Whine and Cheese

I've lived in my house for over 16 years now. I've fixed things when I could and called for help when I couldn't. One of the things that I've tackled in the past was the toilet. When it continued to run, I replaced the ball and changed the gaskets. I've kept it going for as long as I could, but the flapper that I replaced a few years back stopped ... er... flapping last night. So I decided it was time to upgrade to a new toilet.

The rust stains I couldn't clean and the instances where it had a weak flush were things I coped with but changing a toilet per my Home Depot 1-2-3 book is supposed to be easy. My sister told me it was easy. So after work today, I went and bought a new toilet and all the accessories to put it in.

Well, the Home Depot book said it takes a novice 1.5 hours to install it.

Lies. All lies...

I got the old toilet up without problem and unboxed the new one. However, there are things that you don't know about the toilet set up until you remove the old one. Mine has a recessed flange due to the tile. Luckily, I'd bought an extra-thick wax ring as a precaution. However, when I put it on the new toilet and installed it, it didn't seem mash into place. The toilet was too high with the recessed flange, so I worried the wax ring didn't seal. This naturally sent me into a panic as the easy just became less easy.

I checked some online videos and they suggested doubling up the wax rings, but there's issues with that. So I did some more online searching and found that Home Depot has a new type of seal that would fit. After another jaunt to Home Depot, I went home and put the bowl in place without problem. Then I attached the tank... and could NOT get it level. Kohler has put a freakish set of screws in the thing that are near impossible to tighten and make the tank level.

After much cursing and fretting, I got it level-ish and hooked everything up. Some small leaks happened, but I tightened the screws up more and it stopped. I flushed it successfully.

It took four hours. Geez. I'm hoping that it doesn't leak after successive uses.

I think I may call a plumber next time and just have it professionally done.

But at least this experience is over for now.

I love my house. It's one main drawback is that it only has ONE bathroom. So the toilet has been making a gulping sound of late when the tank is refilling. The noise scared my mom on her last visit. I told her she had broken the toilet and would now have to go outside in the woods. She replied, "Been there and done that." Mom is of the outhouse generation...

Instead of finding a plumber and paying through the nose, I decided to fix it myself, one of the other joys of homeowning. I stopped off at Home Depot and a cute and helpful guy told me what I needed to fix the noise and I was on my way.

Never one to let a potential disaster go unrecorded, I took pictures along the way of my attempt at manly repair.

( The Plumbing Story in Pictures, Work Safe except for brief butt crack )