Fumisan
New Member
I am fixing my mother's house in Phoenix. She is 94 and lives with us in another city, so she is going to rent her house out once we get it all repaired. There are extensive repairs that still need to be made in all areas of the house (repainting, landscaping, bathtub and vanity replacements, tile, flooring, broken windows, window replacement, etc.).
Her hall bathroom toilet was old, flushed poorly, rocked and recently started leaking around the base. The toilet looked very old (1959 house), so we decided to replace it. We turned off the supply line, removed the toilet, hauled it to the dump (last day to take it for free
) and went in search of a new toilet.
The hall bath is small and narrow (approx. 58" wide), so we were originally thinking about a round bowl, chair height to save space.
We set off to Lowe's (partially b/c we have a Lowe's cc) and looked at their different brands and styles. We saw the American Standard Mainstream and it seemed to fit the bill: round bowl, chair height, low price, etc. We purchased it for $139+tax.
When we got home, we did some research (I realize this is the wrong order of things!) and read some of the reviews on the Lowe's site for the Mainstream. Some had rave reviews, others said it was the WORST toilet ever: cheap parts, poor flushing, etc.
Many said the fill level was not pre-set from the factory and that it would have to be set to a higher fill level. Perhaps, that is why some people had problems with the flushing power, but that doesn't account for claims of poor quality materials. We started having second thoughts about the Mainstream.
At that point, we made an offer on a new in box Toto Drake 1.6 ADA EB (model TC744SL12) in Sedona Beige that was listed on craigslist. The seller was asking $268 for the tank, bowl and soft close seat. She is liquidating a lot of items for her dream house gone awry…
We offered $180, the seller accepted and we are picking it up on Thursday. Part of that decision was based on all the rave reviews on this site regarding Toto toilets and also the fact that we were able to purchase two Toto undermount sinks that retailed for over $300 each for a total of $85. We were wanting to put the Sedona beige fixtures (toilet and sinks) in the master bath as there is room for a double vanity. Hopefully, we are making a good choice here.
We are considering moving the older Kohler Wellworth (K4620) that is currently in the master bath to the hall bathroom. It is an EB and appears to be 14.5” bowl height. We won’t get the round bowl and chair height that we really wanted, but are trying to make it work without having to buy another toilet. Since the Kohler is 30” from wall to the end of bowl, we are left with a 28” path in front of the toilet to the shower/bath.
The lid to the Kohler was badly chipped but the bowl seemed in good condition, so we bought a new tank with lid from a local plumbing supply b/c they had it in stock ($73.60+tax). The lid would have been a special order for $31.90+tax with additional shipping charges of $15-20. Replacing the whole tank and getting all new flushing mechanisms seemed like the way to go in this case.
After seeing the scenario we are working with, we have a few questions:
1. Does our plan seem to make sense or is there a better way to go about this?
2. Since we are living in a house we are renovating, we will probably have to uninstall and reinstall toilets to get work done (replace bathtubs, tile, paint) in bathrooms. We were thinking of using a Sani-Seal Toilet Gasket due to the fact that we will be removing and installing the toilets (maybe a couple of times).
http://sanisealgasket.com/index.html
Has anyone had experience with this product and does it make sense to use it rather than buying a new wax seal and scraping it off every time we re-install a toilet?
3. When I installed the new Kohler tank, I checked it for level right to left, but not front to back. After sitting on the toilet, I noticed the tank leaned forward and made it uncomfortable to sit on. So, I checked front to back level and it is leaning forward. I loosened the front two tank bolts and tightened the rear bolt so it came more into level, but it is still not completely level.
Back to Front:
Back to Front close-up:
Side to Side:
Should I drain the tank, loosen all three tank bolts, reposition the tank and start tightening all over again? Basically start over? Or is there a better way?
4. From the specs on the Toto site, the Drake appears to be universal height which seems to be 14 5/8" bowl height. It does have an elongated bowl and is ADA. What type of feature is ADA?
I am a little overwhelmed with all the projects I have to do to repair this house on a very limited budget and I appreciate any and all comments! Thanks for your help!
Jeannie
Her hall bathroom toilet was old, flushed poorly, rocked and recently started leaking around the base. The toilet looked very old (1959 house), so we decided to replace it. We turned off the supply line, removed the toilet, hauled it to the dump (last day to take it for free
) and went in search of a new toilet. The hall bath is small and narrow (approx. 58" wide), so we were originally thinking about a round bowl, chair height to save space.
We set off to Lowe's (partially b/c we have a Lowe's cc) and looked at their different brands and styles. We saw the American Standard Mainstream and it seemed to fit the bill: round bowl, chair height, low price, etc. We purchased it for $139+tax.
When we got home, we did some research (I realize this is the wrong order of things!) and read some of the reviews on the Lowe's site for the Mainstream. Some had rave reviews, others said it was the WORST toilet ever: cheap parts, poor flushing, etc.
Many said the fill level was not pre-set from the factory and that it would have to be set to a higher fill level. Perhaps, that is why some people had problems with the flushing power, but that doesn't account for claims of poor quality materials. We started having second thoughts about the Mainstream.
At that point, we made an offer on a new in box Toto Drake 1.6 ADA EB (model TC744SL12) in Sedona Beige that was listed on craigslist. The seller was asking $268 for the tank, bowl and soft close seat. She is liquidating a lot of items for her dream house gone awry…
We offered $180, the seller accepted and we are picking it up on Thursday.
Part of that decision was based on all the rave reviews on this site regarding Toto toilets and also the fact that we were able to purchase two Toto undermount sinks that retailed for over $300 each for a total of $85. We were wanting to put the Sedona beige fixtures (toilet and sinks) in the master bath as there is room for a double vanity. Hopefully, we are making a good choice here.We are considering moving the older Kohler Wellworth (K4620) that is currently in the master bath to the hall bathroom. It is an EB and appears to be 14.5” bowl height. We won’t get the round bowl and chair height that we really wanted, but are trying to make it work without having to buy another toilet. Since the Kohler is 30” from wall to the end of bowl, we are left with a 28” path in front of the toilet to the shower/bath.
The lid to the Kohler was badly chipped but the bowl seemed in good condition, so we bought a new tank with lid from a local plumbing supply b/c they had it in stock ($73.60+tax). The lid would have been a special order for $31.90+tax with additional shipping charges of $15-20. Replacing the whole tank and getting all new flushing mechanisms seemed like the way to go in this case.
After seeing the scenario we are working with, we have a few questions:
1. Does our plan seem to make sense or is there a better way to go about this?
2. Since we are living in a house we are renovating, we will probably have to uninstall and reinstall toilets to get work done (replace bathtubs, tile, paint) in bathrooms. We were thinking of using a Sani-Seal Toilet Gasket due to the fact that we will be removing and installing the toilets (maybe a couple of times).
http://sanisealgasket.com/index.html
Has anyone had experience with this product and does it make sense to use it rather than buying a new wax seal and scraping it off every time we re-install a toilet?
3. When I installed the new Kohler tank, I checked it for level right to left, but not front to back. After sitting on the toilet, I noticed the tank leaned forward and made it uncomfortable to sit on. So, I checked front to back level and it is leaning forward. I loosened the front two tank bolts and tightened the rear bolt so it came more into level, but it is still not completely level.
Back to Front:
Back to Front close-up:
Side to Side:
Should I drain the tank, loosen all three tank bolts, reposition the tank and start tightening all over again? Basically start over? Or is there a better way?
4. From the specs on the Toto site, the Drake appears to be universal height which seems to be 14 5/8" bowl height. It does have an elongated bowl and is ADA. What type of feature is ADA?
I am a little overwhelmed with all the projects I have to do to repair this house on a very limited budget and I appreciate any and all comments! Thanks for your help!
Jeannie
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