How to fix a leaking dual fllush toilet

I felt betrayed when our new Rona dual flush water efficient toilet started to leak after only 10 months. Every time we flushed it, water poured out from behind the toilet lid, but it didn't leak any other time. These new efficient toilets don't have a flapper, which is so easy to replace. Did the whole guts of the toilet need replacing? Where was the receipt? ARGH! With no time, we turned off the water supply and quit using the toilet, pretending that the problem did not exist.

When I finally found a few minutes to Google the problem, it was looking like I'd blown a gasket - literally! With no big plans on a Friday night, we drained the tank and took it off the bowl. Within an instant, we could see the problem. Check out that gasket and you too can see why the toilet was leaking between the tank and bowl.

We ran over to our local Home Hardware, but they didn't have the correct gasket, so a long drive in rush hour traffic to Rona and $3.49 later, we had a new gasket, and now we have a functioning toilet on the 2nd floor again. Hooray. Life is beautiful. Again.

How we did it:

1. Close the water shut-off to the toilet. Remove the supply hose to the tank. Be ready to catch any water that spills out of the hose.
   
2. Flush the toilet and then bail water from the tank using a small cup. Soak up the remaining water with a sponge.
3. Remove the two bolts that hold the tank to the bowl, lift it off and set it aside.
4. Inspect the gasket. If it looks like the one above, take it to the hardware store and find a replacement.
5. Place the new gasket over the hole at the bottom of the tank, rather than putting it over the hole on the bowl. (I think that's where we ran into trouble about 10 months ago.) Carefully set the tank on the bowl, without disturbing the gasket.
   
6. Tighten the two bolts and attach the water hose. Turn on the water supply and look for leaks. If you're a religious person, you may want to pray at this point, but I've never found it to be as effective as using the power of observation and a good screw driver.
7. Enjoy your newly repaired toilet. You deserve it!
   

A good plumber may be easy to find!

I found my plumber Paul at a night course that I took at Central Tech two years ago. It was a great intro to the world of plumbing, and inspired me to renovate our kitchen by moving the sink and adding a dishwasher. So when we decided to reno the bathroom, I gave Paul a call again. After spending hours in a classroom with him, he is really somebody I trust.

We removed all our bathroom fixtures on October 5, so we have been without a shower for 17 days, but the YMCA is close by, as are many kind friends with hot showers, so we've been getting by. But today was a huge step forward in "Project Bathroom": we have running water in the tub again! We can staple up some plastic and shower at home again. Exciting.

Many thanks to our plumber, Paul McErlain (left), and his trusty apprentice. Many of you have asked for Paul's contact details and here they are: 416-854-9846 and mackmechanical.ca.

Bathroom renovation begins

Dan starts a new job after Thanksgiving and had a miraculous two weeks off. I thought that we should celebrate with either a trip to New York, or by renovating our over-sized and hideous bathroom. For better or worse, we have chosen the more expensive but more permanent option: the bathroom. New York will always be there, right?

A few years ago we made a temporary fix by removing the wallpaper and giving it a neutral coat of white paint, but we just couldn't get beyond that pink tub and toilet, the waste of space and the fact that the shower dribbled like a water pick. The whole room was disappointing. This is our time for revenge.

Our main bathroom is possibly the largest room in our tiny house. It is the same size as our kitchen and main floor 2 piece bathroom. It was originally a tiny bedroom and a tiny bathroom. Alas, we are going to undo that modification and return it to it's original configuration, but hopefully it will be much nicer.

We started last week by removing the closet and cupboards. Dan began chipping away at the ceramic floor tiles on Wednesday and Thursday, and finally finished this hideous task by Saturday. We bought a Rhino Bag from Home Hardware and put it on our front yard and started to fill it with debris. Any usable pieces were re-gifted to strangers on Craigslist. (Will somebody really want that giant pink bathtub?) Things were looking pretty bare on Saturday night when we used the pink shower for the final time. A little bit more water pressure would have helped my aching muscles, but why would it change now? People and bathrooms do not change.

With this giant task complete, all we had to do on Sunday was remove the fixtures and then tear up the subfloor. We got an early start, but like most things, I underestimated how time consuming these tasks would be. I spent about 30 minutes laying under the toilet as rusty water dripped on my head, trying to loosen the tank bolt. Finally we decided to leave the damn tank on, and Dan carried the whole thing out and placed it proudly on our front porch. A few hours later, we brought the sink/vanity outside as well. I checked my email and somebody had responded to my craigslist posting and wanted all three pieces. Hooray. We had to have the tub out by 6 p.m. because that was when they were coming. This led to the video at the top of the posting, where Dan smashed the hell out of the tiles while I cowered by the windows, and pieces of shattered tile flew through the air. (We both had our safety glasses on.) I got into the action as well. I took my turn with the hammer, and pulled down quite a few pieces of cement board covered in tiles, but we just didn't get any photos of this.

A pink fiberglass bathtub that measures 70.5"x35" is not that heavy, but it is very awkward. We called our good friend Matthew in a panic to see if he could help get it down the stairs, but luckily for him, he was on Highway 407 at the time, and with the new owners coming soon, we had to do it ourselves. Surprisingly, it only took us a few minutes to negotiate it down the steep stairs and over the hand railing, to the front porch, where we leaned it against my bike.

Now it was time to cap the copper pipes so that we could turn the water back on. There are now showers in our house now, but we do enjoy the simple pleasures like washing our hands, or a cool glass of water. Renovators cannot live on beer alone, can they? I pulled out my "plumbing shoe box" of tools and accessories from the course that I took back in 2005 at Central Tech. With an aluminum cookie sheet as a shield, I fired up the torch and managed two good solders on my first try. I was as pleased as Dan when he finished the floor tiles.

Alas, we had run out of time for the day and the floor would have to be done by Dan the next day. So off we went to dinner & showers on Upper Montrose, a civilized way to end a busy renovating weekend. It's not quite New York, but still very nice.

Bathroom Envy

I never thought that I'd have bathroom envy, but here I am, coveting my neighbour's powder room!

Maybe you had to see the 'before' shot to truly appreciate this remarkable transformation, but this cloud white dream has absolutely no affiliation with it's former self. Talk about extreme makeover. And, just like on TV, they did it in record time. The demolition began on a Saturday and the transformation was revealed at a huge house party only 6 days later. The work was completed by two savvy men who were also juggling full time jobs at the time. How the hell did they pull this off? "No sleep", was one comment that I heard.

I was called in on day 2, when the shutoff valve was not really shutting off the water. Having completed a 9 week plumbing course at Central Tech, I am the most logical person to call in this situation. I got out my propane torch and plumbing supplies and rode off on my bike, to see if I could help. I cut the pipe and tried to solder a cap on it, so Matthew could tile the floor without water dripping onto it. But, it kept leaking. Just a slow drip leak, so we tied a rag around it and he carried on. The plumber came a few days later to install the new toilet and sink, and he informed us that you can't get the copper hot enough if there is any water in the plumbing system. We did turn off the water and drain the pipes in the basement, but our fatal error was not draining all the water upstairs too. Lesson learned, if I am ever brave enough to do more plumbing!

My favorite part of this story was that Matthew rented a paint sprayer so that he could cover the spray foam insulation and the ceiling joists. Major overkill for a room that is only 4' by 3'. I was told that a gallon of paint was sprayed in a matter of minutes. The whole room was raining white. Imagine that.

Just as a reminder, the homeowners have placed a framed photo of the former bathroom just outside the door, so you can really appreciate the transformation. Maybe they'll send me a copy to post here!

My Current Nemesis

Pictured here on the left is my nemesis. It is the one thing standing between me and a functioning dishwasher. It is a brass elbow fitting and for some reason, it keeps leaking. Curses!!!

I spent most of yesterday on my stomach on the kitchen floor. Installing a dishwasher is not as easy as I thought - which seems to be the same as all the other projects on this kitchen project. I read the installation manual a few times and it seemed pretty straight forward. I installed the electrical supply that the electrician had roughed in. Then I ran the water supply and drain, as per the manual. I tipped the dishwasher onto its back (with the help of Big Bad) and inserted the copper fitting as instructed. Then I spent about an hour trying to fish the electrical supply, water supply and the drain hoses under the dishwasher, and then installing them in a space only 8 inches tall. Trying to get my wrench in there was a challenge. But finally I did achieve the goal and everything looked great. When Dan returned from work, we turned on the hot water and instead of rejoicing, I spent about an hour laying on the floor, watching water drip from this copper fitting. I turned off the water and tightened it some more, but it still leaked. More tightening, more cursing, and more leaking. Argh!!!

It was such a pain getting everything connected that I didn't want to disconnect it all, pull out the dishwasher, put it on its back and try putting the elbow in again. So, I spent another hour laying on the kitchen floor, watching the elbow leak. Then I thought that none of our projects have gone right the first time. It took three tries to get the kitchen sink in properly. The microwave range hood - three attempts too. So maybe the third time is a charm. Should I even bother trying to get it right on the 2nd try?

Finally I admitted defeat, disconnected it all and tipped it on its back. With a clear view of the copper elbow, I could stand above it and really give it hell with my wrench. (Although it deserves more of my aggression.) And in the end, still a tiny bit of moisture is felt on the fitting once it is all back in its tiny opening and reconnected. I admit defeat again. I will deal with it later. For now I will relish the success of having the sink working properly and I'll go make some coffee using the water coming from the new faucet. Hopefully the third time will be a charm in this installation as well.

Who Needs A Plumber?

In October, I took a 9 week plumbing course at Central Tech. Looking back at my blog entry after the class, I see that I barely mentioned the kitchen, except for the installation of a dishwasher. Yet here I am, under the kitchen cabinet, installing the faucets and drain. Good thing that I can fit under there.

Plumbing itself is not necessarily that difficult. Working in a small space with bulky tools, that's often the biggest challenge. How do you get your hands in there? Not to mention firing up the propane torch under your newly installed counter top. Well, I decided to go with compression fittings so I left the torch in the basement, and the counter top is still intact. But I must admit that there was a considerable amount of cursing as Dan can testify.

In the class, our teacher Paul was very encouraging and often told us to just do stuff. I would take him photos of various plumbing questions and he would tell me what parts I needed and an overview of how to do it. We also did two projects: copper soldering and ABS waste plumbing. So I do have about 2 or 3 hours of hands on practice, so why shouldn't I be able to do this project myself? Paul did discourage me from doing the rough in plumbing myself, so I did hire him to do that portion. But the finishing was all up to me.

Yesterday I went to the library en route to Home Hardware. I picked up the Illustrated Guide to Plumbing (which I had previously borrowed for 9 weeks) and then re-read that section for the fifth time. But as my friend Matthew says: the only way to really know how to do something is to try it yourself. So by following the directions in the book and on the various product packages, I put the sink, faucet and drain together. We turned on the water and alas, only a minor leak on the hot water supply. So I got out the wrenches and tightened it up, and no more leak. And better than that - running water in the kitchen. Oh joy. You know, it really is the little things that can give you so much joy.

Keeping the Peace (When You Can't Be Quiet)

I often think of the right thing to do, yet usually don't find the time to do it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as I always remind myself. When we started this latest renovation, I thought that it would be a good idea to give our neighbours some flowers or a plant or something, as a token to acknowledge the inconvenience and noise. Sadly, I didn't get around to it.

Last night, my plumbing teacher, Paul, came over to rough in the new sink in the kitchen & move the hose bib. He was supposed to arrive at 6 p.m., so Dan & I started ripping out the old sink & cabinets right after work, at 5 p.m. Lots of banging and sawing, but it was early. We finised right at 6. Paul arrived a bit late, around 7:15. We finally got to work and realized that ofcourse, there were lots of weird things that made the job more difficult and time consuming. To move the hose bib, for the outside garden hose, involved drilling a hole thru the exterior wall of the house. Paul forgot the correct drill bit, so he got part way thru, and then he took an old piece of 1/2" copper, that he banged thru the rest of the wall. It worked, but LOTS of banging. Then he wanted to secure the copper supply lines so that we wouldn't have pipe hammer. He once again took scraps of copper and hammered the end flat, so that he could wedge it between the wall studs. Then he sauldered the two copper pieces together ensuring that they would never move. As he was hammering the copper pipe flat against the floor joist, we heard a bang on the party wall of the house. Paul stopped instantly, thinking that it was an echo. But no, it was our neighbour, banging on the wall. He hammered again, and they started to bang again. Humm. Yes, I really regret not getting that poinsetta over to them. Dan went over to make the peace with them, but all their lights were off -- even their Christmas lights! It was after 10 p.m. and they were trying to sleep. I understand. I felt bad. They are quiet and friendly neighbours. How friendly will they be now?

Paul had to be on the job site at 7 a.m. the next day, but he was in no hurry to leave our house. 11 p.m. and he was still chatting away and tossing his tools around. (Good thing that we'd agreed on a flat rate.) Dan & I were carrying his stuff out the car, trying depserately to make the noise end faster. Paul pulls up his Firebird, the kind that revs really loudly. He doesn't realize that all our neighbours are retired. We load the tools and wave goodbye.

This morning, I rode my bike over to the only store that was open at 7 a.m. and bought their nicest box of chocolates and a pretty gift bag (I never buy gift bags), and wrote a card dripping with sincere apology. I selected a bag with that icon of Christmas: the dove carrying an olive branch in its mouth. I dropped the bag off on their front door on my way to work. When I came home, it was gone. So hopefully they got it before the squirells or racoons did. And I hope even more that they accept my olive branch. Afterall, I plan to be neighbours for long long time.

Real Life Project #1: My First In-Home Soldering Attempt

Pictured here is some of the excitement that can be seen in almost any basement. There is an old "saddle valve" from the hot water line (coming out of the hot water tank) to the furnace humidifier. When we bought this house, the previous owner told us that we'd need to hire a plumber to replace this valve, and he suggested that we get them to put in a proper ball valve. So, this will be my first real life plumbing project.

Paul, the Central Tech night school instructor, has told me what needs to be done. I need to buy a 1/2" solder to 1/4" compression brass ball valve. I need to get a soldering torch, some lead free solder, some flux, and lots of nerve. I'm going to borrow the pipe cutters from my friend Matthew. And then, I am going to shut off the water, drain the water from the copper pipes, and then CUT INTO the copper pipe coming out of the hot water heater, and put in a new valve. Seems pretty easy, right? Afterall, I did solder that copper dog, right??

Paul does not seemed fazed by my suggestion of cutting into the hot water supply to my house. But then he told me about the first time he "tried" to solder in a house. It didn't go well, because there was water in the line, and the torch was not hot enough, and the fittings would not solder. I picture this happening to me. And then me calling a plumber to come and fix everything, so that we can have hot water in our house again. And the plumber laughing at me.

Right now I am focusing on getting all the tools and supplies together. I'll look for the courage later.

Plumbing Continued

Is this a copper dog, you may ask. What kind of pet is that?

Proudly pictured here is my first plumbing project. It was fun to spark up that torch and get the solder melting. Best of all, we connected it to the 60psi water source and it did not leak. Is this enough to make me think that I can now spark up a propane torch in my house and attempt to repair the hot water line going to my furnace's humidifier? Paul, our instructor (pictured on the right, in the spider t-shirt), seems confident that I can do it. So, I figure, why not!!

My friend Denise is still on the rollercoaster of Toronto real estate. I bought my first house last year, a 100 year old semi in the west end of Toronto. There is lots of maintenance to be done, so I stand around and watch when all the inspectors and repair guys come in. My boyfriend has one of those really big flashlights that takes 4 D cell batteries. Armed with theses tools & knowledge, I went to see a house with Denise and made all kinds of comments about the joists, age of the furnace, lack of insulation, and stuff like that. If I had a clipboard, I could have checked off a few boxes on a standard form and charged her $400 for my tour. But I did it for fun. (Warped sense of fun, non?) Anyway, I sent a detailed email to her boyfriend who wasn't initially impressed with the house, managing to convince him to put in an offer. Long story short: there were 4 offers in total. The selling agent gave them a chance to improve their bid, so they went up by $2500, but they did not get it. In the end, the winning bid was only $4000 above theirs. BUMMER. But, they are now not stuck with the pink bathroom, and I no longer have to keep my promise to renovate their bathroom, and so I don't have to quickly learn how to install ceramic tile. I guess that I can focus on my own pink bathroom instead.

Tomorrow is the 7th annual SOY bowlathon and my team, Stop, Drop & Roll is in first place. Can we hold onto the lead?

Intro to Plumbing

I am getting old. I know this because I have taken up plumbing as a hobby.Well, it is a practical hobby. I'm doing it because my bathroom is pink. The giant bathtub, the sink, the vanity, the toilet, and all the tiles. The walls used to be pink & white stripped wall paper with a pink floral border. (I will have to post a photo...) I also want to install a dishwasher. I figure that I should learn to do this stuff myself. Tonight is our first school project: soldering some 1/2" copper pipe to create something that looks like one of those balloon animals. We will then pressure test it to make sure that it doesn't leak. If it does, no big deal, but if I do this at my house and it does leak, I could be in big big trouble. But, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

My friend Denise is very pregnant. She and her man are looking for a house. In my best interest, I'd like them close, but they are yet to find the perfect house. Last night I went to see a nice old house with her, and it too has a pink bathroom. Neither she nor her man are enthusiastic about the prospect of having a pink bathroom. The house is a good size but does need some renos. Some hard work will make it a castle in a great family neighbourhood. This proximity may translate into some free babysitting. But, if they cross the ditch (the Don Valley) it is less likely. To make a long real estate story short: I just promised Densie that if they buy this house, I will redo their bathroom. I have been wanting to learn how to install ceramic tiles. I could smash out the old ones and put up some new ones, couldn't I? Afterall, I can solder a copper dog.