, I would go to a real paint store in the area and ask the guys there what the best alternative to oil based primer is in your area. I'm sure there is a comparable acrylic primer that will work just fine.

Speedhide is a pretty basic primer, but you're not wrong to use it...just use a good FULL coat. I'd consider TWO coats of this primer if you're one to put on thinner coats. >>> Apply this kind of primer at no greater than 300s.f./gal rate. >>> Aim for about 250-300sf/gal. 123 is a much better choice!! * Some new-construction painters/sheetrockers/construction people will think that's insane, because all they know is how to do stuff "at its cheapest". * Per arm/roller movement...123 is giving you TWICE the sealing/holdout ability relative to cheaper "PVA-Class" drywall primers. * The "primer" in paints like that Behr-series....IS NOWHERE NEAR the capability of primers like 123. Not even remotely!!! What kind of stores are near you, besides HD, for paints? Do you have an ACE "nearby"? Faron

We had a garage door to paint that was powder coated aluminum. The BM guys recommended priming with Stix which we did and then put the finish coat on it....so far so good. Only thing is the stix does dry really quickly so I had to paint it not in the sun and on a fairly cool and humid day for best results.