When Emergencies Call

It wouldn’t be an old house if it didn’t test me from time to time. Back in October (and August) the little kids flushed something that got trapped in the toilet. Both times, I called someone to fix it, choosing the convenience of professional install over the time it'd take me to do it. The first tech in August did everything perfectly: new wax ring, and caulked the front and sides (in accordance with UPC- the plumbing code used in MN). Everything looked great in October, aside from recaulking, and the near-perfect re-installation showed no obvious signs of defects. But when re-installing, the horn on the outlet was chipped, most likely on the closet bolt coming out of the floor. An easy mistake, and a lesson for me that taking the tank off is advantageous every time.

So, we had a very slow drain leak into our basement. Fast forward to January when the same toddlers think flushing in rapid succession is fun! The leak may have been slow, but the amount of water pouring out now was everywhere. It had clearly been a problem for a while, and now everything was wet.

Assessing the Damage

Once water is in the basement, there’s really only so many places it can go. It got all over the drywalled window well, the cabinet in front of the window, in our books… but the worst place is in the subfloor in the upstairs bathroom, the joists, and under the basement floors. I could see mold pooling through the vinyl in the basement bathroom and the library.

First thing was emptying the basement library. It was a near-impossible feat that meant kicking a big kid out of their room for the week, and moving a lot of the things in the library into their room… and a little wish and hope that nothing horrible would come to the now-blocked furnace area.  Cracking into the wall was easy, but I must admit: the Sherwin Williams Emerald paint that I used on the cabinet under the window is the real champion. I basically just sopped the puddle on top of the cabinet up and it looked as good as the day I painted it. It’s been a favorite paint of mine for a while, but now it’s a must. So, with the wall out, floors cut, and things moved… we could get putting together downstairs.

Putting Back Together

Reassembling the library wall wasn't a difficult task. I cut out the old, damaged floor, and I replaced it with remnants I had on hand. The framing was replaced with other leftovers, and I used insulation panels from sealing the crawlspace. The only major expense for this part was replacement drywall and a new dehumidifier.  If I'm being honest, this library project had really stalled out, so this was a good kick to get things moving again.  A little over a month later, and most of the library has a ceiling! 

The shelving did have some damage on the backside where it had been much more exposed to moisture. I already planned to remove that backsplash piece to add a different type of shelving, so it wasn't a big concern. Mostly, this was just a week of time with a couple days of drying, and a couple more to reassemble. The real MVPs here are my big kids: they sacrificed personal space sharing a room again so we’d have space to work.

New Toilet

I’ve installed many a toilet before, and this one is no exception… in fact I think this might be the 10th of this model that I’ve put in. It’s a dual-flush from Glacier Bay (I know, the Home Depot brand isn’t the best, but hear me out), that has a 1.6 gallon flush and a 1.1 gallon flush. Both have a decent amount of push because the flow still has good balance between its jet stream and its rim fill, which is different from other dual flush and low-flow models.  Because of that, it has a larger flush valve. So, the bowl can’t be purchased separately from the tank. I needed a whole new toilet from one small chip.

The nice thing about pulling the toilet is that I could get this whole corner completely clean! I used a scraper to get the old wax ring out, and a sacrificial sponge to get any remaining wax and bits.  I also cleaned the floors and the walls since it was one of the rare times when access to this area was very easy.

Toilet Install

Install is the same as always: line up the wax ring, set the bowl in place over the closet bolts, and rock it side to side a little to compress the wax ring and have a good seal (if installing a used toilet, clean the bottom first). Tighten the nuts and washers over the bolts, and check to see if the bowl will wiggle. Go slow, porcelain cracks!  

Installing the tank is fairly simple, but have the wingnuts and washers staged nearby. Put the gasket on the bottom of the tank, and thread the tank bolts into the bowl. It’ll feel really unsteady, so get both wingnuts started before compressing the gasket and tightening. Switch between tightening each wingnut so the gasket between the tank and bowl compresses evenly. Tighten in the water supply and any other accessories (bidet, diaper sprayer, etc.), and give it a test run! 

​When everything looks and feels good, caulk around the base of the toilet.  Leaving this open won't let you know if there is a leak (it was not caulked before!), but it will prevent the surface tension from any liquids -bodily or otherwise- from getting underneath where these can't be cleaned.  Plus, caulk is code in some places.

This was a somewhat dramatic week with work on both levels, and I almost want to apologize to my little kids who did not appreciate being relegated to the basement bathroom… though this all started with a flushed toy.