A Sticks and Bricks toilet repair saga.

lappir · May 7

Could be a long story so beware.

It all started one afternoon when my daughters friend called about a water bill issue. She said the bill had gone up significantly and she had no reason that she could think of. I reminded her of the "Sprinkler" system being on when I arrived a few weeks ago, but she said it was only for a day before I turned it off. My next suggestion was to put a food dye in the toilet tanks to see if one of them had a leaky "Flapper" valve. A few days go by and finally my daughter calls to report the toilet in her bathroom in fact has dye in the bowl a couple hours after she put dye in the tank. I said fine, I will be over tomorrow and fix the "Flapper". Tomorrow would have been last Friday and today is the following Tuesday.

So almost a year ago Anna (my daughter Francesca's friend) bought a house and is renting out bedrooms for Francesca and another friend Theresa. Francesca had a conference to attend just about the time of closing and unfortunately or maybe fortunately a storm came through the area and I suggested to Anna to have them reinspect the roof for damage before the closing. Of course damage was found and an new roof was needed. The problem was Francesca was not going to be present for "Moving Day". I was the first person to sleep in the house after closing and Anna and many of her, Francesca and Theresa's friends came over to move every one from two locations to One. Theresa had already moved things into Anna's spare bedroom in the duplex she had been renting, so at least it wasn't three locations. The move went pretty well for a bunch of "Grad Students". I noticed a few things that apparently the "Home inspector" didn't mention and instead of the inspector coming back to fix things he missed I would do it.

Repair of the gate to the back yard came first.

Filling a void in the brick façade from settling of the slab was next after a consultation from a " Bricklayer" I've known almost all my life.

A couple electrical outlet replacements (GFCI type). Taught Anna and a friend on the safe way to preform changes.

Help with other projects that Anna has asked for help on and sort of keeping the lawn mown.

All of those projects went well.

Then the toilet call. Francesca commented that the inside of the tank looked "different", I didn't imagine it would look like it did.

What, no rubber flapping valve. How does this thing work?

I guess that sleeve slides up to release the water and then seals back down. I noticed the stuff in the tank and thought it might have gotten on the seal, so the first thing I did was to clean around the gasket surfaces. I thought it worked, but 3 hours later the bowl was showing signs of dye again.

So after a short search I found the local "Home Depot" carries the "Mansfield" brand and I make my first trip. I pick up the box to the left in the photo. I should have opened the box while there, but it was "Taped" shut so I didn't until I had purchased it. When I got to the Jeep it looked like what I needed and like most guys I did not read the instructions until I got to the part of actually installing.

Of course it said you have to remove the "Tank" to install. Did I pick up the "Package" on the right of the photo with the other one on the left on my trip to the Home Depot. NO I DID NOT!! So what did I do? Went to the local Ace Hardware and asked if they had Mansfield Toilet Tank Bolts, Nope. They did sell me a set of Kohler with all the rubber washers and such. What could be different? Theresa was home and had suffered through several hours of having no water at the house. Yes I forgot about this part from my first trip to Home Depot, and here it is.

So, I mentioned earlier about waiting 3 hours for the dye to come back into the bowl. I'd turned the water off at the wall under the toilet the first time I cleaned the gasket and such, but this time when I attempted to turn off the water, it continued to run so I decided while at the Home Depot getting the Mansfield part I'd also get a new valve, so I went to the street to turn off the water. There is an inside turn off, but again the "Home Inspector" failed to notice that it would not turn. That's a Plumbing nightmare I do not want to undertake. Anna at some point will have to call a "Real Plumber" for that.

Anyway, there was no one at the Home Depot to provide any assistance and I picked up what I thought was the right replacement hose. Nope, "Shark Bite" for PEX and I had Copper. Then the next problem, couldn't get the "Ferrell" to come off the pipe. Called Ace, they had no idea about a "Ferrell Puller". I could find them on Amazon right away, but if anyone reads my comments. I don't do Amazon.

So a trip back to Home Depot to return the wrong hose and ask about a "Ferrell Puller". The "Assistant Manager" was at the "Returns" counter and had no idea what I was talking about, another guy was ending his day, but apparently worked in the "Plumbing" area and the "AM" asked him about it. "Nope, never heard of it. We won't have anything like that." The "AM" got on his phone and did a search and said "Yeah, I don't see anything on the website". So I went back to the Jeep to search the internet more. A "Home Depot" many miles away shows they have a puller, but they are closed (it's late Friday now.) So I decide to go back into the store.

Look what I found.

And it worked like a charm. Got the Ferrell off, new valve (bought at Ace) and the water turned back on. Told Theresa The water is on and I'm done for the day. Told her about "Bucket Flushing" or just use Anna's bathroom.

Saturday morning I go over and explain everything to Francesca telling her to remind me about this in the future if I ever say I can fix a toilet. She heads off to work at the

If you are ever in Norman, you should check it out.

Now back to your previously interrupted story.

and I start the removal process of the Tank. Thankfully the new shut off valve is still working. I didn't mention that I tried not changing out the "Ferrell" and of course it leaked Friday afternoon when Theresa got home. I'd been waiting on someone to come home so I could go out to the street to turn on the water while someone was watching the valve for a leak. Of course it leaked and that's when the late Friday trip to Home Depot was required. I'll try to stay on subject, but has anyone ever noticed how messed up the traffic patterns in Oklahoma are? And they are just making them worse with "Traffic Circles" and "Diverging Diamonds". The Traffic lights also don't have a pattern. Some days if you are in the left turn lane you wait till the end of the cycle for the turn light and then other days it's at the start. For me it's infuriating.

Anyway, I take the tank off, use the Ace Hardware Tank bolts and put everything back together. Works fine so it seems. Get a text later that there is a "Leak" and Francesca has noticed drips on the floor after flushing the toilet. I'm at home and do a bit more "YouTube" searching and find that there are actually "Mansfield Specific" Toilet Tank bolts and washers. Make a trip back the Home Depot and several feet away from the "Flapper" repair kit is a kit with new tank bolts and tank to bowl gasket. Why couldn't they include them with the kit or at least position them side by side so one would think about needing both for the repair? Almost done I think.

Nope. The warning "Don't overtighten at risk of cracking the porcelain" was heeded too well it seems. I was also just using my "Eye" to determine "Level" and not an actual level for a bit. (Until Francesca said "why not use a level").

It took three more trips to the house. I'd think it was fine and then I'd get a text of drips. I finally said I'm just going to keep tightening it until it either stops leaking or I break the toilet and then I will have to replace it. The last tightening I left the wrench on the counter thinking I'd be back but thankfully it hasn't leaked since.

I've told Francesca and Theresa if they ever buy a home and it has "Mansfield" toilets. Make sure they are changed out before closing day. I also suggest letting me come and follow around the inspector if they choose to have a "Professional" inspection done. (I have a Nephew who has done it for a few years now, first in Florida and now I think he is in Hawaii again." He also did Professional Moving in Des Moines, IA for several years.)

So I think this is the end of this story. We had major weather last night both North and South of Norman. Thankfully my Home on wheels is still safe. I'm here for another few weeks and then in Iowa for a bit.

Rod

dblr · May 8

Thanks for the plumbing story and I bet just about all of us could relate to it at some point 🤔

Kirk W · May 8

For me, it has always been a red letter event when I would complete any significant repair ater only 1 trip to Lowe's or Home Depot! That seemed to hold true for most RV repairs as well.

Chalkie · May 8

I think for me the morale of this story would be to buy a completely different brand of toilet that uses more conventional internals and be done with it.

lappir · May 8

17 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

I think for me the morale of this story would be to buy a completely different brand of toilet that uses more conventional internals and be done with it.

Oh, I really thought about that, but it's not my house and my daughter is only renting a bedroom and use of the common areas right now. The owner won't be back for several more days to see what was done, the parts list and how long it took to finish the job.

Haven't gotten a "It's leaking" message for two days now so maybe this one is fixed for now.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Rod

Ray,IN · May 12

Mansfield water closet parts are available on Amazon, including bolts. I keep a spare set of bolts and a spare sealing washer on hand. However, I reuse the bolts by warming the sealing compound in warm water first so it will conform to the irregular holes in the closet.

Most likely the entire unit didn't need replacing, only the red sealing washer. It fits into a groove, sometimes it gets pushed down out of the groove and will not seal. It's easy to replace in the groove if you take your time. This restores the water seal.

lappir · May 12

11 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Mansfield water closet parts are available on Amazon, including bolts. I keep a spare set of bolts and a spare sealing washer on hand. However, I reuse the bolts by warming the sealing compound in warm water first so it will conform to the irregular holes in the closet.

Most likely the entire unit didn't need replacing, only the red sealing washer. It fits into a groove, sometimes it gets pushed down out of the groove and will not seal. It's easy to replace in the groove if you take your time. This restores the water seal.

Thanks Ray,

Won't do Amazon. Also the "home owner is home" and we discussed if the other toilet ever leaks we will have a lesson on replacing it. Of course I haven't looked at any of the American Standard or Kohler units, maybe they decided to do the same with their outlets.

Rod

Chalkie · May 12

3 hours ago, lappir said:

Of course I haven't looked at any of the American Standard or Kohler units, maybe they decided to do the same with their outlets.

When we had our S&B I remodeled two of the bathrooms and used the Glacier Bay brand from Home Depot. They worked so well that I also replaced the one in the half-bath. Best of all, full units were under $100.