When it comes right down to it, toilets are not very complicated fixtures. There might be a lot of parts that make one up, but all those parts have one purpose: to bring in water and to use that water to wash out whatever it is you have put into it. That’s a relatively simple mission, but when you consider how many parts work together to make a toilet function, there’s a lot of room for things to go wrong.

Further, toilet parts, just as is the case with parts in nearly everything else, wear out, making the opportunities for repairs nearly continuous. The good news is that, if a homeowner starts the process by purchasing a quality toilet, and that toilet is correctly installed, there will be many years of flawless service.

The purpose of this article is to inform the reader about the diverse set of parts that make up a basic toilet. This will provide the background necessary to understand what a plumber is talking about when performing a Toilet Installation or repair.

Toilet Troubles

Whether a homeowner is looking to replace an existing toilet or wants to install a new one, there are several things that are very important to make sure of. The next toilet should not only work correctly but perhaps most importantly, it shouldn’t leak.

Wherever on a job a plumber starts, count on them taking at least a few hours to complete a toilet replacement. If there are unforeseen problems, it will probably take longer than that. Replacing toilet ranks in difficulty about the same as a Water Heater Installation, but more than a Drain Cleaning.

Getting the Job Started

If there is already a toilet in space, the plumber will probably spend some time removing it. This is largely a matter of turning off the water, disconnecting the feeds, and removing the toilet.

The first thing a plumber will usually do is to plug the soil pipe in the floor with a cloth or some other material to keep sewer gas from backing up into the house.

Replacing the Toilet

Replacing a toilet is not a difficult job. The reason the job can get pricey is that a toilet is heavy a cumbersome work to do. First, a toilet comes in two pieces, the bowl, and the tank. Before replacing the tank, the plumber will make sure the footing or what is called the closet flange is even with the floor.

After the flange is even with the floor, a wax seal is placed on top of the collar. The toilet is then placed on top of the seal and screwed down to the flange.

Adding the Tank

Now that everybody has a place to sit, it’s time to make it into a real toilet by giving it a place to put water, which is the tank. The tank is put onto the back of the bowl, with a seal sitting inside of the opening behind the seat.

After the tank is set, add the screws, which will make it secure. Next, you will need to connect the flapper with the handle. This is done by means of a chain inside the tank. It’s important, at this point, to make sure everyone understands to not change the type of flapper from what the toilet was designed for. This only invites trouble.

Connect the Supply Line and the Seat Assembly

If a toilet is being replaced, it should be obvious that there was a method to cause water to run from the housing supply to the toilet. This happens with a supply line, which needs to be replaced with a new line. This usually runs from the wall to the bottom of the tank. Once this supply line is replaced, turn on the water to refill the tank. It might be a good idea to use a small bit of plumber’s tape or putty to make sure the seal is secure.

Now for the final step: add the seat. This could be as easy as attaching the seat that came with the toilet, but if you have purchased a new and different seat, it will necessitate making sure the seat fits. This is often easy enough since the measurements of the screws on the seat are usually standard, which leads to very little variance, as well as problems. Some seats come with plastic screws that secure the fixture, making it doubly easy to set the seat. The screws are simply attached to the bowl, then the seat is set in place, and snapped in position.

Ready to Go

Your toilet is very much ready to use now. All that needs to be done is to turn on the water supply line, open the stop valve, which fills the tank. Now flush the toilet about six times to make sure there are no leaks.