Shooting myself in the foot with DIY repair

[csberry]

There has been a leak with the master bath toilet. Last week, it was leaking a little less than a 1/4 cup of water between the tank and seat when you flushed the toilet. This weekend, I disassembled and reassembled the toilet and tank to ensure everything looked good and was snug.

Yesterday, JD tells me there was water around the base of the toilet. I came home and wasn't able to find any wet spots other than the floor around the edge of the toilet. I didn't see any water dripping from the toilet. The only thing I saw was a single drop that clung to one of the two bolts that connect the tank to the seat.

Just a little while ago, after a flush, I saw a drop fall from that same bolt. I felt all around the bolt to see if the water was leaking out elsewhere and merely flowing down to drip from that bolt. The toilet surface felt dry everyplace I put my hand. I grabbed some pliers and found the wingnut to have some slack, so I tightened it up. I gave it just a little bit of a twist more than necessary, because I heard a tiny snapping sound (like a toothpick being broken) and suddenly a line of water drops emerged on the surface of the tank. The line went from the bolt to the outside edge and part of the way up the side of the tank.

(insert a whole variety of curse words here)

What may have been fixed by replacing the gasket that was on that bolt is now going to require so much more than that. While it may be possible to seal the crack, chances are that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace the whole toilet if I can't get a replacement tank for my toilet. Stamped into the side of the toilet is the production date of June 1982. I just don't know if my 1982 Gerber toilet can easily have its tank replaced by my choices at Home Depot, Lowe's, or where ever.

I am far from happy right now about the required repair and the potential cost.

Comments

Double, double, toilet trouble . . .

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, how I can empathize. Before you head to any of the retail hardware stores, though, try to find out if there is a demolition/renovation warehouse in Huntsville or surrounding area. Here in Boston, there are a few of these outfits where fixtures, fittings, mouldings, and all other types of hardware from demolitions and renovations of homes are brought for cleanup and resale/donation. You might be able to find a compatible tank there, and save tons of money. If not, you may need to replace the entire #@*& toilet. Don't forget the wax ring!

Re: Double, double, toilet trouble . . .

[csberry.livejournal.com]

I hope to slip by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore just to see if they have any Gerber toilets/tanks before I give in and go for a new one. Unfortunately, JD is sick today and I'm kinda stuck at home with the 3 kids. I don't want the five of us being a single-toilet household for long.

[cingulus.livejournal.com]

Toilets are irascible that way. The porcelain -- as you learned -- is unforgiving. Yet, the seals never seem to seal until you tighten the fasteners right up to the breaking point. Sometimes not even then, if there's so much as a hair between the seal and the porcelain.

If I were you, I would go with an old replacement as well. The new toilets just don't flush as well. (I scavenged one from a neighbor's renovation -- quite a sight, me rolling it down the street in my wheelbarrow.)

There are salvage companies that resell them. I'm not too smart about how to locate those, but I found one by calling a builder who specializes in teardowns. He lets a salvage firm go in and pay him for everything they find usable, from HVAC units to appliances to hardwoods to toilets. I got their number from him. (Never suspected there was a market for used central-air units, but there is.)