WJcandee
Wise One
I'm curious as to the geographic regions in which the plaster of paris toilet base is popular.
When I was first installing my new Totos, the prick at the local Ace Hardware (idiot) gave me a whole lecture on how you needed plaster of paris to install a toilet. Having been participating in this forum, and having read the Toto instructions, and having seen videos from places like the Home Depot on how to install a toilet, I knew that this was total crap. And yet he mockingly told me that without plaster, I wasn't properly "setting" the toilet.
When talking to the very-knowledgeable guy from the highly-successful local plumber I have started to use recently (my previous trusted guy seems to be exiting the business, or at least he is rarely-available, so ta-ta), he mentioned that he uses the plaster of paris method to "set" a toilet. (My previous guy said that they did so as well, but at least allowed that many people didn't do so.)
According to the new guy, the plaster of paris gives you a stable base for the thing, it never rocks, once you put it in you don't have to come back, and it's actually easier to remove, with less potential damage to the porcelain, if you do need to remove it, than using caulk. His main point seemed to be that the method compensated for irregularities in the toilet and in the floor. I asked him if he installed a lot of AS toilets. "Huh?" Never mind.
Then came the condescending slam: "Let us know if you need one re-installed correctly." Funny, we seemed to have been getting along famously until that point, but he wasn't going to get away with that. Upon further discussion, we agreed to disagree. But geez.
I pointed out that Long Island seemed to be the only place in the country that I was aware of where this "make a plaster of paris base" procedure was regularly in use. Indeed, when I replaced the three toilets I have replaced, I have had to chip away the old stuff. Plaster of paris seemed an odd choice of material, as well, but that is the term every guy has used, along with the somewhat-archaic concept of "setting" a toilet.
Anyway, is there anywhere else in the East, the West, the Mountains or the Central States where this method is popular? Is it some kind of old-timey New England thing? I'm curious to know.
On a separate subject, nobody on Long Island has the slightest idea what an air gap or a high loop is on a dishwasher installation. Not the installer. Not the plumbers. We just went through this last week, and I was plenty surprised. Glad my kitchen drain is running well...
When I was first installing my new Totos, the prick at the local Ace Hardware (idiot) gave me a whole lecture on how you needed plaster of paris to install a toilet. Having been participating in this forum, and having read the Toto instructions, and having seen videos from places like the Home Depot on how to install a toilet, I knew that this was total crap. And yet he mockingly told me that without plaster, I wasn't properly "setting" the toilet.
When talking to the very-knowledgeable guy from the highly-successful local plumber I have started to use recently (my previous trusted guy seems to be exiting the business, or at least he is rarely-available, so ta-ta), he mentioned that he uses the plaster of paris method to "set" a toilet. (My previous guy said that they did so as well, but at least allowed that many people didn't do so.)
According to the new guy, the plaster of paris gives you a stable base for the thing, it never rocks, once you put it in you don't have to come back, and it's actually easier to remove, with less potential damage to the porcelain, if you do need to remove it, than using caulk. His main point seemed to be that the method compensated for irregularities in the toilet and in the floor. I asked him if he installed a lot of AS toilets. "Huh?" Never mind.
Then came the condescending slam: "Let us know if you need one re-installed correctly." Funny, we seemed to have been getting along famously until that point, but he wasn't going to get away with that. Upon further discussion, we agreed to disagree. But geez.
I pointed out that Long Island seemed to be the only place in the country that I was aware of where this "make a plaster of paris base" procedure was regularly in use. Indeed, when I replaced the three toilets I have replaced, I have had to chip away the old stuff. Plaster of paris seemed an odd choice of material, as well, but that is the term every guy has used, along with the somewhat-archaic concept of "setting" a toilet.
Anyway, is there anywhere else in the East, the West, the Mountains or the Central States where this method is popular? Is it some kind of old-timey New England thing? I'm curious to know.
On a separate subject, nobody on Long Island has the slightest idea what an air gap or a high loop is on a dishwasher installation. Not the installer. Not the plumbers. We just went through this last week, and I was plenty surprised. Glad my kitchen drain is running well...
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