Fixed it

Parent Cafe
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<p>Looking for some clever or special accomplishment du jour?</p>

<p>Not here. However, I just fixed a toilet in our house that had been the source of annoyance for some years. Seems when the new clay tile was placed the tile setters had to move the toilet, naturally enough. One would think they would be prepared for this…(hint, hint :eek:).</p>

<p>However, in our place they moved the fixture and replaced it just fine - sort of. The problem is they NEVER replaced the wax seal that is essential to correct operation. And, since the ceramic stool is now a half inch higher, the original seal was too short. Guess what? All the waste that should go down the pipe is contained on the inside of the base. Not too big a problem, but they got chintzy with the grout and failed to grout the tile under the porcelain paradise. A sub-tile mess resulted.</p>

<p>Finally, I’d had enough and figured out part of what was wrong through observation. Never having done this before, I researched the correct installation and removed the fixture down to the pipe flange. There, I saw the full extent of the issue. I could have chewed steel nails in two or the living leg bone of any available tile-setter down to the marrow.</p>

<p>After much scraping and work with detergent and loads of bleach, the debris field was contained and neutralized. Then it was a simple matter to correctly grout the open tile, which took mere minutes and grout (even the correct color!) the tile store gave me for free.</p>

<p>Then - the trick - it takes TWO fresh wax seals to correctly install the stool, not one and certainly not a torn, reused one like the moron tried the first time. It only cost me about $7, for the seals, new bolts and nuts.</p>

<p>While a plumber could have easily installed the pot, it’d have cost me at least $100-200, and would never have cleaned up like I did. The stool now flushes to factory specifications.</p>

<p>:D</p>

<p>Happiness is plumbing that works.</p>

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<p>Congratulations! Every toilet problem I’ve ever had has turned out simpler than I thought once I tackled it. As I was reading your “half-inch higher” comment I was thinking, “I hope someone told him to use two wax rings.” You are obviously very clever.</p>

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<p>Will you come and fix our toilet? We seem to have to replace the sealy things in the tank all too often!</p>

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<p>Hey parent2noles, I just installed a kitchen faucet last night! :slight_smile: I’m so proud. I actually started the project on Wednesday but could only get the old faucet half way off. It seemed to be rusted to the underside of the sink and I could not budge it at all. So I reluctantly called a plumber. Thursday he came. I admitted that I’d started the job and only got part way before failure. He then said it would cost $350!!! I thought he was joking, but he was serious. There was no way I could afford that. He crawled under the sink and looked at what I’d done and then told me that the faucet wasn’t rusted to the underside but rather there was a “hidden” nut that just needed to be unscrewed. I said I thought I could handle that and then, amazingly, he just used my tools to take the old faucet off, gave me tips on how to install the new one (the directions really sucked) and did NOT bill me a penny. After he left, it took about 45 mins. and a few do-overs on some steps, but I got the thing on and it works! It’s not a toilet, so I bow to you on that, but it feels sort of good to be able to “earn” $350 in 45 mins. :)</p>

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<p>Congratulations!</p>

<p>It’s nice to be able to resolve problems with these things we take so often for granted when they are working. ;)</p>

<p>mathmom…buy the better quality seals, or it may be time to replace the whole thing. :(</p>

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<p>That’s great!</p>

<p>I’ve gotten myself into some messes because my motto is, “If you can read, you can____(fill in the blank with: cook, fix a leaking whatever, build a whatever, etc.)”
My success rate before waving the white flag and calling in someone who really CAN do those things is hovering around 50%.
I swear, when the last kid goes off to college in a couple of years, I’ll close in on >90%.</p>

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<p>Congratulations. A successful plumbing repair can give you a high equivalent to being the first person to walk on the moon. I absolutely dread any household repairs involving plumbing. I get no help with these jobs because my family has learned it is best to leave the house for the day. Every repair starts with the risky step of turning off the water supply. Usually the shutoff valve is frozen. If it does turn, it fails to stop the flow of water. A trip to the basement to shut off the main supply has the same effect. So the next step involves finding a pan to catch the trickle of water. No matter how simple or how careful you have been, the repair parts never fit. There is always at least one trip to the plumbing store. While you are doing that there is no water in the house except for the leak because the shutoff values do not work. If you are successful in making the repair, there is always one more problem. Once you turn the water back on, water continues to leak around the valve stem of the shutoff valve. This is because the seal consists of a piece of rope impregnated with wax. After a few days, the dripping usually stops and you can enjoy that feeling of success. In the meantime I curse every plumber and the entire plumbing industry going back to the ancient Romans.</p>

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<p>They make a wax ring extender you can use when you install ceramic tile. I forget what they call it.</p>

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<p>Now we know why plumbers make a decent living…</p>

<p>I looked all through the wax rings at the hardware store and I didn’t see an extended one, but it’s logical they make one. They had plain wax rings of different diameters, different ones for different fixtures and the kind with the plastic water guide built-in. For this job I selected the water-guide type for the lower and the plain for the upper.</p>

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<p>I had to do this job several years ago. However, my experience was a bit different. When I went to Home Depot they had two thicknesses of wax rings. Thinking that more was better, I bought the double thick one. I put it on with no problem (if you count having to hacksaw off the old bolts “not a problem”). However, when I replaced the toilet, its base was siting what seemed like a good inch above the floor. No problem, I’ll just sit on it to squish the wax down. Well, my weight didn’t do the trick so I had to call Her Royal Highness over to join me on the thrown. Too bad we didn’t have someone available with a video camera because with her sitting on my lap we still had to do quite a bit of bumping and grinding before the wax finally yielded.</p>

<p>Your post is timely, however, because now I have another toilet issue. A couple of days ago, we noticed some water dripping on the floor behind a different tolet. It turns out that the bolts that fasten the tank to the lower part of the toilet had come loose and hence the seal between the two was leaking. However, in the process of trying to tighten the bolts I broke the ball-c o c k assembly. Now I have to go out and buy a new assembly and install it. I HATE PLUMBING!!!</p>

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<p>I think your post is probably illegal in at least a couple of states.</p>

<p>As an undergrad, I really wanted to chuck school and become a plumber. I’ve no real talent for it, rather the opposite, but I found it interesting. What stopped me is that it was quicker for me to get a PhD than to become a master plumber. Now, of course, I’m still neither, and the plumbers my age have all retired to the Riviera.</p>

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<p>Reading about parent2noles and fundingfather’s triumphant plumbing repairs reminds me of my favorite moment on Politically Incorrect when it was on ABC.</p>

<p>The guests were J.C. Watts, Al Sharpton, and some female comedian. Watts was dead serious all the time, and running through a litany of stock Republican objections to things the Clinton Administration was doing. The comedian was looking for an entry point. Finally, Watts came up with a laundry list of “big government” things to which he objected, including a proposed standard for how much water a toilet could use.</p>

<p>The comedian said, “Yeah! What’s that about? Why is the Government getting involved in my bathroom remodelling?”</p>

<p>Sharpton, who had been lying in wait, leaned over and said to her, “Honey, if you had to say all the things he does to get ahead in the Republican party, you’d be real worried about how much your toilet could flush, too.”</p>

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<p>Illegal? Are you kidding? Did I violate some union-shop rules? ;)</p>

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<p>I meant FF with all the bumping and grinding and video-camming, and words so obscene he has to leave s p a c e s in them. But I guess you too. :)</p>

<p>(Where I come from, all the home taught plumbers are very careful to bring the old toilet to the dump instead of leaving it on the curb where it might raise questions about permits and such).</p>

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<p>Wooohoo, conyat - I never thought of it that way :o. Where was Mrs. p2n when I needed her? :D</p>

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<p>Would this be a bad time to mention that I had to remove and later reinstall the toilet in our powder room when I laid new flooring, and the whole project went off without incident? I’ve also replaced two garbage disposals without any hassles. I have not, however, tackled more-complex projects like moving sinks or toilets. I might end up using some of those words my father-in-law learned in the Navy if I did.</p>

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<p>Is it too tacky to say that if I were she, I’d have been hopping up and down outside the bathroom door with my legs crossed saying, “Hooney, hurrry uuuup”?</p>

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<p>You are my hero!</p>

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<p>It’s amazing how many folks can identify with such issues. (duh) </p>

<p>I think I want to invite everyone for dinner (I haven’t told Mrs. p2n yet, I’ll wait until 2 hours before the first guest arrives and surprise her :slight_smile: I’m sure she’ll think it’s wonderful. :rolleyes:). </p>

<p>Imagine the party that would result…we’d have the usual suspects arguing politics, the moms discussing shoes and everyone talking about their kids. It’d be interesting. The Sinners Alley crew would be singing before too long and listening to the latest sluggtales.</p>

<p>Now that the guest room toilet works, the world is our oyster!</p>

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<p>white or red? what time?</p>