1-800-Plumber +Air
Toilet Installation
Having a
HOME EMERGENCY?
Call or Find Your Nearest Pro!
The zip code you entered is not associated with one of our locations. Please visit our Locations page to find your closest location.
Your Professional
SERVICES
PLUMBING
Services
Our Top Plumbing
Services
COOLING
Services
HEATING
Services
EMERGENCY
Services
COOLING
Services
Your Complete Guide to
Toilet Installation
A toilet is something where you don't realize how much you need one until yours isn't working. Life without a working toilet is frustrating and inconvenience to say the least, and it's important to know who to call to replace or repair yours. Toilet installation is a complicated process that should only be handled by someone with the right tools and expertise.
In this article, we're going to take a look at how to install a toilet and how to know when yours is at its end. We'll also look at who to call and how to contact us at 1-800-Plumber + Air for the best toilet installation in a timely and professional manner.
Ready to
GET IT FIXED?
Contact Us Now!
How to Tell if It’s Time for a New Toilet
Like I said before, it's extremely inconvenient to be without a working toilet. For that reason, it's important to know the signs and symptoms of a bad toilet. Let's take a look at what some of those symptoms look like.
Cracks in the toilet.
Cracks in the bowl of the toilet or in the tank of the toilet are a recipe for disaster. A cracked tank or bowl is only one nudge or bump away from potentially breaking and flooding your bathroom with toilet water. It's better to take preemptive action and replace a cracked toilet.
Your toilet is wobbly.
If you're toilet is wobbly, there's a good chance that one of the bolts is lose and that your wax ring is compromised. If the wax ring underneath the toilet gets too lose or damaged, it will start leaking every time you flush the toilet. It's a good way to flood your bathroom with nasty toilet water.
It clogs frequently.
A toilet that gets plugged often could indicate a faulty toilet or faulty plumbing. Because it's cheaper and easier to replace a toilet than it is to repipe your bathroom, you should start by replacing the toilet. If that doesn't fix the problem, it might be necessary to replace the piping connected to the toilet.
Your toilet is leaking.
A leaking toilet is never a good thing. Toilets can leak from several places including the water line, under the tank, or under the bowl. If the water line or under the tank is leaking, you can probably fix the problem by tightening the water line connector or the bolts underneath the tank. If, however, water is coming from beneath the toilet itself, you likely have a defective wax ring or toilet flange and you'll need to replace it and the toilet.
How to Install a Toilet
Installing toilets can be difficult and nasty work, but it's something you can do on your own if you feel up to it. If you're feeling ambitious and want to tackle the job on your own, then here are the steps you'll need to follow.
Start by removing the old toilet if you're replacing an existing one.
Before you can install a new toilet, you'll first need to remove the old one. To do this, you'll need to turn off the water that's attached to the toilet. There should be a small valve behind the toilet that you turn shut. Next, flush the toilet several times to drain the remaining water. It's a good idea to have a sponge and bucket handy in case you need to sponge out the remaining toilet water.
Next, loosen the bolts that are holding the toilet to the floor. These bolts will either be exposed and easy to see or underneath caps on the floor that are designed to hide the bolts. If necessary, remove the caps before removing the bolts. Once the toilet is loose, you also have the option of loosening the tank from the toilet bowl itself. This step isn't required, but it might make the toilet easier to move and carry out of your house.
Once the toilet has been removed from the area, you'll then need to remove the flange and wax ring that were below the toilet. There's a chance that you can preserve the flange if it's undamaged, but double-check it to make sure. If you don't plan on installing the new toilet immediately, take some rags and plug the hole in the floor where the toilet was sitting on top of.
Remove the old toilet flange and install a new one.
It might not be necessary to remove the old toilet flange if it isn't compromised. The flange is the piece that the toilet was sitting on and that has the two floor bolts that the toilet was attached to. If it isn't compromised, feel free to reuse the flange. If, however, it appears to be old or has cracks in it, you should remove it and install an new one in its place.
Install the new wax ring under the toilet.
Installing the wax ring or Johnny Ring is the messiest part of the process, but it's absolutely essential. To make things easier, you might want to consider installing a Better Than Wax ring. It fulfills the same function but is easier to install and work with than a standard wax ring. No matter what you choose to use, place the wax ring around the toilet hole on the floor.
Place toilet on the flange and ring.
Once the wax ring is in place, it's time to set the new toilet over top of the ring and the toilet flange. If you're using a wax ring made of wax, it's important that once you set the toilet on top of it that you don't move it around too much. This is the advantage of using a Better Than Wax ring. You can move and adjust the toilet as needed without causing damage to the ring itself.
Make sure that the holes on the toilet are lined up with the bolts on the toilet flange. Tighten the toilet to the flange with the nuts and washers that accompanied the flange.
Attach the tank to the toilet.
With the toilet properly set on the ground and connected to the flange, install the tank on the back of the toilet bowl. This is a fairly easy process and is as easy as following the instructions that accompanied your new toilet and tank. All you need to do, is properly install the flange on the bottom of the tank and align it with the toilet bowl so that the holes on both pieces line up.
Next, fasten the tank to the bowl with the nuts, bolts, and washers that came with the tank.
Install the toilet seat and lid.
Once again, follow the instructions that accompanied your new equipment.
Flush the toilet several times to test for leaks.
Once everything is hooked up and you think the toilet is ready for use, turn the water supply back on. Once the tank and bowl have filled up with water, perform several practice flushes to make sure there aren't any leaks and that everything is working properly.
How Much Does It Cost to Install a Toilet
Toilets are one of the cheaper plumbing fixtures in your home to replace. The cost of a new toilet, depending on the type that you get, can cost anywhere from $80 to several hundred dollars for smart toilets. The cost of having someone install it for you is quite reasonable as well because it's a fairly quick and simple process if you know what you're doing.
Who to Call for Emergency Toilet Service and Installation
If you decide to play it smart and have someone install your toilet for you, contact us at 1-800-Plumber and we'd be happy to serve you. Toilet installation is one of our specialties and we can install any number of specialty toilets. Whether you want a new toilet exactly like your old one or want to upgrade to one with a special bowl or features, we're the plumbing professionals for you.The Sink
After a visit to the throne, where's the next place everyone heads? The sink, of course. This fine fellow has a similar number of moving parts.
The Faucet
First up, we have the faucet lever which turns things on and off. The lever connects to a dome which houses a cartridge that connects to a spout O ring. The spout O ring is about as thick as a sheet of cardstock but is integral to a secure connection.
The spout O ring connects to the faucet spout which has another O ring. At the end of the spout, there's a little O ring that connects to an aerator which delivers a mixture of water and air. Essentially, this helps prevent too much of a splash from developing.
Going back to the other side of the spout, back at the base of the sink, there's one more O ring that connects to the escutcheon, which is a fancy word for "flat piece of metal."
The Basin
The basin is pretty straightforward. It's part of the reason why you can purchase practically any shape, style, or material for your basin. It can be glass, porcelain, marble, bronze, you name it.
Here, you have the basin and a drain. Nice and easy. But, on top of the drain, you can install a sink hole cover or a sink strainer.
A sink hole cover allows you to seal the drain and draw some water into the basin. This is, of course, great for face washing, shaving, and other daily routines.
But you can also install a sink strainer. If there are any ladies in the house, then, every time they brush their hair, there's a strong likelihood they'll brush a few strands down the drain. Over time, this creates one of those gag-worthy clogs that will need to be snaked out.
Much like a shower strainer, an ounce of prevention here will save everyone a lot of time hunched over a sink searching for lost hair (or even diamond rings).
The Shower
Onto the final component of the bathroom. The shower and bathtub are where all our cares get washed away and relaxation sets in (unless there's a faulty flange or valve).
So, let's start at the top. First, you have your shower flange, which is that silver disk that lies flat against the wall. This leads to the shower arm which connects to the shower head.
Plumbers' tape was all but made for this scenario. A little strip on both ends of the shower arm is a time-old maneuver that provides a tiny bit of peace of mind.
Then, it's down to the faucet. Within the wall, there's a valve that releases the water. This connects to a cartridge which leads to the stop tube. So, the valve, cartridge, and stop tube are the major components that control the flow of water.
At the end of the stop tube, we have another handy escutcheon (a.k.a. flat piece of metal) which leads to the handle. Of course, when it's bath time, we also need to refer to the spout at the bottom of all this.
The tub spout connects to its own valve in the wall, pretty plain and simple. The spout will come with all the working parts to allow you to pull up the drain and fill the tub to your heart's content.
The final connecting piece is the drain or drain stop. This will pull up or down as needed. But, no matter what you do, be sure to invest in a little forward thinking and place a hair catch over the drain.
Bathroom Plumbing Fixtures
You probably suspected one of the most frequented rooms in the house had a lot of moving parts, but now you can name most of those bathrooms plumbing fixtures.
And, while it may be nice to know you can probably pop in a new flapper seal or O ring, should you ever need to call in a crew of well-versed, hard-working plumbers, we hope you'll give us a call today.
Here at 1-800-Plumber +Air, we're your guys for every kind of plumbing need, HVAC need, or emergency service (i.e., when the toilet or shower springs a leak that you can't contain).
As for our plumbing services, we can help you with everything from drain cleaning, to water treatment, to the installation of tankless water heaters. Whatever the job is, we'll get it done and restore your throne room to all its glory.
Give us a call today. With locations all across the US, we've got you covered from coast to coast. As for the northeast, you'll find us in Long Island, NY, Attleboro, MA, and Shelton, CT.
We also have five offices in the great state of Texas (Amarillo, Duncanville, Pearland, Sugar Land, and McKinney), and one in Portland, OR. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
I really appreciated Manolos attitude and the way he had patience for all of my questions and never seemed like he was rushing or annoyed with me. He took the time to reexplain it to my husband when he got home. I didn't feel pressured into spending more money or like he was trying to just sell me stuff. I felt like he really took his time and that I was his priority. Thank you for having great service.
Satisfied Customer
Positive: Professionalism , Punctuality , Responsiveness Up front pricing
Satisfied Customer
Excellent job was done
Mike F.
"1-800-plumber +Air is an A+ company !!! Our plumber was Robert , he was very knowledgeable and friendly! He was efficient and got the job done !l fixed two toilets for us! Thank you so much!! I highly recommend"
Diana M.
Great Work!
Keith
Mason with 1-800-Plumber first listened to my issues and past experiences with other plumbing companies. He did a thorough diagnosis of the problem and found a solution, the correct solution which wasn't the most expensive solution. Thanks for your honesty Mason.
Carolyn P.
Chad was a pro..... personal..... and got right to work...... he explained each step he was taking and why .... very pleased with his. service and will highly recommend
Andy M.
I had Kyle U as my plumbing tech. He did a great job and worked really hard to get to the bottom of things (like roots). He was also polite and honest.
Linda D.
The tech was so nice, knowledgeable and efficient.
Satisfied Customer
Positive: Professionalism , Punctuality , Quality New hot water heater installed same day as estimate. Very friendly and quick. Very thorough explaining everything.
read less
Satisfied Customer
24/7
Availability
No surprise
costs at the end of a job
On-Time
Committed to on-time arrivals