How to Install a Toilet

Expert advice on the way to install a toilet, with illustrated step-by step DIY installation instructions.

If your toilet has seen better days—or you merely want to update it with a model that’s more stylish and efficient—you’ll be glad to understand that replacing a rest room is a day project.

However, if you propose to put in a rest room during a new location, you'll need to extend supply pipes and drainpipes to the specified spot, employment you'll want to go away to knowledgeable plumber.

When buying a rest room, you’ll find many choices. The two-piece type shown here is that the commonest.

Though most toilets are sold with the required gaskets, washers, and hardware for fitting the tank to the bowl, you would possibly get to buy a couple of parts. These may include hold-down bolts, a wax gasket for sealing the drain, and a versatile water-supply tube for connecting the tank to the shutoff valve.

Before installation, close up the water at the shutoff valve. Flush the rest room to empty the bowl and tank, and sponge out any remaining water. Disconnect the water-supply tube from the shutoff valve, drain the water from the tube into a bucket, then unscrew the coupling nut on the availability tube at rock bottom of the tank.

If the hold-down bolts that fasten the rest room to the ground are corroded to the extent that you simply can’t remove the nuts, soak the bolts with penetrating oil or cut them off with a hacksaw. Once you bolt the new bowl to the ground, be very careful to not over-tighten the nuts as this will crack the porcelain.

1 To get rid of the old tank, unbolt it from the bowl employing a screwdriver to carry the mounting bolt from inside the tank while unfastening its nut with a wrench from below. Remove the bowl by prying the caps off the hold-down bolts and removing the nuts with an spanner. Gently rock the bowl from side to side to interrupt the seal between the bowl and therefore the floor, then lift the bowl up, tilting it forward slightly to avoid spilling any remaining water.

2 Stuff a rag into the drainpipe to stop sewer gases from escaping into your home. Using an old spatula, scrape the wax gasket remains from the ground flange. (If the old hold-down bolts and/or the ground flange are damaged, replace them, too.)

3 Turn the new bowl upside-down on a cushioned surface. Place the replacement wax gasket on top of the horn at the bottom of the rock towards the bowl. If the wax gasket features a plastic collar, install it therefore the collar is far away from the bowl after first checking that the collar will fit into the ground flange. Apply a skinny bead of toilet caulk around the toilet base.

4 Remove the rag from the drainpipe. Using the bolt as a guide, gently place the bowl on top of the flange. Depress firmly while gently twisting and rocking. employing a level, make sure the bowl is straight; use plastic shims if necessary to form minor adjustments.

5 Hand-tighten the washers and nuts onto the bolts. Then alternately tighten them with a wrench until the rest room is seated firmly on the ground. Snug up the hold-down nuts, but don’t over tighten them as this will crack the bowl. Fill the caps with plumber's putty and place them on top of the end of the bolt.

6 If necessary, assemble the flush valve inside the tank and tighten the massive spud nut in the middle. Place the rubber tank cushion on the bowl. Fix the tank to the top of the bowl and fasten the nuts and washers to the mounting bolts. Attach the availability tubes and open the shutoff valve.