is it a good idea to replace a toilet myself?

[mooncancook]

how hard is it?

 

[JMWarren]

easy

 

[1sikbITCH]

Mechanically, it's simple.

First, clean the toilet

Shut off the water to the toilet. Then flush. Then, putting a bucket under the tank, unscrew the supply tube and drain the rest of the water from the tank. Then unscrew the 3 bolts attaching the tank to the seat. Remove the tank.

Get on your knees and unscrew the bolts around the base of the toilet. Lift the toilet straight up.

Scrape all the gunk off the floor around the iron drain where your toilet was. Put the new wax ring around the drain. Pick up the new toilet and sit it down, feeding the 4 bolts through the holes in the base of the toilet. Bolt the toilet down. Sit the new tank on top of the new toilet. Bolt it down. Install the new guts to the tank. Reattach the supply tube. Doublecheck your connection and the seal on the tank.

Turn on the water, letting the tank fill up. Once it's full, flush it.

Finally, grab plenty of towels to sop up the water that comes gushing out because I missed a step somewhere.

 

[zanieladie]

Go for it. In fact, if you are still unsure...do a search on the internet. You'll find step-by-step instructions!

I've done it twice!

 

[montanafan]

You should be able to do it yourself as long as it's not an older house and toilet.

A friend of mine, who is very good at things like that, changed out the original commode in a 40+ year old house. He had all kinds of problems because the new ones wouldn't match up with the size of the original's positioning and connections. He finally found that a type made for use in mobile homes would work, but what he thought would be a simple task turned into an all day job.

 

[GarlicBreath]

It can be hard to set the toilet down on the wax ring correctly, because you can't see what you're doing down below while your holding the toilet. Good to have someone willing to put his head on your bathroom floor to guide you.

Also, scraping off the old wax while that four-inch poop hole is staring you in the face is disgusting.

 

[0roo0roo]

get home repair book. it is mechanically simple as said. it is also heavy.. and slightly icky.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Simple as long as the plumbing under the toilet is sound and the anchor bolts are solid.

Either of those problems existing should encourage you to call a professional.

(been a victim of both).

 

[j00fek]

you have some problems if you cant replace a toliet

 

[MiniDoom]

It?s not bad, I did it for the first time about a year ago. The only problem I had was I ruined my first wax ring when I didn?t align the toilet right. That was just a couple bucks and another trip to home depot. Get someone to help line it up and you will be fine.

 

[zixxer]

it's easy.

fyi.. i have a black and decker 'home improvement' book that's excellent. I'm very mechanically inclined, but it's great for little tips and wiring and such. I noticed they also have a 'home repair' book... it's about $20.. you might wanna pick one up

 

[dullard]

It is easy, but if you are disgusted by bathrooms, it is a bit messy.

Originally posted by: rdubbz420
It?s not bad, I did it for the first time about a year ago. The only problem I had was I ruined my first wax ring when I didn?t align the toilet right. That was just a couple bucks and another trip to home depot. Get someone to help line it up and you will be fine.

Always buy two wax rings when you replace a toilet. They only cost ~$1 and the frustration it'll save you in case you mess up the first time is priceless.

 

[MiniDoom]

Originally posted by: dullard
It is easy, but if you are disgusted by bathrooms, it is a bit messy.

Originally posted by: rdubbz420
It?s not bad, I did it for the first time about a year ago. The only problem I had was I ruined my first wax ring when I didn?t align the toilet right. That was just a couple bucks and another trip to home depot. Get someone to help line it up and you will be fine.

Always buy two wax rings when you replace a toilet. They only cost ~$1 and the frustration it'll save you in case you mess up the first time is priceless.

:thumbsup:

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: zixxer
it's easy.

fyi.. i have a black and decker 'home improvement' book that's excellent. I'm very mechanically inclined, but it's great for little tips and wiring and such. I noticed they also have a 'home repair' book... it's about $20.. you might wanna pick one up

I have both. Good books :thumbsup:

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

As everyone's said it's super easy. You become a pro at it when your 2 year old tries to flush everything down the toilet

 

[Hammerhead]

It's easy. Don't freak out when you remove the old toilet. That messy stuff isn't poop. It's the wax ring.

 

[imported_JoePa]

Don't you normally put the ring on the bottom of the toilet and then place it on the floor?

 

[mooncancook]

Originally posted by: rdubbz420
It?s not bad, I did it for the first time about a year ago. The only problem I had was I ruined my first wax ring when I didn?t align the toilet right. That was just a couple bucks and another trip to home depot. Get someone to help line it up and you will be fine.

is there a risk of leaking if the wax ring is ruined like in your case? how did you find out it was ruined anyway? I'm trying to replace a toilet at a 3rd floor condo unit so i'm a bit concerned about any leaking

 

[arcenite]

man that's a sh!tty job

 

[wfbberzerker]

Originally posted by: GarlicBreath
It can be hard to set the toilet down on the wax ring correctly, because you can't see what you're doing down below while your holding the toilet. Good to have someone willing to put his head on your bathroom floor to guide you.

Also, scraping off the old wax while that four-inch poop hole is staring you in the face is disgusting.

whenever we replaced the wax seal on the toilets at my parents house, somehow i always ended up being the one to have to do that :|

 

[JDMnAR1]

There are really only two potential "gotchas" that I can think of, assuming that you take care to ensure that all of your mounting holes and all that jazz match up on the new toilet. As was already mentioned, if the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor are FUBAR'd that is not a good thing. This can be further exacerbated if your floor is tiled, and the person who layed the tile was kind enough to lay enough grout where you can't easily replace the bolts. :| The second, while not as serious, can be equally frustrating. If you have to change the supply line it is possible that you have a non-standard (or no longer used) connection.

 

[Kelemvor]

It's easy.

Gotta get the wax ring thing. pop that down. then put the toilet on tpo of it. Only trouble I had was getting the bolts off the old one because they were all rusted. It's pretty simple to do.

 

[DrPizza]

Even if the bolts are screwed up, they're generally very easy to replace.

Definitely a good do-it-yourself job, regardless of complications. You'll discover that your ability to string together cuss words in a coherent sentence is directly proportional to the number of complications and severity of the complications.

 

[NaOH]

Easy.

 

[Mellman]

just dont tighten the tank/bowl too tight....otherwise you'll crack it, and have to do it all over again. Otherwise its really easy...Get a new water line while your at it.

-Matt