Plumbing update for new house

[kevm14]

Kitchen sink before:

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I replaced the faucet and added a soap dispenser. The sink stays, for now. Have to get an after shot today. I used the same one I put in at my current house for familiarity.

After shot:

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Downstairs toilet before:

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Downstairs toilet after. Bought an American Standard Champion 4, w/ elongated bowl.

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This was a good one. I had to hack off the old flange and install a split repair flange (sounds like exhaust work, but way grosser). It was also a challenge to secure it to the subfloor. All of the sewer plumbing in this house is black plastic.

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Can't find an upstairs before at the moment. It was blue. Here's the after. Another American Standard Champion 4.

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I had to shim both toilets because the floor was not flat. That would have lead to rocking and eventual leaking of the wax ring (and floor rot, etc.). I used some composite shims I found at Home Depot which should last forever.

I also changed out the bathtub drain. The old drain was this style:


I used these general directions for the job:
http://www.familyhandyman.com/bathroom/ ... n/view-all

I don't have a before pic. Here is the after:

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I think this was the part I used:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-Lift-a ... /100554581

One last thing on the bathtub. I replaced the valve stems (and seats) for the hot and cold faucets. However, it still drips, so I need to take a closer look at it. Also need to get the well filtration system installed since that will greatly extend the life of everything (particulate, iron staining, and slightly acidic water).

[Fast_Ed]

do you have pics or link to the composite shims?

[kevm14]

Added some pics above (I'll have to fix the sideways bathtub one).

These are the shims I used. They were near the door/window aisles, in the same bin as the regular cedar shims.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-8- ... /202807695

Interestingly, and I didn't realize this, Danco makes a "toilet shim:"
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-Plasti ... /202305811

My dad actually called his boss during the job who apparently does a lot of this kind of thing. His solution? Zipties. I landed on the composits shims and I used 6 per toilet. The method was just insert the shims until everything felt firm (but be careful not to jack up the toilet - you do not need a hammer). Then score the shims along the profile of the bottom of the toilet, remove one shim, continue scoring on a hard surface, and break off. Then re-insert where it was and sort of jam it just under the lip with your fingers or the other end of the shim you just broke off. Do one at a time.

I would recommend my technique, and the shims I bought (which are rated to withstand 16,000 lbs - though without a PSI rating, that's not really an engineering specification). I will run a bead of caulk along the edge of the toilet to hide the gap, hide the shims and keep water out from under there. I don't think caulking is standard but I think it's warranted here.

[bill25]

This is the place for vanities:
http://www.builders-surplus.com/

I went to the West Warwick location. Seems like quality at very reasonable prices.
Builders Surplus
94 Industrial Lane
West Warwick, RI 02893
401.826.0100
401.586.6434 fax

[kevm14]

Thanks, this looks awesome.

[kevm14]

So the downstairs toilet has been "leaking." Symptom was water on the floor behind the toilet. It wasn't the tank and didn't seem to be the water line connection to the fill valve. I saw no evidence of leaking in the basement but it seemed to be the wax ring. So I pulled the toilet. Still not sure it was the wax ring but kind of seemed like it based on where the water was collecting.

Side note, when we redid the floor, I ended up rebuilding the entire flange stack from the basement up to the flange.

I cleaned the wax from the flange and from the bottom of the toilet. The flange is on top of the finished floor which I think is technically improper - should be flush with the finished floor. However, I noticed that Fluidmaster sells a waxless seal and even supports the sealing of flanges installed on top of the finished floor. Perfect. The wax ring COULD have been leaking because it had a built-in flange that was really close to the bottom of the toilet and there may have been insufficient wax sealing that. So I wanted to try the waxless one which supports repositioning also. Either that or I was going to get a plain wax ring, but I gave this a try.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fluidmaster ... /205762183

Reinstalled, re-shimmed (since the floor is not perfectly flat). I think water was also dripping from the shutoff valve packing. I may want to replace that. But I don't think that caused all of the mess I saw. Or maybe it did? Hard to say right now. Hopefully time will tell, or I'll just replace the shutoff valve in which case I will know any remaining leaking is coming from the toilet (hopefully not).

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[kevm14]

I am happy to report that the floor is dry still. It would have been wet by now.

[kevm14]

Now I am unhappy to report that it is wet again.

There is a drop on the shim I left under the shutoff valve. I suppose I should replace the valve. But there does not seem to be enough water directly under the valve or on the shim.

Somehow, I still think it is leaking at the toilet flange, which really annoys me. What changed? The toilet isn't even 4 years old. Go back to a regular wax ring??

I guess I will:
- Replace shutoff valve, which will be a little bit of a project. Seems prudent to make that right and rule it out though.
- If still leaking, pull toilet and....inspect something??

[kevm14]

Embarked on the shutoff valve replacement adventure. And it was a little bit of an adventure.

The old valve was not threaded in like I thought. It was soldered. So after I partially twisted the valve neck into a pretzel, I got out the torch and sweated it off. I ended up using a 1/2" sweat to 3/8" threaded adapter, that way the valve would be threaded on and more easily replaceable in the future should that be necessary.

No shutoff dedicated to this line so I had to shut the water off to the whole house, which is always....disruptive.

Here it is with the brass adapter soldered. Remember, flux first, then solder. Not too difficult, just make sure the solder wicks in, and don't set the house on fire. And water lingering in the pipe is going to throw off the whole operation so watch for that as well.

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New valve threaded on with Teflon tape. It leaked a little bit the first time so I went around another 360°. Seems good now.

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I got the 1/4 turn valve also which is ball style. Ball valves are great for simple and effective shutoffs. Not so good for flow control.

[kevm14]

I think the threaded joint was leaking. I didn't use enough teflon tape. So I shut off the water, removed it, added more wraps of tape, and reinstalled. Will monitor now. Also bought a split escutcheon and installed. This isn't the most finished look ever but it is what I have.

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So the plan is to monitor the composite shim under the valve and ensure no drips. If no drips for a few days, then I think that is leak-free. That would suggest that any water that appears on the floor in the future is not that, but probably the Fluidmaster better-than-wax ring. At which point I will install my cheapo actual wax ring. But I need more data before I give up on the Fluidmaster part.