Leaky Toilet

[snubbyfan]

I just replaced a toilet and glad I listened to the salesman. He recommended a taller toilet, (It has some special name which I don't recall) but is sure makes it a lot easier getting up if you a tall person like me.

I'm only 5' 8" but having a peripheral motor nerve condition makes certain things kinda challenging.
I refused to use a seat extender (that's for handicapped people) but when we replaced our toilet I did want one that was taller and oval shaped. My wife likes it better too.

 

[snubbyfan]

Just finished (last week) the first of three bathroom remodels (main bath). We replaced the toilet with a Jacuzzi brand (higher & elongated)== the guy at Lowe's told us to use two wax rings because of the design. Not a problem. Also, new piping for shower, tiled floor and shower walls, wainscoting, etc.

The basement bathroom had puddled water but the gasket between tank and bowl was leaking. We turned the water off as we were planning on replacing the toilet (using the master bath toilet from upstairs). Everything fine for two weeks=then 1/2 inch of water. Called a plumber and he found it was the kitchen sink drain (50 year old iron pipes) had rusted out and leaked downstairs. Then the main bath plugged up!

As of yesterday, everything is "OK". Get the shower curtain up in the main bath and I can start demo in the master bath this weekend. Plumber will install a new walk-in shower just before Thanksgiving, then drywall repair, paint and tile. Then new wood floor in master bedroom and I'll tackle the downstairs bath.

All this so I can retire in a couple of years (if the house doesn't kill me first!).

BTW: I have found the way to do plumbing is one piece at a time! Install a piece, go to Lowe's/HD for the next part, repeat as needed.

The guys at Lowe's always know when I'm doing plumbing==I come in every hour or so, all day!

That's the thing about living in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia.
Nothing's really "local" in the generally accepted way.
Out here local's less than 35 miles away.

When we bought this old house, We had to chase blockages and leaks. Eventually, we collected some plumbing supplies we think we may need some day. Including a drain snake and heavy duty sewer rod.
I have had to replace all the under sink drains and I keep a selection of gaskets handy along with toilet guts and a coupla extra flappers.

 

[BearBio]

That's the thing about living in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia.
Nothing's really "local" in the generally accepted way.
Out here local's less than 35 miles away.

When we bought this old house, We had to chase blockages and leaks. Eventually, we collected some plumbing supplies we think we may need some day. Including a drain snake and heavy duty sewer rod.
I have had to replace all the under sink drains and I keep a selection of gaskets handy along with toilet guts and a coupla extra flappers.

Oh, yeah. A friend's dad just died and he was a maintenance mechanic at a local plant (Alcoa?). We hosted a yard sale and the daughter gave us all the remaining tools. I got about $1000+ in sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc and a big Craftsmen roll away=all quality stuff. I have separate tool boxes of specialty tools, including plumbing and electrical "stuff". Just had to get a bigger one for the plumbing tools (weighs ~30 lbs now), plus a wooden gun crate of pre-cut pipes, etc. Never know...........

 

[brucev]

Have put 710 miles on the car since Sunday evening. Sitting here drinking coffee and having lunch. This thread! My my my my my! Got a 5 p.m. meeting with a senior adult Sunday School class. Don't know if I can keep a straight face! Couple of Sunday mornings ago I was leading the Communion Service. Right during the Apostles Creed, a little girl let out a high pitched blast that echoed throughout the sanctuary. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. Everyone and I do mean everyone was looking around. Some had their head down in their hymnal! That little toot was a real hoot! Totally changed the atmosphere of the service. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[federali]

Go Quality.

We replaced our thrones with American Standard, Champion "4" models. Their increased height and 4" flush opening is easy on the back and we have yet to have a toilet back up or become plugged. However, I have never tried to flush 20 golf balls simultaneously as they bear no resemblance to what normally exits my south end.

 

[BigBill]

We just installed one of those American standard toilets that flushes golf balls. She sounds like a after burner. I watch my grandson just incase I see his shoes sticking out of the toilet. Lol. You never know with this kind of power. The misses picked it out when we remodeled the bathroom. The old toilet the cycle timing was off. But this one don't be sitting on it when it flushes.

I wonder what Al Bundys brand of toilet was?

 

[snubbyfan]

We just installed one of those American standard toilets that flushes golf balls. She sounds like a after burner. I watch my grandson just incase I see his shoes sticking out of the toilet. Lol. You never know with this kind of power. The misses picked it out when we remodeled the bathroom. The old toilet the cycle timing was off. But this one don't be sitting on it when it flushes.

I wonder what Al Bundys brand of toilet was?

The mighty Ferguson.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL2YRDzpTL4[/ame]

 

[vytoland]

We replaced our thrones with American Standard, Champion "4" models. Their increased height and 4" flush opening is easy on the back and we have yet to have a toilet back up or become plugged. However, I have never tried to flush 20 golf balls simultaneously as they bear no resemblance to what normally exits my south end.

this is the brand and type we just had installed..........it came with the best features and warranty over other types and works great every time.....

 

[johngalt]

When my brother remodeled his place, he made a road trip to Canada. Apparently there is big business selling thrones that actually flush to Americans.

 

[federali]

However...

Don't you guys miss the older, inefficient toilets where you can watch your waste matter doing mesmerizing victory laps before struggling to finally exit but always leaving a little something behind, requiring a second flush?

 

[Drm50]

The water saver toilets are a joke, they may require less water
to flush, but that doesn't compute when you have to flush 3
times to get the job done.
The ultimate competition style toilet is the Hi-rise-2 speed flush.
You got to becareful buying some of the gimmicks because the
running gears can be expensive. Worse if discontinued parts
can be hard to find.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

The water saver toilets are a joke, they may require less water
to flush, but that doesn't compute when you have to flush 3
times to get the job done.
The ultimate competition style toilet is the Hi-rise-2 speed flush.
You got to becareful buying some of the gimmicks because the
running gears can be expensive. Worse if discontinued parts
can be hard to find.

Ahhhh.......the XP1000 . Comes with five point harness and foot rest as an option if I remember correctly.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Then there's the one's with the pressurized tank. They sound like a jet taking off when you flush. They work well, but VERY loud. Get the new Super Sucker 2000 from Armenian Substandard! Stand clear when flushing for your own protection. Wouldn't want to lose any body parts.

Seriously, to those who disdain low flush toilets - times have changed. The early ones were terrible, but newer designs flush better than the old toilets you are so in love with. We have Vitra commercial grade toilets in this house - made in Turkey, I think. They are excellent flushers, but not fancy designer looking units.

In my previous home I had to replace a 1970s toilet (cracked bowl) with a low flush Kohler bought because my wife liked its design. What a piece of junk that was. Wouldn't flush anything - but that was 20 years ago.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Ahhhh.......the XP1000 . Comes with five point harness and foot rest as an option if I remember correctly.

 

[Drm50]

I was thinking of incorporating a toilet in to a Lazy Boy chair,
with a built in beer cooler and snack storage. The recent issues
in the NFL has killed this as a viable concept as a money maker.

 

[chief38]

We noticed some water on our bathroom floor the other day. At first I thought I splashed some water around while shaving. My wife noticed that it seemed to be coming from under the toilet.
On December of last year we had just gotten a new toilet. Can't be the toilet.
We figured out that the wax ring was leaking.
On Tuesday, after a trip to the YMCA and while we were down out of the mountains and in town, we stopped at Lowe's to pick up a new wax ring.
Instead they had a newfangled silicone seal that's supposed to be far superior to the old fashioned wax ring.
Today we went to install it.

Keeping in mind that because of a peripheral motor nerve condition I have weakness in both of my hands. My right hand being nearly useless. My wife doesn't allow me to help wash the crockery because of this. We figured the toilet's like one big hunk of crockery and my wife'd havta do the lifting.
I'm glad she's a sturdy strong Italian.
I did the unbolting and disconnecting of the water supply and she yanked it up offa the floor.

In our bathroom the toilet's held down to the flange with lag bolts going into the floor rather than having studs coming up from the flange with a coupla nuts holding the toilet down.

We finally got it all lined up and bolted down.

So far the floor's still dry.

There is a town plumber that's very good and gets lotsa work. We thought we'd try to do the job ourselves first and save a few bucks on a service call.

Snubby,
I installed 3 toilets over the last 18 months (one just last Saturday) and used the green silicone Sani-seal Ring too - they work GREAT! I did put a bead of Silicone Magic-lube ll (used on O-Rings and for swimming pool seal applications - not like GE Silicone because it never cures but always remains very sticky) on the top between the seal and the bottom of the toilet (as insurance) since the cast porcelain will always have some minor lines or roughness cast into it. Not necessary according to the instructions but I just like the extra insurance. They are re-positionable if need be (unlike wax which you only get one shot with) and are much thicker so you never have to double up on the wax rings. I actually bought an extra one last week just to keep in my inventory - for either for myself or a neighbor if an emergency creeps up. Well worth the $10 bucks and I'm DONE with wax!

PS: Hope you also used Plaster of Paris to "set:" the toilet. The Braided Supply Lines are also very good! PS: The BIGGEST mistake some guys make is they "Gorilla tighten" the Johnny Bolts...... Crrraaacckk.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I was thinking of incorporating a toilet in to a Lazy Boy chair,
with a built in beer cooler and snack storage. The recent issues
in the NFL has killed this as a viable concept as a money maker.

 

[snubbyfan]

Snubby,
I installed 3 toilets over the last 18 months (one just last Saturday) and used the green silicone Sani-seal Ring too - they work GREAT! I did put a bead of Silicone Magic-lube ll (used on O-Rings and for swimming pool seal applications - not like GE Silicone because it never cures but always remains very sticky) on the top between the seal and the bottom of the toilet (as insurance) since the cast porcelain will always have some minor lines or roughness cast into it. Not necessary according to the instructions but I just like the extra insurance. They are re-positionable if need be (unlike wax which you only get one shot with) and are much thicker so you never have to double up on the wax rings. I actually bought an extra one last week just to keep in my inventory - for either for myself or a neighbor if an emergency creeps up. Well worth the $10 bucks and I'm DONE with wax!

PS: Hope you also used Plaster of Paris to "set:" the toilet. The Braided Supply Lines are also very good! PS: The BIGGEST mistake some guys make is they "Gorilla tighten" the Johnny Bolts...... Crrraaacckk.

Didn't know 'bout the Plaster of Paris thing. Fortunately the toilet sits good and solid.
We're gonna redo our bathroom floor and I might just get a proper flange repair kit when we pull the toilet.

 

[rwsmith]

Glad you were successful...

Our toilets will work ok for a while, then something will go wrong with one or both of them. I can't seem to get a flapper chain that won't stretch or kink and get hung up. I was getting water on the floor and i figured that the overflow wasn't fast enough and allowed it to overflow the rim. We've been here about 35 years and they have been a constant battle.

 

[loknload]

Back in my early days and when I went to trade school plumbing was part of the curriculum. Later in time it was separated into its own course. I went the route of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
Now since my teacher always used cutting by hand cast iron soil pipe as a punishment I decided not too long into the school term I wanted nothing to do with plumbing!
Too this day after serving as Building Engineers and as a Chief Building Engineer I still do not want anything to do with plumbing......
My solution to plumbing problems? Call a Plumber!