Termyn8or
Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
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Boy I thought this post was going to be something totally different. Perverted curiousity got me here but I am here.
Hippie, you shouldn't need any pipe dope or that garbage teflon tape unless the installation is very old. Plus you use neither if either fitting is brass, that's why they use brass. I still prefer pipe dope no matter what anyone says.
There is alot of bad advice out there. I know someone who was told that you wrap several layerrs of teflon tape around the male end, but in reality you are supposed to only use one layer. The source of the incorrect advice ? The salesman who was selling my buddy the teflon tape.
And DA, you omitted one step in your outline IIRC, which is to set the toilet in place and hook it up. I could see someone now turning the water on and ......... not everyone is the brightest bulb on the tree. I am sure it was just an ommission, but it could be terrible for some people.
Those slight errs mean nothing to people who have done it, but someone who has might think it is some sort of a test and ........
But I did not come here to pick on people and I hope it doesn't sound like that. Thing is camille, alot of people can change a toilet. There are three important things. One, always use a new wax seal. Two, if the toilet is to be left off for any length of time take a bag of rags and stop up the hole. The toilet functions as a trap and without it you get sewer gas in the house which smells nasty and can be flammable. Just how dangerous it is depends on where you live and how the sewer system is setup.
Third but not least is the selection of a toilet. They are all water savers in this country so this matters. Some do not flush worth a shit (the pun doesn't work really). When my house burned in 95 all the contracting was paid for by insurance, so I did very little. I did get a couple grand, but the whole job was over $30,000. So they put in one of those cheapo toilets, probably the $59 special. That is not a good choice. After a few years it left residue in the drain which required snaking. The second time around I replaced the toilet and also found a chemical solution to the clog. This stuff is waaaay stronger than anything you can buy in the stores.
Anyway I went looking for toilets. The original one wouldn'ty stay clean, was too easy to overload and was the basic piece of shit. I found out a few things. If you look at the back of the bowl where it all goes down the drain, there are different configurations. Some are high tech and mine flushes as if it is using three gallons. I have also noticed that when you start to see things and say "perhaps I should take the brush to that", flush it and sometimes it actually cleans itself. I still clean it regularly, roughly weekly, but the old one literally needed cleaning every day.
Another important spec on a toilet bowl is the surface of the water area. The bigger the better. Two things happen with the bigger volume. I won't go into how this happens but people do not have perfect aim (#2) and it is better not to get it on the sides. It may make it harder for Men to aim for the outside in the middle of the night, but that is a fair trade for most people who at least have a door on the bathroom. Also, when ever you go, a larger area at surface contains the smell much more effectively.
Mine, and you should make sure it has this, but I think most do, have a dam. This will be in the tank and looks like a bleach bottle that's had the top cut off and turned upside down. What that does is it allows it to flush using only 1.6 gallons, but it has the weight of 3 or 4 gallons pushing it, this results in a better, more thorough flush.
Thing is cammille, even though you plan to sell the house, unless you plan to take a beating on the price be prepared to be there for some time. It could be the nicest house in the world (excluding mansions etc.) but it is going to take time for the real estate bubble to reinflate a bit, or for the dollar to get out of it's slump. So enjoy it, don't wreck it and someday it will sell. But in the meantime take your time and think things through.
You say you've done it before, then why can't you just get someone with the brute strength to do the carrying and placing while you direct the job ? That is alot cheaper and when you oversee everything that is even better than a reference from the BBB or something.
It's when it comes to the things you can't do, don't know how to do, that's what can trip you up. I have done quite a bit of this work and I could, with a bit of manual labor that is smarter than a box of rocks, build a house from the ground up. I mean including designing and installing the wiring, plumbing, heating and central air, any flues needed and everything that doesn't involve connecting to a well or sewer/septic system. I will end my pipes with whatever fittings you specify, you take it from there. I am responsible for it from this point on, out there you are responsible. That includes a gas line as well. You get it to the meter, I'll take it from there, and my house would have one of those continuous water heaters, but they have special requirements. But I would take care of that.
Now I will step back and allow those who will chomp at the bit to find some sort of comment on the fact that I know about toilets along with the fact that I am a Polak have their turn. Just remember though, electrician's and plumber's unions are full of Polaks, I think it is a trait in us why we do this shit (pun not intended). I also notice ALOT of Italians in the cement business, and I am not stupid, for some reason they have a knack for that shit or something. Italians would most likely pour my basement. And yes, I want a poured basement. You waterproof them and you are done as long as you get the right concrete. If money were no object, or at least in good enough supply I would also have them pour a prestressed concrete first floor. The place would have to be big, yes I want a second floor but I want most everything on the first floor.
Perhaps a brick split level with attached garage BEHIND. I can't stand seeing a garage door on the front of a house. It looks out of place to me.
So go ahead and say what you will, but to the OP, all the other issues are not at issue right now the toilet is. You have to pay attention to that shit now (pun not intended I think), so shop around. Don't wait until you have the old one out and be in a hurry.
You should be able to find salespeople in these DIY places who know about it. Demand answers. Raise the question, how does it flush ? Tell them what you heard about cheap toilets. And one other thing, don't get one of those fancy double wide ones that look like a throne. They are the shittiest ones when it comes to flushing sometimes. (pun judgement left to the perogative of the reader). The problem is they attempt to make it flush silently, this causes problems.
Think about just what you are doing when you sit there, it seems the basic white porcelin receptacle should be fine, no ?
With that I yield the floor.
T
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RE: Unwilling slave to my own toilet - 
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