OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
So I finally got around to replacing the toilet at our house today. House is early 1900's, (1908 IIRC) but the bathroom had been "updated" at some point (I think 60's or 70's) and is now in dire need of another refresh but the immediate problem has been old fixtures that are now leaking and doing other fun things.
So far, we've pulled all the steel pipe running to the kitchen and replaced with copper. Installed a new drain (PCV) and tied it into the cast, which runs under the floor and also makes up the stand-pipe, so it isn't coming out. It is also in good shape so that's a plus.
After that I put a new faucet in the bathroom (Moen, made in USA) and replaced the plumbing there (feed pipes and drain).
The toilet was next on the agenda.
The unit that was there was an old 60's or 70's vintage "American Standard" with a massive tank that used a small bathtub every time you hit the flusher. I will note that we have, just in the last month, began paying for water consumption (vs a flat rate before) and just today I got a lovely note from the utility telling me that they have noticed constant consumption/extremely high consumption. Now, the seal for the flap on the tank in that toilet was corroded and would not seal properly even with a new flapper installed. So it always "ran". Not much, but I am sure it added up. And this would account for the "constant consumption" they were concerned about and I knew would be reflected in my bill.
I had been looking at various options and wanted something American or Canadian made and didn't want to spend an obscene amount of money. Ultimately Home Depot had a nice Kohler unit that met my criteria:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/cimarron...let-with/912259
Which had some good reviews, is relatively simply looking, so it will go with my bathroom (and our plans for that room) and also was priced reasonably well.
Anybody familiar with antique plumbing knows how much fun the rest this job was once I got it home.
1. The floor in the bathroom is linoleum (I hate linoleum). Guess what was under the linoleum? MORE linoleum! Several layers. Had to be a good 1/2" thick. Since the footprint of the new toilet in no way resembled the old one I had a lot of cutting to do to make it fit.
2. The closet flange, it was BRASS! That was a neat discovery. It also wasn't attached to anything other than the downpipe. It was not screwed to the floor
I fixed that. I also discovered that under the linoleum layers and the plywood was the same hardwood found in the rest of the house. And wasn't in as bad as shape as I would have expected given what was on top of it.
3. Getting the old fasteners out of the brass closet flange was difficult on one side and impossible on the other. So I reused the one. It was in good shape anyway.
Of course half-way through my kids are telling me they have to pee (this old house only has one bathroom.... I have no idea why). They didn't seem keen on holding it but they did.
Ultimately the wax gasket and everything worked properly with the existing stuff and I was able to get it mounted, seated and sealed with no issues. The longest part being the cutting of the floor to make it fit.
Anybody else have a fun toilet install experience with some surprises along the way?
So far, we've pulled all the steel pipe running to the kitchen and replaced with copper. Installed a new drain (PCV) and tied it into the cast, which runs under the floor and also makes up the stand-pipe, so it isn't coming out. It is also in good shape so that's a plus.
After that I put a new faucet in the bathroom (Moen, made in USA) and replaced the plumbing there (feed pipes and drain).
The toilet was next on the agenda.
The unit that was there was an old 60's or 70's vintage "American Standard" with a massive tank that used a small bathtub every time you hit the flusher. I will note that we have, just in the last month, began paying for water consumption (vs a flat rate before) and just today I got a lovely note from the utility telling me that they have noticed constant consumption/extremely high consumption. Now, the seal for the flap on the tank in that toilet was corroded and would not seal properly even with a new flapper installed. So it always "ran". Not much, but I am sure it added up. And this would account for the "constant consumption" they were concerned about and I knew would be reflected in my bill.
I had been looking at various options and wanted something American or Canadian made and didn't want to spend an obscene amount of money. Ultimately Home Depot had a nice Kohler unit that met my criteria:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/cimarron...let-with/912259
Which had some good reviews, is relatively simply looking, so it will go with my bathroom (and our plans for that room) and also was priced reasonably well.
Anybody familiar with antique plumbing knows how much fun the rest this job was once I got it home.
1. The floor in the bathroom is linoleum (I hate linoleum). Guess what was under the linoleum? MORE linoleum! Several layers. Had to be a good 1/2" thick. Since the footprint of the new toilet in no way resembled the old one I had a lot of cutting to do to make it fit.
2. The closet flange, it was BRASS! That was a neat discovery. It also wasn't attached to anything other than the downpipe. It was not screwed to the floor
3. Getting the old fasteners out of the brass closet flange was difficult on one side and impossible on the other. So I reused the one. It was in good shape anyway.
Of course half-way through my kids are telling me they have to pee (this old house only has one bathroom.... I have no idea why). They didn't seem keen on holding it but they did.
Ultimately the wax gasket and everything worked properly with the existing stuff and I was able to get it mounted, seated and sealed with no issues. The longest part being the cutting of the floor to make it fit.
Anybody else have a fun toilet install experience with some surprises along the way?
