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Comments So Far: 18

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  Ginder1 year, 3 months ago

  I had one installed by a plumber who charged me $180 to install one last week. I needed another one installed in my basement but i tried to do it myself with help of my 15 year old. It took us about 4 hours and we did it perfectly fine and saved $180 this time.

  Do NOT ever hire a plumber for this job its so easy and hiring a plumber to do it is just waste of money. Learn the handy stuff yourself and you will save a lot of money...

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  not2needy1 year, 3 months ago

  Now this is something everyone can use at some time.

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  texangelwings1 year, 3 months ago

  Thanks Ginder, this is good to know!

  Most of the time my youngest son helps with plumbing problems.

  It never hurts to know 'how to'. I changed the AC/Heat thermostat one time, just read the directions, it was really simple.

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  2sidestoeverything1 year, 3 months ago

  Thanks Ginder, I try to do as many things around the house as possible.

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  ADAGUY1 year, 3 months ago

  Just so all of you who are interested in this type of thing will know, the idea of caulking the toilet bowl at the floor is not always wise. Although it does make it look a bit more attractive if your floor happens to be uneven, it also can cause problems down the road. When the time comes that the wax gasket starts to leak, the water will be trapped between the gasket and the caulked edge. From there, it will go under the linoleum and cause permanent damage to your floor covering. However, without the caulked edge, the water will show up the first time it leaks, thereby saving any damage to the floor covering.

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    Ginder1 year, 3 months ago

    Good info :) Thanks for commenting and letting us know i will talk to someone about this may be some home depot guy

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    1 Reply

    • 86%

      ETproductions1 year, 3 months ago

      As an ex carpenter who's been down the DIY channel MANY times since my retirement from the building trades, I can verify that ADAGUY's advice is on the mark -- unless you live in an condo and hate your downstairs neighbor.

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  BronxBomber1 year, 3 months ago

  Uhhh.... I let my super take care of this area. I'm not plumbing inclined.

  Thanx Ginder.

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  Sideways_281 year, 3 months ago

  here is one more little jewel, put straws on the bolts, then you can guide them more easily into the holes in the toilet when setting it. but i've changed out many and it is simple and not worth spending money for plumber if you can lift the thing or find some one who can.

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    Ginder1 year, 3 months ago

    I wish i had read this before :D Many thanks for the tip

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  Malaika1111 year, 3 months ago

  I am an extremely lazy bee..still :)

  Thanks for posting Ginder.

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  jonmaverick1 year, 3 months ago

  This was written by a plumber? He should know that almost all houses have a separate shutoff for each toilet, and it is seldom necessary to shut off the main supply to the house.

  Also, step 2 is all wrong. If you are replacing the entire toilet it is not necessary to disconnect the tank from the bowl. The bolts you should be removing are the ones that hold the commode to the flange (or floor).

  Step three, always, always, always replace the bolts.

  Step four- I have taken up and installed hundreds of wax rings, and I can tell you nobody follows the directions on the box. The wax rings are ALWAYS installed into the flange on the floor with the rubber seal down, and the commode is set on it. I know, this is exactly the opposite of how it says to do it on the box, but I have NEVER seen one installed any other way.

  As for the rest of the article, I suggest building from the floor up, if your new toilet is all in pieces. Bolt the commode to the floor, install the tank, then the guts.

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    Dionys1 year, 3 months ago

    If it's an older house, it's always a good idea to shut off the main supply. Old shutoffs often don't always work 100%. An ounce of prevention...

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    ADAGUY1 year, 3 months ago

    I think you fail to realize that this do it you self article is intended for everyone. Ladies included. Many ladies, and some men don't have the strength to lift a fully assembled toilet. Therefore, the writer advises that the toilet be disassembled.

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  B737Tech1 year, 3 months ago

  I changed the whole works at once too without separating them.

  It just adds a little weight. I have also replaced the float type shutoff with a verticle type that never stuck open. The tank did have to come of to do that.

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  deathray1 year, 3 months ago

  I gotta tell you that the economic cost of my DIY efforts in this regard would not only be a net loss of my own time, but inevitably would incur further costs to undo the damage I'd do on my own

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  aceofspades11 year, 3 months ago

  good posting but I think a lot of people here only have to dig a new hole in the ground. - Chapt 3 from the book "How NOT to Make Friends & Influence People".

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  Natureboy11 months, 1 week ago

  The true step one-

  Get online and research what will give you the lowest water usage- for a reasonable price - recognizing that many flushes of the one that won't go down offsets any perceived efficiency.

  For extra points, have a look at composting toilets. It is retarded that we use water, a vital natural resource, to dispose of our excreta, another vital natural resource. Not everyone is up to it yet, but if we passed on the flush and returned our wonderful soil nutrients to our own backyards, we could be growing alot of our own food without petroleum-based fertilizers.

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