boomerblog

After spending over $200 on plumber bills to fix a toilet that never worked right. I finally broke down and bought and installed a new toilet myself. The new toilet cost around $150 at Home Depot, and the wax ring was $3.50. It only took an hour, and considering how much I had worried about it I realized it was something I should have done long ago. So many times in my life I build up and procrastinate over simple repairs that cost much more than just doing it. With home repairs you’ve got to be fearless. You must face the unknown with confidence that you may not possess—a skill that you can apply to all your life challenges.

Anyway, some tips on changing a toilet. Always buy the best. Right now Kohler is the Cadillac of low-flow toilets. Kohler has a huge R&D staff developing new inventions to help your poop go down smoothly and to help a toilet operate the way it should. Don’t spend your money and your time installing an inferior brand of toilet. You only want to install toilets a few times in your life. Make the experience a good one. Install a quality Kohler toilet. I’ve installed over 10 toilets. This is something I had to learn the hard way.

The other tip is to make sure that you buy a quality wax ring. Always, always, change the wax ring. No matter how good the old ring may appear during removal of the old toilet. Better to spring an extra few dollars for the extra wax. I always buy the $3.50 wax ring rather than the $2.00 one. You don’t want to chance on the toilet leaking during a flush after you’ve installed it and are ready to go on to new things in your life.

When removing the old toilet, start by disconnecting the water supply. Then flush until you get all the water out of the toilet. Use a cup if necessary to remove the rest of the water inside the bowl. Then remove the tank by unscrewing the bolts under the tank that secure it to the seat. Have a bathroom trashcan ready to collect the leftover water from tank that comes to meet you when you unscrew the bolts. Have a big beach towel handy for moping up messes.

After removing the back, unscrew the seat by loosening the two screws on either side of the bottom of the toilet. Then carefully grasp the toilet gently in you arms and pull it up from the back. Carefully walk it out the nearest doorway and don’t set that baby down until you reach past the front or back door. Usually there will always be a bit of water just dying to drain out on a rug or wood floor.

After you’ve removed the toilet take a look down into the hole in the floor and imagine that you’re in China. Actually, in China they have a sort of ceramic trough that lines the hole and helps aiming. But imagining that you’re in China helps to make the job seem more exotic than it really is.

Take a putty knife and scrape of all the wax and put it into the bathroom trashcan you used to collect the water from the tank. Clean it up as good as possble.

Get the base of your new toilet out of the box. Place it on it’s side. Unwrap your new wax ring, place it on the hole on the bottom of the toilet. Run a strip of caulk all around the bottom of the toilet where it will make contact with the bathroom floor. Then carefully lift the base and, with the skill of a bombardier. Set it down so that the two bolts connected to your floor flange poke up through the two holes in the base of your toilet. Then wet your finger with water from the sink and wipe the caulk smooth around the base so that it looks really professional. This will awe all your friends. Apply the two nuts and tighten down the toilet seat. Don’t get carried away with your superhuman strength. You don’t need to make these bolts super tight. Check the levelness of your toilet with a bubble level. You may have to bolt down one side more than the other to bring it level. Sit on it a few times to seat the wax seal. Imagine how this new trouble-fee toilet is going to improve your quality of life.

Then open the box with your tank and place your tank onto the back of your toilet, carefully lining up the three bolts. Again, don’t let the “Hulk” inside you take over. You are bolting down onto a fairly thin piece of ceramic. no need to crack it. A little on one bolt, a little on the other, until they’re all snug. Connect your water supply and check for leaks. If leaks appear. Don’t panic. Relax. Take a deep breath. Turn off the water supply, tighten a few bolts and try it again.

For a better description, try this link on 12-step toilet installation extreme how-to

This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2005 at 9:07 am and is filed under Home Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.