Disillusioned Homeowner
New Member
Ok, so I had our plumber install a new toilet earlier this month for $539 and it has been nothing but problems! He installed an elongated Toto Drake and on the day of installation the toilet went back to far that he had to remove the baseboard behind the toilet and the base sits against the wall with no space in between. I asked him if this new toilet was the right size since our last toilet fit fine and he was defensive and said it was the right size and he didn't know why it took up so much room. Then, when he was finished installing it the toilet was seriously crooked! He said our flange bolts are crooked and there was nothing he could do except jackhammer our floor, remove the flange and install a new one for an additional $350. I asked how this could be when our last toilet was not crooked at all and he said maybe that other toilet had a little more give but again there was nothing he could do. A couple days later we used the toilet and it made a hideous gurgling noise while the bowl was refilling so I called Toto to find out about that and to ask about the crooked toilet thing to see if this was an issue with the model or something. Toto said the plumber did not flush the lines properly which causes a sediment issue and they sent out a universal valve. Toto also said that there is no way this toilet should be crooked if our last one was not. I called our plumber about the universal valve and he said the problem had nothing to do with flushing the lines or the universal valve, but he installed it and the gurgling has not happened since. I brought up the crooked toilet problem again and he again said there was nothing he could do except install a new flange, but he said that instead of jackhammering the floor he could offer a remedy of removing the flange and gluing on a new one, no jackhammering involved, for $200. We didn't do it that day because the whole thing did not seem right to me. Then, the toilet started leaking from a bolt under and behind the tank yesterday. Through researching I learned about that whole "rough in" thing and called Toto about it...they had me measure and sure enough, we have a 10 in rough in and the toilet is a 12 inch. Toto confirmed the plumber should not have installed the toilet and said they sell a 10 inch toilet that should be used. Toto also said the crookedness could be because of the wrong toilet size and that the plumber should be able to adjust the bolts either way. I called the plumber, fuming mad, and he said 12 inch toilets are standard, there is no way to know what the rough in is until you install a toilet, blah blah, excuses, and is getting the toto 10 inch toilet tomorrow to install. My question is, should I trust him to install the new one? To me, he clearly does not care about doing things the right way at all...I do not see this as a mistake because I KNOW he knew as soon as he put it in that it was a 10 inch rough in yet willfully chose to install it anyway and dodge my questions. I don't feel like I should trust him to install a new roll of toilet paper let alone another new toilet! Thoughts??