| The Joys of Home Ownership |
[Jul. 28th, 2007|02:01 pm]
Random Pi
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How I spent my Friday NightSo our downstairs toilet has been leaking a little into the basement with every flush. No big deal--a new wax ring and all will be well. I turned off the water and disconnected the water supply to the tank and removed as much water from the toilet as I could.
I had to hacksaw the bolts that secure the commode to the floor, because they were totally rusted. No problem. Finally removed the toilet and scraped away all of the old wax from the bottom of the commode and from the exposed plumbing.
New bolts are needed--it's 8:30pm, so the local place hsa closed. I just have to run to Home Depot in the pouring rain. The most annoying thing about I-65 is that it retains water. Just after I crossed the bridge into Indiana, a Semi traveling the opposite way threw a tsunami up over the jersey wall. It must have been a hundred gallons of water that slammed into the little Kia. I couldn't see a thing for two very terrifying seconds. Made it to Home Depot, got my bolts, returned home.
The exterior of the car is very clean.
The new wax ring goes on, re-install the commode--including the water supply. Turn on the water, wait for the tank to fill, then flush to test (monica502 is in the basement with a flashlight).
Monica gets a shower. Oh dear.
Disconnect the water supply, drain the water, detach the toilet and discover that the wax ring on the left side of the connection isn't sealing. Scrape wax from the other sides and fill in the left side. Re-attach the toilet and the water, fill the tank, test flush. No leaks. Hooray!
The flapper valve leaks a little. This also has been going on for a while. We'll pickup a replacement in the morning--we don't need to waste water.
Note for next time: place the wax ring on the floor, not on the commode (even though that isn't what the directions say to do; there are times one shouldn't follow the directions; this is one of them).
The Toilet Trauma ContinuesAfter Friday Night nightmares involving Captain Underpants and the Terrible Talking Toilets, it's time to tackle the flapper valve and, as long as everything is opened up anyway, to replace the fill assembly. The fill valve swaps right out, but the new flapper doesn't fit in the old flush valve. Great. Now the flush valve assembly has to be replaced.
I removed the tank from the rest of the commode, peeled off the smooshed foam-like washer from the bottom (I have since learned that this is called a spud washer. Go figure). The old flush valve assembly comes right off, and I had to the hardware store to get a new one, along with a new spud washer. As long as I'm there, I figure I'll replace the bolts and washers that secure the tank to the toilet.
Rather than make a short story long, all of the replacement parts fit perfectly. Everything goes back together without incident, and the toilet in the first floor bathroom is like new.
For my next trick, I will rebuild and insulate the ceiling in the attic. Carrying drywall to the third floor is not going to be fun... |
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good
enthralled
okay
exhausted