How Hard Is It to Install a New Toilet
Your toilet broke didn't it? Or you're upgrading to one of those newer ones that doesn't have those weird squiggles on the side that look like intestines. Whatever the reason, don't hire someone to install a new toilet – you can easily install it yourself.
Honestly, the hardest part of installing a new toilet, is getting rid of the old one. Please enjoy the photo of my old USELESS toilet that contributed to thousands of dollars in sewer line repairs.
Not a single week goes by that I don't look out my window and see some sort of plumbing company truck pulling into a nearby driveway. They often arrive in a 24 karat gold plumbing van wearing suits made out of money and vacation homes.
My entire city is experiencing some kind of crumbling sewer line infrastructure and the only people happy about it are the plumbers. And maybe the people who make 24 karat gold plumbing trucks.
So let's talk toilets.
I had a crappy toilet. Now I have a great one. And here's why.
Last month I got rid of the horrible, low flow toilet I owned because it couldn't even flush a single piece of toilet paper at times. I headed to a plumbing supply store and begged for help. I may have cried. I'm not sure, it's all a bit of a blur.
The manager of the store steered me away from the toilet I was looking at and said to go with either the American Standard Cadet or the American Standard Studio.
And then every plumber that was in the store at the time agreed with him. It was a chorus of plumbers saying "Oh yeah, I just put that one in my basement, I just put that one in my mother's house, I'm here picking that one up for my customer" … and so on. I got both. I got the bowl of the Studio line, and the tank of the Cadet, because I wanted a regular flush handle, not a push button, and the Studio line doesn't come with a regular flush handle.
TIPS FOR BUYING A NEW TOILET.
1. Check the MaP (Maximum Performance) rating of your toilet. Anything over 800 is good. Over 1000 is GREAT. Avoid anything that has a MaP rating under that if you want a powerful flush and little chance of clogging.
2. Pay attention to the bowl shape. Round bowls are shorter and elongated ones are longer. If you are really cramped for space you'll save a couple of inches by getting a round bowl.
3. One piece toilets are usually heavier and harder to install yourself. If you're doing this on your own, a two piece toilet make not look as sleek, but it'll be easier for you to maneuver into place and drag up the stairs by yourself.
4. Bowl height? Yes, toilets come in different heights with the majority of toilets now being "comfort height". Which are only comfortable if you're relatively tall. If you're short you may find your legs dangling.
5. If you hate looking at the side of a toilet that looks like its colon is showing, get a skirted bowl. The "guts" of the toilet are concealed, so the toilet has nice smooth sides that are nicer to look at and easier to clean.
6. The toilet seat is where you'll actually set yourself down so get a good one. Options are heated seats, bidet seats and slow close (slamless) seats.
The American Standard Studio that I went with has a MaP rating of over 1000. I had NO idea there was such a big difference in toilets and how well they flush. Like I said, I just figured low flow toilets didn't work well. As it turns out, only certain low flow toilets don't work well.
This one works great.
How great? As soon as I installed it I contacted American Standard and told them. They of course were pleased, and agreed to sponsor my video on How to Install a Toilet. (Like always I only do sponsored content when I've actually already bought the product and love it. I then contact the company and ask if they'd like to work together) Yes YOU CAN install your own toilet. In fact, it's one of the easiest home improvement jobs you can do. It'll take 1-2 hours depending on how confident you are.
Is it hard to install a toilet?
Not at all. It just looks scary. But it takes time and of course is terrifying because you've never done it before and you're afraid it isn't going to work.
Do you need a plumber to install a toilet?
Not at all. If you're just removing an old toilet and replacing it with a new one any homeowner can do it themselves. If, on the other hand, you want to install a toilet where one doesn't exist already, like in the middle of your living room, then you'll probably want a plumber for that job because it's a much bigger job.
How to Install a Toilet Yourself.
- Turn off the water supply. If it's stuck use WD40 and/or vice grips.
- Flush toilet.
- Soak up water from tank & bowl with towel.
- Remove the tank by undoing bolts underneath at the back.
- Remove the toilet by undoing the bolts holding it to the floor.
- Haul away your tank and toilet. You're now toiletless!
- Plug the now open drain hole with toilet paper or a rag to stop sewer gasses from coming into the bathroom.
- Scrape up any wax from the wax ring left on the flange.
- Install your new bolts to the toilet flange and finger tighten them.
- Apply a new wax seal to the new toilet.
- Lift the toilet onto its bolts, being careful not to damage the wax seal.
- Secure the tank to the toilet bowl.
- Rehook up water.
- Flush and adjust the float.
- You rock!
Those are your steps. Here is the video of me removing my old toilet and installing my new one. It shows me actually doing all the steps above, so watch this video before you install your own toilet. It'll help make things much easier to understand.
When you watch it you'll see that because I used a two piece toilet instead of a one piece, I was able to easily lift it myself. It would have been much harder if this had been a one piece toilet which is why … I bought a 2 piece.
Now that I have a good looking toilet that actually works, maybe I'll actually look into redoing this bathroom. It's really the only room left in the house that's still a disaster.
That's really all there is to installing a toilet. Sure something's gonna go wrong. The water line is going to get knocked and spray water everywhere, or you're going to get part of the wax seal in your hair or you'll find out your water supply line is too short for your new toilet and you have to go buy a new one.
But all in all, installing a toilet is really one of the easiest jobs you can do in your home. Way easier than installing a new dishwasher or teaching whoever you live with to put the dishes in the dishwasher, not the sink.
And definitely easier than using your neighbour's bathroom every time you have to go because you're too afraid to use your own crappy toilet.
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How Hard Is It to Install a New Toilet
Source: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-install-a-toilet-in-1-2-hours/
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