Great information, always appreciate you help. When installing toilets I do 2 additional steps. 1. When putting in the flange bolts, instead of the plastic holds I use a washer with a 1/4 20 nut. It tightens the bolts and makes it easier when lowering the bowl. It helps so you don't knock the bolts around. (especially if you're lowering a bowl and tank) 2. Once I have the wax ring and bowl set, before I tighten the bolts on the bowl I pour a bucket of water in the bowl. If you have any leak, it's best to see now before you got everything all together. Again, thank you for all that you do.
Jeff, the hydrostatic pressure of water is about 1/2 psi per foot. Therefore 12” of water in the tank exerts 1/2 psi on the tank bolt gaskets. It’s not a lot of pressure as you claimed. Thanks for the videos.
I've moved on from wax rings to the rubber rings which accommodate more heights and movement! Yes, significantly more expensive, at tends of dollars instead of dollars, but prevents leaks/smells and future repairs costing way more!
I went back to the wax ring due to the rubber/neoprene/closed cell foam gasket would cause the toilet bowl mount to crack at the flange bolts !, not good when you come back in to use the bathroom only to find the bowl is broken at the floor and water around the base !
I agree with b.powell3480. I just installed a Toto Drake toilet and tried the Fluidmaster Wax-Free foam and rubber seal. The instructions have you attaching it to the flange (using its ear-loops to slide over the flange bolts). However, the Toto Drake drain horn was too wide to fit through the Fluidmaster seal and ended up with the horn lip contacting and trying to compress the rubber seal face down. There was too much thickness with the rubber seal and the flange a standard 1/4" above the floor to get the Drake to sit flat on the floor. I ended up pulling the Drake back up and switching to an old standard wax ring. Putting the wax ring around the drain horn and sticking it to the toilet made it 100% sure the horn would be sealed all the way around. That Fluidmaster No-Wax ring I pulled from the unsuccessful first effort? It was all deformed and there was a good chance the deformation pulled part of the rubber seal into the path of the drain hole. Not good.
you may have heard this before, but you have an AMAZING cameraman (or woman). relatively steady shots, and no cutting back and forth like crazy. always focused on whatever you are talking about. it's part of what makes you one of my favorite (if not my favorite) DIY guys on UA-cam :) hope you are giving them their money's worth! keep up the good work!
I have watched at least 8 different videos on how to replace a toilet (my PVC flange cracked due to an uneven floor) and your video is by far the very best and most comprehensive I have seen. Thank you so much!
Great install! And thanks for the tips. If I were doing the job, I would have replaced the old water supply valve with a new quarter turn ball valve. The small extra cost and bit of extra work could save trouble later on. With the toilet lefted, you have good access, making the job easier than replacing later with the toilet in the way.
I’ve installed a few toilets in my day. I didn’t know about sealing toilets in apartment dwellings before, but then again, sealing toilets to the floor is a standard practice of mine. Excellent video Jeff. You did an excellent toilet install. 🇨🇦💝🙏. P.S. Happy Easter. 🐣
The only issue with all the plastic flange ring kits and extenders with foam seals is none of them are strong enough for extremely tuff use. I work in commercial and residential homes/buildings and i always run into issues where i need to pull a toilet, replace everything to get it all leak proof like what youre doing, but the person or people using the toilet have mobility issues of any sort… no matter how many support bars and/or handles/hoists that are available people tend to grab and support themselves by way of the toilet itself. They break the flanges right off the floor and test your work to its limits lol ive had to reinforce the floor below, if accessible, to get some heavy duty screws installed plus i try finding brass toilet flanges paired with foam seal rather than wax. Its a challenge…
Lot of contractors will not use silicone on their toilet bowls, but I think it’s the best way I did it at my house, in the olden days we used to use plaster of Paris, and it all crumbles out and looks like crap. A year later, grout is no good, but that seems to be the preferred method of builders, I’ve had to smash toilet bowls to get them up and if they just use a little it won’t work, and then eventually crumbles and looks like crap, but hundred percent silicone keeps the whole moisture and pee and dirt out from under the bowl and it holds the bowl down very good. it’s the most sanitary way to do it and I think it looks the best
He states in another video that the silicone breaks down and leaks over time. I wouldn't know - but he mentioned that specifically and said that is why he orders the specialty spacers with the gaskets...... he can avoid using the silicone.
@@stresd111Same. I technically failed my final bathroom inspection because the toilet wasn’t caulked. Thankfully all I had to do to pass was text him a picture of the caulk before the end of the day. Phew.
Our Proflow toilets clog SUPER easy. Replacing both during our current remodel. One caused some damage when it clogged, the flap stuck and it overflowed. I have had to pull one, once and the other twice, to remove blockages. Never had that problem with any other toilet before. Willing to go Toto to make sure I don’t have to deal with it again. I have also had to repair/replace tank parts as well on both. Not pleased with the brand.
I've owned multiple rentals for over 20 years now, buying and selling several over the years. FIRST thing I do in a new purchase - replace all the water valves with 1/4-turn valves, SharkBite the last few cycles. Supply lines also. And all the smoke alarms, amazing how people allow their alarms to expire!
Shark Bites have an alarmingly high leakage and in some cases, catastrophic failure rate. In an area of high moisture or humidity the metal serrated ring the holds it on can corrode and the fitting can blow off or the rubber o-ring that seals it can dry out and start leaking after a few years. A compression fitting is much more reliable.
Always love your videos. My father always taught me use the right tool for the job. Channel-Locks have a purpose but it's not for perfectly fine nuts. That's the best way to mess up the nut. Otherwise, thank you for the demo. Only minutes before seeing your video I saw a toilet on sale on another channel and thought about buying one to change out mine. Kinda eerie 🥺
Those old oval handled toilet shut-off valves are the worst pieces of el-cheapo garbage ever. Half the time the crummy zinc oval handle is crushed or completely missing.
Thank you sir! I'm very grateful for your willingness to record all this. Especially your, "If you're not familiar with this," lead into explanations. That was a very gentle way to word those phrases for those of us (like me) who are very not familiar with any of it!
Those wax rings with the plastic horn can cause water to splash UP from the water dump and onto the floor. The horn also narrows the dump route which could cause to clogging. Always use standard old fashioned wax rings.
Thanks Jeff for another great video! But I do have a quick question... I believe the manufacturers of Wax Rings usually recommend to apply the wax ring to the bottom of the toilet first and not the flange. How come you did it to the flange first?
Buddy, you really rock and your toilet doesn’t very great explanation. I watched your other video as well thank you so much. I sent them to my friends that have given me trouble for years over all this. Thank you for going to the trouble yourself of explaining in detail I mean in detail how this all worksyou are the man thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart
Hi Jeff, great info. Wondering if you know of a toilet with excellent flushing ability, that attaches to the floor properly AND has straight sides. In terms of cleaning and maintenance, those curvy grooves are an ongoing headache.
I like to cover the toilet hold down bolt with Vaseline to keep it from rusting and then install the cap. I also like to make everything visible look pretty so the valve would be replaced and the ring would be tight to the line and probably chrome and the water line itself would have a nice loop to direct any leak to the floor as opposed to running down the line back to the valve. I also like to seal the around the toilet except for the back. Plastic toilet seat bolts are preferred but brass is ok too.
Love the videos! I have learned so much from you. Our next project is to replace a half wall going up our stairs into an open railing. So, I would love to see a half wall turned into an open railing how to.
One argument I've heard to not seal your toilet to the floor is that if your flange is leaking you'll know. If it's sealed it will keep that leak invisible.
In many states it is required to caulk of silicone the bowl to the floor. You do not seal the rear so if the wax ring blows out...... the water will come out the back.
Re: Lowering the amount of water in your toilet before removal. You can also wrap a plastic bag around the end of your vacuum cleaner hose and then put the vacuum cleaner on blow instead of suck. And blast the water down the toilet stack. That is, if you're concerned about some clear toilet water being vacuumed up by your wet vacuum cleaner and introducing bacteria to your pristine antiseptic vacuum cleaner canister.
One of your recommended products for extension is Stephen jones flanges. But it came with silicone instead of a gasket. Yes or no. Thanks. I’ve been using your videos to renovate bathroom, great work. Thanks again.
As for handy bucket flush hint, that's how my mother taught me to clean the toilet. You can scrub the original water ring line with full strength cleaning products. Then flush to rinse. 😁
Such a wonderfully detailed explanation for installing a toilet...i feel more able and encouraged to do it myself (DIM), thank you so much I love your channel my go to for DIY!!
Hi, could you give more details about the toilet? What model number is the one you used here? What's your preference of proflo toilet you use? Love you videos and your detailed explanations.
Very much enjoyed your video. At 25:50, it sounds like you say hydrostatic pressure is 50 psi, which doesn't sound right to me. From high school physics, I thought i remembered it was something like 0.5 psi per foot of water.
THANK YOU for the valve-Cap idea. Amazing, headed to the hardware store right now to get some (just what I needed for peace of mind in my semi-DIY reno-job.
When our power goes out we don't have running water because we're on a well system. We have to use this bucket technique to flush the toilet. So, whenever we know there is a storm coming and that our power will likely be out, we fill up 5 gallon buckets to store in the tubs. Then we have smaller buckets to get the water out of the 5 gallon buckets. I use a toilet lift jack and it lifts at an angle so water will say in the trap until it is lowered back down straight. But not everyone will be changing out toilets enough to need or want one of those. We were having to change out multiple toilets so it was worth it. Good to know about the flange height when its time to do the other bathrooms. All of them will be getting vinyl sheet so it will be low profile. I used a better-than-wax ring for the bathroom that we just renovated. I never knew they made caps for those shutoffs. That's good to know. All of the shutoffs in my house are new relatively new from when the winter storm ruptured all of the waterlines and we replaced them with PEX. We spent around $400 years ago on some Toto Drake toilets. They were worth it for how well they flush. Paid less years later for an ADA height Toto Drake and under $200 for a chair height Toto Entrada for our friend's house when we were staying there. I found that its good to cover the toilet bowl if you're going to be handling bolts and/or nuts over it. I have a tendency to drop things. LOL. I personally went with wingnuts for my tank bolts to make them easier to turn. Where I live, whenever we put on a new hose or something, we always put the open end in a bucket and turn the shutoff to let the water run into the bucket and clear any debris before we shut it back off and connect it to the fitting. My friend didn't do this with his kitchen sink and it clogged up the cartridges. He ended up having to get a new faucet (older one wasn't worth trying to get cartridges for). So, bottom line, even plumbers recommend clearing the lines a bit before connecting. I've had to take apart a flush valve assembly to clean it before. It's annoying. For the toilet connection, I like to get one that makes a click when it locks on so you know its on tight enough. For the toilet seat, I like to get bolts that slide in to rubber bungs. The bungs act as the nut to lock them in place and they do not move. I hate the standard kind that you constantly have to tighten and the seat keeps getting loose. I haven't had to tighten bolts once since using the kind with the bungs. If you want to be fancy, you can get a toilet with built in bidet sprayer or a bidet seat attachment that uses a tee to split off for supply. I got those split flange covers in chrome for my house. They are great. I should use the sealant underneath though. I've always heard from plumbers that you should leave a small unsealed part at the back of the toilet so that if the wax ring breaks and is leaking, it will come out the back and you will know. Otherwise, all the water stays under the toilet and rots the floor.
I do maintenance on my apt complex and l replaced a lot of toilets and they all went smooth without all these precautionary steps. The most important thing not to do it is to over tighten your toilet bolts because you can easily damage your flange. I like to use thinset over tile under the toilet for better and strong adhesion.
Very helpful. I had a leak from a second floor toilet into a soffit. Turns out the toilet flange was way below the new tile & the wax ring never made contact. Added a spacer and problem solved.
Thank you. My toilet keeps swirling in the bowl for about 2 minutes before ot will go down. We have changed all the parts in the toilet. Could it be the air vent or something. I'm at a loss but need to fix on my own due to finances. Do you have any suggestions? Would greatly appreciate any input you may have. Thank y ou so much for all the time you put in teaching us valuable information. God bless you sir
I have seen other plumbers say not to silicone seal the tank to the floor so if the toilet leaks, you can see it, and it doesn't trap water under it, rotting the subfloor. I am not sure which is a better method. To seal, or not to seal?
somewhat agree on the caulk,, however in my experience caulk always ends up wicking up moisture and breaking down, almost rather not use iit so it can dry properly underneath
If you seal the toilet to the floor in a residential house, if there's a leak from the wax ring down the road the only way to detect this would be from extensive damage to the subfloor or the ceiling/basement below, correct? Would it be better to seal just the front of the toilet from the 4 to 8 O'clock positions that way if there was a leak from the wax ring you'd hopefully see it on the tile floor before it had a chance to ruin the subfloor and ceilings below?
I put nuts on the toilet studs to keep them from ever turning on the flange, along with the wax ring, I don't use the reinforced ones due it reducing the pipe diameter
Just what I needed. I was trying to change out cracked nuts and washers. After fighting for nearly an hour to get the nuts off, and finessing one back on, the other hold-down posts popped out of the track. So I fiddled it back in, but every time I tried to tighten the nut, it turned and popped out again. And again. I figured there had to be a trick to keeping the post head in the track, so I was just looking for how the flange looks. Now I know how to install a toilet from the get-go (in case I still can't get this back together without having to run to the store for a new seal and bolts and taking the toilet out. Because it's Sunday and this little addendum to big plumbing job to move the washer into the bathroom is taking more time than replumbing the whole house with pex. Day of rest, indeed! :-D Thanks a lot!
if you have a toilet leak, that water isn't gonna be coming through the siliconed gap. That water is gonna go under the base moulding, edges of the room, and leak to the room below.
the point if setting a toilet correctly and secure is to make sure you don't get a leak. Cheers! Leaks don't happen randomly. they happen because of poor install practices.
I use a Stream Machine water gun, made for water play, to evacuate toilet bowls. It only requires a couple of cups of water. After shutting off the water supply and flushing the toilet, one intense shot into the toilet bowl in the direction of the siphon does it about as well as the gallon-and-half shown in the video. There is very little residual water left in the toilet plumbing, easily removed the with a sponge or rag.
I enjoy the common sense approach to your renovation videos. I always caulk the toilet but it seems redundant when the supply line for the toilet comes up through the floor.
19:30 - I thought I made up that trick. Where’d you get it? Here’s the rest of that trick: when removing stubborn bolts or nuts, tighten slightly and they will break loose easier.
I was going to ask same ? I always change from multi- turn to 1/4 turn when replacing toilets also, everything is new in that bathroom y not change shut off valve???
@tristanmartinez2667 no, 1/4 turn valves are built different than multi turn valves. There's no rubber gaskets to degrade, it's a ball valve that seals around a soft plastic material that basically doesn't erode or degrade like rubber does. That's been known for years
Once you have the compression cap on, at what point could you turn the water back on if this is a multi-day process due to time constraints, etc. Or does this have to be a single-day thing?
Awesome n informative upload. Learned a lot from ur explanations even though have experience repairing my toilets, especially flange height; caulking; toilet tank pressure etc. Kudos. New subscriber because of this vid. Anticipating ur next one.. Peace
I've seen a lot of promoting of new silicone rings (like Fluidmaster) that claim they're "better than wax" rings. Their claims, if true, would indicate a better choice and the prices are less than $10. Any experience in their usage? Or opinions of them?
Why not use plastic toilet shims? Also wouldn’t wax free ring be better as it allows a bit of expansion and contraction if there is slight movement? Thanks
this house is in Florida. no change in weather to cause any movement and the toilet is secured from moving so no need. In really old houses that are 4 season the rubber seal is a great idea.
Also, our bathroom floor has "textured" ceramic tile over concrete (not flat, slightly "wavy" surface looks like water) and the toilet rocks slightly front to back. I want to remove and replace, also to fix a possible leak. Is there a different/better way to fix the rocking than grouting to the floor? Thx,
I don't silicone around toilets, if they leak I want to know right away it's leaking instead of water buildup between the floor and the toilet rotting the flooring. Lowes $89
Same, as a service plumber I never seal the bottom of the toilet to the floor unless the owner requests it. Especially with a trailer like this where you wont see that the wax seal is broken because you are never in the crawl space below it. Silicone may look cleaner but I'd rather not need to rip up the entire bathroom because of rot in the sub-floor
GOOD except I put the wax ring on the toilet seated around the opening instead of on the floor flange. If it’s over a little bit, it could shave the wax making the hole size smaller. I have removed toilets and have seen this. Instead of channel locks, I use a small crescent wrench to tighten the nuts on the toilet.
Good tutorial although I’m not a fan using channel locks on toilet nuts. Use a ratchet and socket. Also very important especially for a non plumber it’s imperative that you tighten the closet bolts and the tank bolts evenly because if you tighten one side before the opposite side you can CRACK the tank!
Use the deluxe wax ring with the black funnel. Almost guarantees the water has no reason to get close the outside edge of the upper part of the flange, ever. It's like $8. That's the same one I used in this video!
23:06 ( probably a good use of a Qtip)😁. I really like watching, learning with you Jeff. "Always go in reverse till it clicks/catches, then it should spin easy" 🥶🖤🔔👍🏻👍🏻💓
I really enjoy watching your videos. You always provide tips of the trade that require years of experience to learn, which in turn helps us DIY'ers properly do the job. Thank you so much for your videos.
Change out ALL your old valves to quarter turn. I don't leave any of the old multiturn valves in my house. They are so inexpensive I'm shocked you didn/t replace it.
Do you know of any issues caused by low-water consumption toilets: like blockages or back-up flow, caused by the low volume of water (1.2 gals.) not being strong enough to "drag" all the "dumped" mass through the pipe?
Just wanted to say that I randomly found your videos a while back just randomly. I watched the shed ones. I am so glad that I did because I was planning to build a tree house for my children (10'x12') and had already drew up my own plans and everything. I learned so much in your shed videos that I was able to apply to my own plans and I know now that it'll be a lot more durable, but also a lot safer. So thanks for that. Also planned to replace our toilets soon so this was perfect timing!
19:30 - I thought I made up that trick. Where’d _you_ get it? This trick actually works on any type of threaded application. Even the cap to your plastic milk jug.Here’s the rest of that trick: when removing stubborn bolts or nuts, tighten slightly and they will break loose easier. 22:21 - One of the few cases where it’s better to use your pliers backward is when attempting to remove a contrary cap on a can of PVC glue to keep from deforming the cap _and_ the can!
Jeff, A pumice stone will remove those rust stains in the toilet. Walmart has them in the cleaning section! Great for hard water stain circles in a toilet too!
@@stresd111 Hey I seen your comment. Would I be able to put a cap on a shut off valve if I cannot turn the water supply to the room or the main. I’m currently changing my gate valves to ball valves but waiting for the city to come turn my water off. Not thinking I took my toilet off the wax ring and disconnected it only depending on the aged shut off valve to stay closed. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I did replace the toilet in our home when we first moved in. Until I removed the old one, I did not realize how messed up the tile work was. There is a large gap in the tile around the toilet flange. I managed to get the toilet to seat, but in the process one of the plastic tabs on the flange snapped. The toilet works ok, but I do need to remove it, and figure out a solution to get it to permanently seal and sit without ever moving. Tall flange, and flanged builds will help me, but I'm still struggling with how to deal with the lack of support surface around one part of the flange.
Great information, always appreciate you help. When installing toilets I do 2 additional steps. 1. When putting in the flange bolts, instead of the plastic holds I use a washer with a 1/4 20 nut. It tightens the bolts and makes it easier when lowering the bowl. It helps so you don't knock the bolts around. (especially if you're lowering a bowl and tank) 2. Once I have the wax ring and bowl set, before I tighten the bolts on the bowl I pour a bucket of water in the bowl. If you have any leak, it's best to see now before you got everything all together.
Again, thank you for all that you do.
Jeff, the hydrostatic pressure of water is about 1/2 psi per foot. Therefore 12” of water in the tank exerts 1/2 psi on the tank bolt gaskets. It’s not a lot of pressure as you claimed.
Thanks for the videos.
Water supply would be ~60psi. He just got mixed up
For quick reference, the timestamp is 25:25 .
I've moved on from wax rings to the rubber rings which accommodate more heights and movement! Yes, significantly more expensive, at tends of dollars instead of dollars, but prevents leaks/smells and future repairs costing way more!
I went back to the wax ring due to the rubber/neoprene/closed cell foam gasket would cause the toilet bowl mount to crack at the flange bolts !, not good when you come back in to use the bathroom only to find the bowl is broken at the floor and water around the base !
@@b.powell3480use two wax rings
I agree with b.powell3480. I just installed a Toto Drake toilet and tried the Fluidmaster Wax-Free foam and rubber seal.
The instructions have you attaching it to the flange (using its ear-loops to slide over the flange bolts).
However, the Toto Drake drain horn was too wide to fit through the Fluidmaster seal and ended up with the horn lip contacting and trying to compress the rubber seal face down. There was too much thickness with the rubber seal and the flange a standard 1/4" above the floor to get the Drake to sit flat on the floor.
I ended up pulling the Drake back up and switching to an old standard wax ring. Putting the wax ring around the drain horn and sticking it to the toilet made it 100% sure the horn would be sealed all the way around.
That Fluidmaster No-Wax ring I pulled from the unsuccessful first effort? It was all deformed and there was a good chance the deformation pulled part of the rubber seal into the path of the drain hole. Not good.
you may have heard this before, but you have an AMAZING cameraman (or woman). relatively steady shots, and no cutting back and forth like crazy. always focused on whatever you are talking about. it's part of what makes you one of my favorite (if not my favorite) DIY guys on UA-cam :)
hope you are giving them their money's worth! keep up the good work!
I have watched at least 8 different videos on how to replace a toilet (my PVC flange cracked due to an uneven floor) and your video is by far the very best and most comprehensive I have seen. Thank you so much!
I never do any of these things on these videos I just love watching you I watch this UA-cam channel for hours
cheers!
Great install! And thanks for the tips. If I were doing the job, I would have replaced the old water supply valve with a new quarter turn ball valve. The small extra cost and bit of extra work could save trouble later on. With the toilet lefted, you have good access, making the job easier than replacing later with the toilet in the way.
I absolutely appreciate your tips I do a lot of my own home improvement and I use your channel all the time ! Thank you 😊
Well done! Cheers!
I’ve installed a few toilets in my day. I didn’t know about sealing toilets in apartment dwellings before, but then again, sealing toilets to the floor is a standard practice of mine. Excellent video Jeff. You did an excellent toilet install. 🇨🇦💝🙏. P.S. Happy Easter. 🐣
The only issue with all the plastic flange ring kits and extenders with foam seals is none of them are strong enough for extremely tuff use. I work in commercial and residential homes/buildings and i always run into issues where i need to pull a toilet, replace everything to get it all leak proof like what youre doing, but the person or people using the toilet have mobility issues of any sort… no matter how many support bars and/or handles/hoists that are available people tend to grab and support themselves by way of the toilet itself. They break the flanges right off the floor and test your work to its limits lol ive had to reinforce the floor below, if accessible, to get some heavy duty screws installed plus i try finding brass toilet flanges paired with foam seal rather than wax. Its a challenge…
Weight limitations noted!
You said "It's the small things that bite you" so true and why I like your informative videos. Nice job.
Lot of contractors will not use silicone on their toilet bowls, but I think it’s the best way I did it at my house, in the olden days we used to use plaster of Paris, and it all crumbles out and looks like crap. A year later, grout is no good, but that seems to be the preferred method of builders, I’ve had to smash toilet bowls to get them up and if they just use a little it won’t work, and then eventually crumbles and looks like crap, but hundred percent silicone keeps the whole moisture and pee and dirt out from under the bowl and it holds the bowl down very good. it’s the most sanitary way to do it and I think it looks the best
He states in another video that the silicone breaks down and leaks over time. I wouldn't know - but he mentioned that specifically and said that is why he orders the specialty spacers with the gaskets...... he can avoid using the silicone.
@@theelusive8058 100% real silicone last a really long time but it’s hard to work with But it’s all I use the latex stuff stinks
silicone is code where I am
@@stresd111Same. I technically failed my final bathroom inspection because the toilet wasn’t caulked. Thankfully all I had to do to pass was text him a picture of the caulk before the end of the day. Phew.
Our Proflow toilets clog SUPER easy. Replacing both during our current remodel. One caused some damage when it clogged, the flap stuck and it overflowed. I have had to pull one, once and the other twice, to remove blockages. Never had that problem with any other toilet before. Willing to go Toto to make sure I don’t have to deal with it again. I have also had to repair/replace tank parts as well on both. Not pleased with the brand.
Toto -smart thinking. I also prefer a higher rate flush.
Sterling makes a good toilet
I've owned multiple rentals for over 20 years now, buying and selling several over the years. FIRST thing I do in a new purchase - replace all the water valves with 1/4-turn valves, SharkBite the last few cycles. Supply lines also. And all the smoke alarms, amazing how people allow their alarms to expire!
Shark Bites have an alarmingly high leakage and in some cases, catastrophic failure rate. In an area of high moisture or humidity the metal serrated ring the holds it on can corrode and the fitting can blow off or the rubber o-ring that seals it can dry out and start leaking after a few years. A compression fitting is much more reliable.
Always love your videos.
My father always taught me use the right tool for the job. Channel-Locks have a purpose but it's not for perfectly fine nuts. That's the best way to mess up the nut.
Otherwise, thank you for the demo. Only minutes before seeing your video I saw a toilet on sale on another channel and thought about buying one to change out mine. Kinda eerie 🥺
Always replace any multi turn valve with a quarter turn valve, period!!
Those old oval handled toilet shut-off valves are the worst pieces of el-cheapo garbage ever. Half the time the crummy zinc oval handle is crushed or completely missing.
Even my newly built home had these oval valves! Makes sense for how cheaply built the contractors do it.
Dahl mini ball valves are the best R-14 (straight) or R-19 (angle)
Thank you sir! I'm very grateful for your willingness to record all this. Especially your, "If you're not familiar with this," lead into explanations. That was a very gentle way to word those phrases for those of us (like me) who are very not familiar with any of it!
Those wax rings with the plastic horn can cause water to splash UP from the water dump and onto the floor. The horn also narrows the dump route which could cause to clogging. Always use standard old fashioned wax rings.
Thanks Jeff for another great video! But I do have a quick question... I believe the manufacturers of Wax Rings usually recommend to apply the wax ring to the bottom of the toilet first and not the flange. How come you did it to the flange first?
They do but as a retired master plumber who has set hundreds of toilets, I would recommend setting as per Jeff's instructions in the video.
Buddy, you really rock and your toilet doesn’t very great explanation. I watched your other video as well thank you so much. I sent them to my friends that have given me trouble for years over all this. Thank you for going to the trouble yourself of explaining in detail I mean in detail how this all worksyou are the man thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart
Hi Jeff, great info. Wondering if you know of a toilet with excellent flushing ability, that attaches to the floor properly AND has straight sides. In terms of cleaning and maintenance, those curvy grooves are an ongoing headache.
I like to cover the toilet hold down bolt with Vaseline to keep it from rusting and then install the cap. I also like to make everything visible look pretty so the valve would be replaced and the ring would be tight to the line and probably chrome and the water line itself would have a nice loop to direct any leak to the floor as opposed to running down the line back to the valve. I also like to seal the around the toilet except for the back. Plastic toilet seat bolts are preferred but brass is ok too.
Love the videos! I have learned so much from you. Our next project is to replace a half wall going up our stairs into an open railing. So, I would love to see a half wall turned into an open railing how to.
If you have an LVP or laminate flooring that's a floating floor wouldn't it be a bad idea to seal the toilet silicone to a floating floor.
One argument I've heard to not seal your toilet to the floor is that if your flange is leaking you'll know. If it's sealed it will keep that leak invisible.
In many states it is required to caulk of silicone the bowl to the floor. You do not seal the rear so if the wax ring blows out...... the water will come out the back.
I agree with both comments here. Been there done that.
Want the brass bolts heads to last longer in tank?.... I use some of the wax ring to coat the bolt heads.
Re: Lowering the amount of water in your toilet before removal.
You can also wrap a plastic bag around the end of your vacuum cleaner hose and then put the vacuum cleaner on blow instead of suck. And blast the water down the toilet stack.
That is, if you're concerned about some clear toilet water being vacuumed up by your wet vacuum cleaner and introducing bacteria to your pristine antiseptic vacuum cleaner canister.
Excellent walk thru on the proper way to install. I learned so much !
Glad it was helpful!
One of your recommended products for extension is Stephen jones flanges. But it came with silicone instead of a gasket. Yes or no. Thanks. I’ve been using your videos to renovate bathroom, great work. Thanks again.
As for handy bucket flush hint, that's how my mother taught me to clean the toilet. You can scrub the original water ring line with full strength cleaning products. Then flush to rinse. 😁
I can't find the link for that particular toilet that you're recommending. Something a/b buying it at Ferguson's in the US.
Such a wonderfully detailed explanation for installing a toilet...i feel more able and encouraged to do it myself (DIM), thank you so much I love your channel my go to for DIY!!
That coffee cup is the real MVP though. This video is great. 👍🥇
Why is the wax ring a frequently returned item on Amazon what's wrong with it.
Hi, could you give more details about the toilet? What model number is the one you used here? What's your preference of proflo toilet you use? Love you videos and your detailed explanations.
I like to add a board behind the tank for added support. Some members of the family like to recline while handling their business
I follow what you're saying. I will add a board soon.
Very much enjoyed your video. At 25:50, it sounds like you say hydrostatic pressure is 50 psi, which doesn't sound right to me. From high school physics, I thought i remembered it was something like 0.5 psi per foot of water.
I always replace those shut off valves with 1/4 turn ball valves.
THANK YOU for the valve-Cap idea. Amazing, headed to the hardware store right now to get some (just what I needed for peace of mind in my semi-DIY reno-job.
When our power goes out we don't have running water because we're on a well system. We have to use this bucket technique to flush the toilet. So, whenever we know there is a storm coming and that our power will likely be out, we fill up 5 gallon buckets to store in the tubs. Then we have smaller buckets to get the water out of the 5 gallon buckets.
I use a toilet lift jack and it lifts at an angle so water will say in the trap until it is lowered back down straight. But not everyone will be changing out toilets enough to need or want one of those. We were having to change out multiple toilets so it was worth it.
Good to know about the flange height when its time to do the other bathrooms. All of them will be getting vinyl sheet so it will be low profile. I used a better-than-wax ring for the bathroom that we just renovated.
I never knew they made caps for those shutoffs. That's good to know. All of the shutoffs in my house are new relatively new from when the winter storm ruptured all of the waterlines and we replaced them with PEX.
We spent around $400 years ago on some Toto Drake toilets. They were worth it for how well they flush. Paid less years later for an ADA height Toto Drake and under $200 for a chair height Toto Entrada for our friend's house when we were staying there.
I found that its good to cover the toilet bowl if you're going to be handling bolts and/or nuts over it. I have a tendency to drop things. LOL.
I personally went with wingnuts for my tank bolts to make them easier to turn.
Where I live, whenever we put on a new hose or something, we always put the open end in a bucket and turn the shutoff to let the water run into the bucket and clear any debris before we shut it back off and connect it to the fitting. My friend didn't do this with his kitchen sink and it clogged up the cartridges. He ended up having to get a new faucet (older one wasn't worth trying to get cartridges for). So, bottom line, even plumbers recommend clearing the lines a bit before connecting. I've had to take apart a flush valve assembly to clean it before. It's annoying.
For the toilet connection, I like to get one that makes a click when it locks on so you know its on tight enough.
For the toilet seat, I like to get bolts that slide in to rubber bungs. The bungs act as the nut to lock them in place and they do not move. I hate the standard kind that you constantly have to tighten and the seat keeps getting loose. I haven't had to tighten bolts once since using the kind with the bungs.
If you want to be fancy, you can get a toilet with built in bidet sprayer or a bidet seat attachment that uses a tee to split off for supply.
I got those split flange covers in chrome for my house. They are great. I should use the sealant underneath though. I've always heard from plumbers that you should leave a small unsealed part at the back of the toilet so that if the wax ring breaks and is leaking, it will come out the back and you will know. Otherwise, all the water stays under the toilet and rots the floor.
I do maintenance on my apt complex and l replaced a lot of toilets and they all went smooth without all these precautionary steps. The most important thing not to do it is to over tighten your toilet bolts because you can easily damage your flange. I like to use thinset over tile under the toilet for better and strong adhesion.
Wht didn't you use a 1/4 turn valve
Very helpful. I had a leak from a second floor toilet into a soffit. Turns out the toilet flange was way below the new tile & the wax ring never made contact. Added a spacer and problem solved.
Thank you. My toilet keeps swirling in the bowl for about 2 minutes before ot will go down. We have changed all the parts in the toilet. Could it be the air vent or something. I'm at a loss but need to fix on my own due to finances. Do you have any suggestions? Would greatly appreciate any input you may have. Thank y ou so much for all the time you put in teaching us valuable information. God bless you sir
I have seen other plumbers say not to silicone seal the tank to the floor so if the toilet leaks, you can see it, and it doesn't trap water under it, rotting the subfloor. I am not sure which is a better method. To seal, or not to seal?
you are a freaking boss. no frills and no arrogance. thanks for sharing
21:50 Why didn't you replace the valve with a 1/4 turn valve?
somewhat agree on the caulk,, however in my experience caulk always ends up wicking up moisture and breaking down, almost rather not use iit so it can dry properly underneath
If you seal the toilet to the floor in a residential house, if there's a leak from the wax ring down the road the only way to detect this would be from extensive damage to the subfloor or the ceiling/basement below, correct? Would it be better to seal just the front of the toilet from the 4 to 8 O'clock positions that way if there was a leak from the wax ring you'd hopefully see it on the tile floor before it had a chance to ruin the subfloor and ceilings below?
If you remove a ground floor toilet to repurpose the room. What is the best way to cover over the waste hole and tidy up the water pipes?
Just curious, wouldn’t it be easier to put your baseboard behind the toilet and paint it before you install the toilet??? That
I put nuts on the toilet studs to keep them from ever turning on the flange, along with the wax ring, I don't use the reinforced ones due it reducing the pipe diameter
the reinforced ones still have a larger diameter than that if the trap in the bowl. Cheers!
Just what I needed. I was trying to change out cracked nuts and washers. After fighting for nearly an hour to get the nuts off, and finessing one back on, the other hold-down posts popped out of the track. So I fiddled it back in, but every time I tried to tighten the nut, it turned and popped out again. And again. I figured there had to be a trick to keeping the post head in the track, so I was just looking for how the flange looks. Now I know how to install a toilet from the get-go (in case I still can't get this back together without having to run to the store for a new seal and bolts and taking the toilet out. Because it's Sunday and this little addendum to big plumbing job to move the washer into the bathroom is taking more time than replumbing the whole house with pex. Day of rest, indeed! :-D Thanks a lot!
I'm 68, I just learned something. Thanks 👍
I knew you were Canadian when I heard the way you pronounce the words “process” and “out.” Thanks for the walkthrough and the thorough explanations.
if you have a toilet leak, that water isn't gonna be coming through the siliconed gap. That water is gonna go under the base moulding, edges of the room, and leak to the room below.
the point if setting a toilet correctly and secure is to make sure you don't get a leak. Cheers! Leaks don't happen randomly. they happen because of poor install practices.
The DANCO Perfect Seal works from 1/2" above to 1-1/2" below. available at every Home Depot I have been to.
I have used those and you are correct.
Watched several other people’s videos and then found this one! You answered my questions!Thank you!
Cheers Karen!
Very good job explaining how to stack the floor flanges.
Thanks so much.
I use a Stream Machine water gun, made for water play, to evacuate toilet bowls. It only requires a couple of cups of water. After shutting off the water supply and flushing the toilet, one intense shot into the toilet bowl in the direction of the siphon does it about as well as the gallon-and-half shown in the video. There is very little residual water left in the toilet plumbing, easily removed the with a sponge or rag.
I enjoy the common sense approach to your renovation videos. I always caulk the toilet but it seems redundant when the supply line for the toilet comes up through the floor.
Thank you, Jeff. Very informative video. Love your channel!
The BEST teacher ever!
19:30 - I thought I made up that trick. Where’d you get it? Here’s the rest of that trick: when removing stubborn bolts or nuts, tighten slightly and they will break loose easier.
Thanks again. Always learn something new every time I watch your videos.
Why didn't you spend $5 for a new quarter turn valve, you know better it's money in the bank
No doubt all that work then reuse old crappy valve.
Dang you beat me to this comment 😅
I was going to ask same ? I always change from multi- turn to 1/4 turn when replacing toilets also, everything is new in that bathroom y not change shut off valve???
Waste time and money to change a valve that will never be used and the same thing will happen. Meh.
@tristanmartinez2667 no, 1/4 turn valves are built different than multi turn valves. There's no rubber gaskets to degrade, it's a ball valve that seals around a soft plastic material that basically doesn't erode or degrade like rubber does. That's been known for years
@5:40 you don't need thread sealant, you need a washer at the back of your cap. compression fittings don't make a seal at the threads.
Once you have the compression cap on, at what point could you turn the water back on if this is a multi-day process due to time constraints, etc. Or does this have to be a single-day thing?
Awesome n informative upload. Learned a lot from ur explanations even though have experience repairing my toilets, especially flange height; caulking; toilet tank pressure etc. Kudos. New subscriber because of this vid. Anticipating ur next one.. Peace
Thank for explaining everything! All the side tidbits are helpful also!
Why did you move to a different bathroom to finish the job? Was the other one not as damaged as you first mentioned?
I've seen a lot of promoting of new silicone rings (like Fluidmaster) that claim they're "better than wax" rings. Their claims, if true, would indicate a better choice and the prices are less than $10. Any experience in their usage? Or opinions of them?
Great job. Thank You for showing the correct way
Caps with a rubber washer work also great for overnight / temporary shut off and take less time.
Excellent advice in this video! Thanks
Contrac is another good builder brand (Canadian). Can get pretty much all fixtures from them. Toilet will set you back around $200
In a rental subfloor moves when you step causing the bowl to move around a little about an 1/8-1/4in would a thicker rubber seal stop it from leaking?
This guy is amazing. I'm a journeyman and master plumber and I didnt know that trick to empty toilet water. I always used my shop vac
Why not use plastic toilet shims?
Also wouldn’t wax free ring be better as it allows a bit of expansion and contraction if there is slight movement?
Thanks
this house is in Florida. no change in weather to cause any movement and the toilet is secured from moving so no need. In really old houses that are 4 season the rubber seal is a great idea.
Also, our bathroom floor has "textured" ceramic tile over concrete (not flat, slightly "wavy" surface looks like water) and the toilet rocks slightly front to back. I want to remove and replace, also to fix a possible leak.
Is there a different/better way to fix the rocking than grouting to the floor? Thx,
I don't silicone around toilets, if they leak I want to know right away it's leaking instead of water buildup between the floor and the toilet rotting the flooring. Lowes $89
Same, as a service plumber I never seal the bottom of the toilet to the floor unless the owner requests it. Especially with a trailer like this where you wont see that the wax seal is broken because you are never in the crawl space below it. Silicone may look cleaner but I'd rather not need to rip up the entire bathroom because of rot in the sub-floor
GOOD except I put the wax ring on the toilet seated around the opening instead of on the floor flange. If it’s over a little bit, it could shave the wax making the hole size smaller. I have removed toilets and have seen this. Instead of channel locks, I use a small crescent wrench to tighten the nuts on the toilet.
Good tutorial although I’m not a fan using channel locks on toilet nuts. Use a ratchet and socket. Also very important especially for a non plumber it’s imperative that you tighten the closet bolts and the tank bolts evenly because if you tighten one side before the opposite side you can CRACK the tank!
I wonder what that crack would sound like? I hope to never find out either.
Knipex plier wrench is the bomb.
Use the deluxe wax ring with the black funnel. Almost guarantees the water has no reason to get close the outside edge of the upper part of the flange, ever. It's like $8.
That's the same one I used in this video!
Thanks for showing us how it’s done. Very helpful.
Love all your videos.
But if my water main is turned off, and the toilet is out, I'm changing that multi turn stop valve with a quarter turn.
ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL WORK AND KNOWLEDGE TO DO AN EXCELLENT JOB - AND YOU DONT HAVE A SCREWDRIVER !!
23:06 ( probably a good use of a Qtip)😁. I really like watching, learning with you Jeff. "Always go in reverse till it clicks/catches, then it should spin easy"
🥶🖤🔔👍🏻👍🏻💓
for replacing, do you need to clean the toilet drain before install the toilet?
I really enjoy watching your videos. You always provide tips of the trade that require years of experience to learn, which in turn helps us DIY'ers properly do the job. Thank you so much for your videos.
Change out ALL your old valves to quarter turn. I don't leave any of the old multiturn valves in my house. They are so inexpensive I'm shocked you didn/t replace it.
Do you know of any issues caused by low-water consumption toilets: like blockages or back-up flow, caused by the low volume of water (1.2 gals.) not being strong enough to "drag" all the "dumped" mass through the pipe?
Just wanted to say that I randomly found your videos a while back just randomly. I watched the shed ones. I am so glad that I did because I was planning to build a tree house for my children (10'x12') and had already drew up my own plans and everything. I learned so much in your shed videos that I was able to apply to my own plans and I know now that it'll be a lot more durable, but also a lot safer. So thanks for that. Also planned to replace our toilets soon so this was perfect timing!
Why didn't you replace the water valve with a new 1/4 turn off shut-off valve?
19:30 - I thought I made up that trick. Where’d _you_ get it? This trick actually works on any type of threaded application. Even the cap to your plastic milk jug.Here’s the rest of that trick: when removing stubborn bolts or nuts, tighten slightly and they will break loose easier.
22:21 - One of the few cases where it’s better to use your pliers backward is when attempting to remove a contrary cap on a can of PVC glue to keep from deforming the cap _and_ the can!
I cannot get into the DIY community forum for Q and A. Can you help me? Thanks!
I love your channel. It's so easy to learn from you ❤
Which model of Proflow toilets is the one you like so much? There are several on the Ferguson site.
Jeff, A pumice stone will remove those rust stains in the toilet. Walmart has them in the cleaning section! Great for hard water stain circles in a toilet too!
WOW, I did exactly what u said with the cap but i used a Rubber washer on the inside of the cap.
Youre awesome homie. Thanks for these videos.
good for you as they will often..unlike what he says leak as they are a running thread... 40 yrs plumbing with a TQ... if in doubt ask a real plumber
@@stresd111 Hey I seen your comment. Would I be able to put a cap on a shut off valve if I cannot turn the water supply to the room or the main. I’m currently changing my gate valves to ball valves but waiting for the city to come turn my water off. Not thinking I took my toilet off the wax ring and disconnected it only depending on the aged shut off valve to stay closed. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
In UK it would be 1/2”
3/8” are rare
I honestly think UK method of coupling toilet is far more straightforward.
I did replace the toilet in our home when we first moved in. Until I removed the old one, I did not realize how messed up the tile work was. There is a large gap in the tile around the toilet flange. I managed to get the toilet to seat, but in the process one of the plastic tabs on the flange snapped. The toilet works ok, but I do need to remove it, and figure out a solution to get it to permanently seal and sit without ever moving. Tall flange, and flanged builds will help me, but I'm still struggling with how to deal with the lack of support surface around one part of the flange.