I actually did a plumbing job myself

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I knew something was wrong with the toilet when I flushed it - there wasn't the usual resistance in the handle. I was right, it just kept running. I shut off the intake and examined the inner tank. There was only a little water on the bottom. The flapper looked askew. When I touched it, it was the consistency of play-doh and one of the arms that hook onto the fill valve had disintegrated. Trip to the hardware store with flapper in hand (to make sure I got the right one). With some help from the store manager, I brought it home and installed it myself - the chain needed some adjustment, though. Probably saved myself $100.
 

debodun said:
I knew something was wrong with the toilet when I flushed it - there wasn't the usual resistance in the handle. I was right, it just kept running. I shut off the intake and examined the inner tank. There was only a little water on the bottom. The flapper looked askew. When I touched it, it was the consistency of play-doh and one of the arms that hook onto the fill valve had disintegrated. Trip to the hardware store with flapper in hand (to make sure I got the right one). With some help from the store manager, I brought it home and installed it myself - the chain needed some adjustment, though. Probably saved myself $100.
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Probably saved yourself $200 these days! Good for you!
 

Sliverfox said:
If you are putting the little bowl cleaners in the holding tank of the toilet they can slide down under the flapper part.
Bad part of them they do damage the flapper,,,make them soft.
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I don't use cleaners in the tank for just that reason, but the water here is extremely hard.

I never liked that toilet - the flush handle is a pull knob in the middle of the tank cover.
 
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Good job. I'm horribly unhandy but did replace the flapper in that house I owned. I didn't even know what it was called when I went to the hardware store and explained it.

I also replaced some knobs, locks and a deadbolt. That's about my extent.
 
debodun said:
I knew something was wrong with the toilet when I flushed it - there wasn't the usual resistance in the handle. I was right, it just kept running. I shut off the intake and examined the inner tank. There was only a little water on the bottom. The flapper looked askew. When I touched it, it was the consistency of play-doh and one of the arms that hook onto the fill valve had disintegrated. Trip to the hardware store with flapper in hand (to make sure I got the right one). With some help from the store manager, I brought it home and installed it myself - the chain needed some adjustment, though. Probably saved myself $100.
Click to expand...
Good for you. Congratulations. Nothing is more pleasing, I think, than to discover your self reliance. Not only is it pleasing to learn of your own capability, but now you know how something works and no one can vicitimize you with a lot of bull. Well done. (y)
 
Sliverfox said:
Good for you!

If you are putting the little bowl cleaners in the holding tank of the toilet they can slide down under the flapper part.
Bad part of them they do damage the flapper,,,make them soft.

Anything else need minor repairs yet?
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Also, if you put something in the tank that 'cleans with each flush', it too has chemicals that will deteriorate rubber and some plastics quickly. For toilets there really is no 'easy way' to clean them but, the old fashioned way. Elbow grease.
 
Wes said:
now you know how something works and no one can vicitimize you with a lot of bull. Well done. (y)
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Like the plumber I contacted after I first moved in. His first question was how old was the plumbing. When I said about 30 years, he indicated that the whole house should be re-plumbed with pipes that old. He talked himself out of a small job by making it a major one. Most of the plumbing is PVC, I didn't think that would wear out that soon.
 
This is probably what the concern was:

“Polybutylene is a form of plastic resin that was used extensively in the manufacture of water supply piping from 1978 until 1995”

Some of these pipes suddenly fail, due to brittleness caused by water treatment chemicals in public water supplies. I saw it happen once to a neighbor of my former in-laws. Pipe burst and water drained out into the street. Not fun. The other problem was incorrect installation since it was a change from copper and not every contractor was doing it right.
 

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