Toilet
Sunday I repaired the half-bathroom toilet. What a mess! Cost was just under $20: the new-fangled non-ballcock valve certainly (as the plastic arm of the old ballcock had broken--it was more than 16 years old sitting over and in water!), a new flapper which is chlorine resistant (the old one was black rubber which was sort of a black goo, caused by chlorine deterioration) and a new water supply line (the seal gave out on the old line--and you can't simply put in a new washer).
What was messy was that when I touched the flapper the black stuff stuck to my skin. I suppose I could have left it there, but I figured I might as well replace it with something better. I was in the hardware store anyway to get the water supply line which I found I needed after I hooked up the old supply line and couldn't stop the leak!
Removing the old ballcock valve was difficult only because I had never done it before. Loosening the plastic nut under the toilet was difficult until I engaged the long handled wrench (it is simply a telescopic rod with a perpendicular handle rod on one side and a crescent shaped serrated piece on the other--when you put the crescent on the item and turn the rod the crescent latches on to the object) to hold the valve from inside the tank while I turned the nut with the adjustable plumbers wrench from under the tank.
Then I found another nut under the tank which secured the valve to the tank. I couldn't figure out how to loosen it as it was stuck inside the hole.
I did something else for awhile to let my subconscious mind work on the problem (historic research on Richard L. Durham of early 20th century Portland). Then I came downstairs from my computer and simply rotated the valve from inside the tank! This loosened it enough that I could then untighten the nut from the bottom by hand.
With the old ballcock valve out of there it was relatively easy to put the new one in. This one needed no floating ball. It relies on a thing that sits right on the valve stem. I read that it operates on a different principle.
One of the key things is to get the new valve stem the correct height. The stem is ratcheted so you can rotate it up or down to the correct height and it will stay there after the installation.
With the new flapper, water supply hose and non-ballcock valve connected, it worked perfectly: better than the toilet ever did since I bought the house!
What was messy was that when I touched the flapper the black stuff stuck to my skin. I suppose I could have left it there, but I figured I might as well replace it with something better. I was in the hardware store anyway to get the water supply line which I found I needed after I hooked up the old supply line and couldn't stop the leak!
Removing the old ballcock valve was difficult only because I had never done it before. Loosening the plastic nut under the toilet was difficult until I engaged the long handled wrench (it is simply a telescopic rod with a perpendicular handle rod on one side and a crescent shaped serrated piece on the other--when you put the crescent on the item and turn the rod the crescent latches on to the object) to hold the valve from inside the tank while I turned the nut with the adjustable plumbers wrench from under the tank.
Then I found another nut under the tank which secured the valve to the tank. I couldn't figure out how to loosen it as it was stuck inside the hole.
I did something else for awhile to let my subconscious mind work on the problem (historic research on Richard L. Durham of early 20th century Portland). Then I came downstairs from my computer and simply rotated the valve from inside the tank! This loosened it enough that I could then untighten the nut from the bottom by hand.
With the old ballcock valve out of there it was relatively easy to put the new one in. This one needed no floating ball. It relies on a thing that sits right on the valve stem. I read that it operates on a different principle.
One of the key things is to get the new valve stem the correct height. The stem is ratcheted so you can rotate it up or down to the correct height and it will stay there after the installation.
With the new flapper, water supply hose and non-ballcock valve connected, it worked perfectly: better than the toilet ever did since I bought the house!