New Toilet Installation

New toilet installation is not much different than removing and reinstalling an old toilet. The only differences are that the toilet back and toilet seat assembly which come with instructions when you buy a toilet. In some cases, toilets bowls and backs are a single piece which obviously does not require back assembly.

With this new toilet, the only different installation procedures were to add the spacers underneath the toilet seat and to assemble it to the holes in the toilet.

Now that we have installed the toilet seat, we can check out the rest of the procedure at https://plumber.fullstackwebstudio.com/blogitem/toiler-removal-and-reinstall.

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by Kent E 5 years ago 1 comments

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Toilet Removal and Reinstall

There can be many reasons why we may want to remove the toilet; a leak around the wax ring, a faulty toilet flange, installing a new toilet and renovating the flooring. The list could go on, but, the previous reasons are quite common.

When the plan does go forward to remove and reinstall, the procedure is similar in the various instances.

The first step, is to turn off the water to the toilet. If not, water will come shooting out from the first loosened connection and create quite a mess. There will be a stop valve located between the toilet hose and wall which is what we want to carefully close.

Once we have the water off, we flush the toilet to remove water from the tank and toilet bowl. However, we will need to remove trapped water from the toilet bowl with a Shop Vac and perhaps some leftovers in the tank. After that, we can disconnect the hose to the toilet while having a handy rag to soak up some some drops of water.

The next step is to remove the caps around the bottom T-bolts followed by the nuts and washers. Only a small wrench is required for this procedure, unless the washer is caked on and knife is required to lift the washers.

At this point, we can safely lift the toilet from the floor and place it sideways on the floor on some protective material like cardboard.

Once we have the toilet off, we can be in for many surprises. But, what we hope for is a healthy flange and minimal cleanup. If the flange is good, we clean it up. If not, we clean it up and install a flange repair kit on its surface.

Regardless of what procedure we are doing, it is a good idea to wear nitrile or latex gloves and have a rag in the flange to stop junk from falling into the hole.

In the case of a floor renovation, the flooring is also removed at this point, and the new flooring is put in place. Silicon can be applied around the flange to fill in gaps.

Once we have a cleaned up flange, we add a wax ring. A good rule of thumb is that if the floor height is the same or lower than the flange we use a flange with sleeve. If higher, a wax ring without sleeve will do.

The next procedure is to clean the toilet bottom and reinstall it. We will want to position new T-bolts so the wide side goes under the narrow slot in the middle of the flange. If they do not turn easily, we can use Channel locks to turn the bolts. We should do the turn near the bottoms so the upper threads do not get stripped.

However, if the bolts are loose, we can add plastic washers that can help secure the bolts, or, we can add a washer and nut to keep them in place. 

Once we have our bolts lined up in the centred position at equal distances from the wall, we place the toilet back where it came from, letting gravity and perhaps just a little help to move the toilet on the floor.

If the toilet sits flat...great. If not, we can use shims to level it followed by a bead of silicon around the outside.

Now, we can add a washer and nut to each side of the toilet and secure them in place, followed by the small covers. If the bolts are too long for the cover, we cut them with a mini hacksaw so the caps fit.

After that, we reconnect the toilet tank to the wall with a new, braided hose; such a s a 20" hose. Then, we turn the water back on, check for leaks and do a few flushes.

Hopefully, we find no leaks and have completed the task.

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by Kent E 5 years ago 27 comments

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Radiant Heating

In a nutshell, radiant heating in a house draws heated water from a boiler and delivers it to various sections of the house. At the same time heated water is delivered, the older water in the system is returned to the boiler.

To elaborate a little further, the large 1-inch supply lines feed separate manifolds spread throughout the house. These manifolds, are connected to 1/2-inch supply and return lines that cover the floor in sections that are normally under 300 ft.

Before the radiant is laid down, manifolds are placed in strategic positions and have a specified amount of ports to handle the supply and return.

There are many ways to lay the radiant down, such as staples, plastics mats that save on concrete and talon clips, just to name a few.

In most cases, the style and spacing is critical. Some rooms can require 6-inch spacing while others can be up to 1 foot between pipes. When determining pipe length, we can calculate the square footage of a space. If 6-inch spacing is used, we will use double the square footage in pipe. Obviously, at 1 foot centers the square footage and pipe length will come close.

In addition to room spacing, the radiant will get tighter around large windows, will be around 4-inches from walls and will go around fixtures like toilets and sinks.

Besides that,  slab sensors are inserted into spots in the flooring and each section will also be wired with 3-wire for thermostat control. Thus, the boiler can determine how to deliver the water to create the desired heat.

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by Kent E 5 years ago 0 comments

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