Water problems: plumbing and heating issues

I used to try and help DIY guys on another site I belonged to. It was a great forum, but I sometimes felt like it was a pizzing contest with people trying to trump the answers of the other guy. I rehab houses for my benefit, not for customer benefit. Sometimes I help people who are in trouble, though. I do my repairs to last becasue I don't want to do them again.

Most importantly, I'm a hack :2flip: - don't take any advice from me if you can do it by yourself already.:D I started this thread to talk about some of the things I been facing in the last few months, and maybe help a few others along the way.

The simple fact - ignore water problems inside your house, and the repairs you do at the end will cost a lot more than if you dealt with them right away. :don't know why:

Plumbing - Leaky toilets - a leaky toilet will cause you a lot more than a high water bill, but that's a good place to start.

How many people know that one leaky toilet can increase a water bill by $10-30/month? That's a lot of custom plugs if you start adding up the $ in wasted water. I knew a guy with 4 leaky toilets in his house, it took him 2 years to have them fixed. Figure he was spending up to $100 more a month than he needed to on water, enough for a mini-vacation at the end of the year.

Usually, if it's leaking, it's one of 2 areas:

1. Fill valve leaking - get a new fill valve kit - I like the new ones, Korky whisper quiet, not many complaints after I install one of those.
Be sure to check the flapper, sometimes crud underneath prevernt a good seal, better to replace all at once.
Be careful to have the chain connecting to the flush handle not too long to slip underneath the flapper when flushing. Youd be surprised how many people neglect to do this.

2. Leaking from the tank into the bowl - this is one repair many ignore because they don't feel competent enough to do it. it's not that bad - get some wd40 or penetrating oil if the tank boults (under the tank) are rusty, spray if needed. Important to have a wide flathead screwdriver with decent torque when unscrewing the bolt in the toilet tank. Drain all water before you start any repairs.

Helpful hint - the new toilet repair kits all come from China - nothing made in US anymore. Tolerances are sloppier, the fit is not as tight as it used to be. They are now combining rubber grommets inside and outside the tank, and weldong the tank bolt nut to the washer. More can go wrong if you overtighten, so DON'T! You can always tighten a little more to snug things up.

Old plumber's trick it to put a little of the beeswax from the wax seal around the TT bolts and the rubber on the inside of the tank. It will prevent minor leaks if the tolerances are not tight enough.

If you put off this type of repair long enough, the inside od your bowl could be permanently stained from the iron deposit buildup from the constant water running.

3. Leaking wax seal - you'll know this because the floor around the toilet will start to smell like pizz. Unfasten the 2 side bolts that secure the toilet to the flange. Careful here, if you screw up you will make more work for yourself. I just fixed a toilet where the bolts were rusted, and they tried to remove them and couldn't . Had to hacksaw the bolts off, put new ones in. Always use a new wax seal, heavy duty one preferred, heavy duty and reinforced if you have issues with the floor, but not enough to require replacing the plywood.

Btw - you should always replace old parts with new when doing a repair - ask yourself what is your time worth if you get called back to repair something you didn't replace?

Any time I replace a toilet, I also replace the water shutoff valve. Cost $4-7, and you know they will leak sooner or later. I always use 1/4 turn valves when available, lot better than the old rounded valves that leak when internal mineral deposits build up around the valve stem.

If the wax seal has leaked too long, it could degrade the floor, and the strength of the subfloor. You don't want this to happen - if it does, you need to cut out a decent size plywood patch, and retrofit around the flange area. Not a fun thing to do if the floor has tile on it.


Get those toilets fixed, or fix them yourselves, it ain't that difficult! :D

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