| Installing a new toilet in your Auburn home is relatively easy for the handy person. Here are few steps that can help, and it can be completed in about one day.Selecting a new toilet:
In the United States, new toilets must allow for only one & a half gallons of water per flush. This not only saves the environment with every flush, it also saves you $ each month on your Auburn water bill. You will find that most local building codes require these new toilets. It is always best to check with your local Auburn DPW before installing the new toilet. The only thing left is to choose a style and color that best suits your needs and interior design scheme of your bathroom. A little word from the wise, do not buy the cheapest toilet you can find. They will only be a headache, like clog all the time. You should expect to pay at least around $100 bucks for a decent WC. Okay, let’s get started: If you are installing a toilet in Your Auburn home where one did not exist before you can skip this part. Replacing an old toilet has only a couple of extra steps from installing a toilet in a new location. Like removing the old toilet. Before you go and try to remove the old toilet, you need to be sure the water has been shut off. Behind and to the left of the toilet is the water shut off valve. If you remember the old phrase, “Righty Tighty- Lefty Lucy”, you should be able to know which way to turn the valve to turn the water supply off. Turn to the right to close the valve. You will need to be sure the water is turned off and you will need to empty the tank, so flush the toilet twice. This helps to ensure you got most of the water out. There will be a bit of remaining water in the tank so have towels or news paper on the floor to help mop up the water when the tank is removed. A sponge will to get the remaining water out of the tank and bowl. Removing the old tank: Follow the water supply cut off valve to the tank of the toilet. Take an adjustable wrench and loosen the supply tubing on the coupling nut. Once you have the water supply disconnected, it is time to remove the tank. With the same technique you just used to remove the supply line, you need to hold the mounting bolt nut under the tank, while inside the tank you unscrew the mounting bolt from the main body of the toilet. This will release the tank. Simply set the tank on the floor with some form of cushion to protect your floor. Newspaper or old towels will do just fine. Next you will need to remove the floor bolts that hold the main toilet body to the floor. This can be difficult, sometimes the bolt will just spin. When this happens to me I use my hammer and break the toilet at the base, it’s messy but effective. Once you have these off, it is time to pull the toilet off the floor. The toilet is attached not only by the floor bolts, but also by adhesive. You will need to rock the toilet back and forth while leaning it forward to pry it loose. Once the old toilet has been removed stuff a rag into the exposed pipe. This helps keep the sewer gasses from entering the room and keeps objects from falling into it. You can use a paint scraper or putty knife to scrape the old adhesive remains from the floor and pipe gasket. Try to clean as well as possible as this will help with better adhesion for the new toilet. Installing a new toilet: If you are installing a toilet where there wasn’t one before, water pipes and a drain line will need to be installed. You will need to call a professional Auburn plumber to do this for you as it is very involved and dangerous. Once you have ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air install the pipes, installing the new toilet is a snap! Lay some newspaper or old towels on the floor to protect it. Un-box the new toilet and install the tank to the bowl. Next install new closet bolts to the toilet flange, it’s best if you have an extra set of nuts and washers so you can snug the bolts on to the flange. Next install the new wax ring to the flange. Take the new toilet and set it over the flange, guide the bolts through the holes in the bowl. Once it’s set, rock the toilet back and forth this will help squeeze down the wax and insure a good seal. With a level on top of the bowl, slowly tighten the floor bolts. You want the bowl to be tight to the floor, but not too tight as to crack the porcelain of the bowl. If you are unable to level the bowl and have the floor bolts tight at the same time, you may need small plastic shims to level the bowl. The only thing left is to hook up the water supply. Take the water supply nut and screw to the bottom of the tank. Turn the water supply valve back on and flush! Congratulations! You have just installed your first toilet! |