Where Can I Find Closet Bolts For This Toilet

[Twowaxhack]

I just posted the above to explain that there are some capable persons, regardless of having a license or not. I too will use a licensed plumber for things I won't or can't tackle, and have no problem keeping my plumber friends on speed dial. I just believe many things can also me accomplished by using a well qualified handyman.

It’s all good until something bad happens.

Kinda like driving without a seatbelt. It’s fine if you don’t have a wreck and you may never have a wreck.

I’m not trying to discourage but at least consider the possibilities when doing things for friends. At least make them aware. Things can happen….

 

[lookingforaquiettoilet]

I use to be a handyman, now I just help friends. Toilets are pretty straight forward. I've installed I'm guessing over 100 of them. My neighbor just had two faucets installed. Although he bought the faucets himself, the licensed plumber charged him $745. He is pissed, and will never use that crook again, and I'm pissed because he didn't want to ask me for help.

$745 LMAO! That's wild!
Man, some people get taken for a ride, don't they?

I just had a handyman that is heavily reviewed (4.9 stars) do the toilet job for $100 flat

It works fine and only took him 58 mins ( I stayed near him and watched, the hardest part was probably him lifting the toilet in place)

People need to do their own research so they can find quality people at a good deal

 

[Twowaxhack]

$745 LMAO! That's wild!
Man, some people get taken for a ride, don't they?

I just had a handyman that is heavily reviewed (4.9 stars) do the toilet job for $100 flat

It works fine and only took him 58 mins

People need to do their own research so they can find quality people at a good deal

Does the guy have insurance against flooding your house ?

That good deal can turn sour if your house floods.

Quality people insure their work.

There’s also a guy out there some where that thinks $100 is too much because his guy will do it for $50

Explaining this to people who’ve never had a bad experience usually does little good. Once you’ve experienced $100,000 worth of damage by a handy Andy without insurance for example, people understand perfectly what I’m trying to convey.

 

[lookingforaquiettoilet]

Does the guy have insurance against flooding your house ?

That good deal can turn sour if your house floods.

Quality people insure their work.

yeah he's got an LLC with insurance for stuff

I'm sure I could sue if something goes wrong, also there's a flood sensor behind the toilet that would immediately alert me to my phone in the event of any water

I've since flushed it 30+ times at least, gave it a nice couple of loads too, no issue's

You would notice water (also the sensor too is extremely sensitive to even a droplet of water) so the house feels pretty safe

I just feel like, some people just get ripped off ($750 for faucets is insane), while other's find better deals.

That's always been life

One guy will pay more for a car, while the other guy will haggle and find it for $1500 less

I wish you all success in finding good deals with reliable people.

There’s also a guy out there some where that thinks $100 is too much because his guy will do it for $50

That is true! But hey, if you could find someone reliable doing it for $50 with 4.9 stars and 100+ jobs booked I'd take it LOL

This guy was known to me in the past since he did other handy man work in the residence so we had trust built up.

 

[Twowaxhack]

yeah he's got an LLC with insurance for stuff

I'm sure I could sue if something goes wrong, also there's a flood sensor behind the toilet that would immediately alert me to my phone in the event of any water

I've since flushed it 30+ times at least, gave it a nice couple of loads too, no issue's

Good luck to you sir. I hope you never have any trouble.

 

[lookingforaquiettoilet]

Good luck to you sir. I hope you never have any trouble.

Thank you!

 

[Twowaxhack]

This guy at my back door just told me he has insurance. And he’s hungry

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

I use to be a handyman, now I just help friends. Toilets are pretty straight forward. I've installed I'm guessing over 100 of them. My neighbor just had two faucets installed. Although he bought the faucets himself, the licensed plumber charged him $745. He is pissed, and will never use that crook again, and I'm pissed because he didn't want to ask me for help.

Ten percent for "The Big Guy"?

 

[RickFlorida]

I've learned a lot on installing toilets and it's so easy to me now. I never have a problem by doing these 3 things: I use the extra thick wax rings (they sell wax rings that are thicker than normal), I stick the wax ring onto the bottom of the toilet first..... (makes it easier to line it up then trying to put the wax ring on the flange of the floor for some reason), and I take the time to make sure it's level. I also don't use the cheap closet bolts that come with the toilet. Even the 400 dollar toilets don't come with good ones that wont' rust. I buy the brass ones with stainless nuts. It's so easy to install a toilet now after I've done about 5 between my home and my brother and parents. The only thing that slows us down around here is the old Florida homes have Terrazo solid slabs which means there is a larger void between the the old flanges if they have failed and not been replaced with new PVC flanges. So it can take me up to 2 days to properly removed an old lead and oakum flange that has failed and then I have to install a special PVC flange that goes into the old cast iron 4 inch pipe. We often have to shave the top of the cast iron pipe down to level it with the floor and then because there is a void between the terrazo and the pipe (When they build the homes, they have like a 1.5 to 2 inch gap between the iron pipe and the terrazo) I like to strengthen this area with either concrete or I use the super high quality construction epoxy. (The construction epoxy that is in a large caulking tube and is like 30 bucks). Then the whole new PVC flange will stay solid another 50 years I reckon. So installing the toilet itself takes 30 minutes but with these old Florida homes, installing a new flange is what slows me down and it's extremely messy if you have to grind the top of of the cast iron down. (I guess the concrete terrazo floors settle over the decades so the pipe is too high, I've seen this a lot).

 

[Twowaxhack]

I've learned a lot on installing toilets and it's so easy to me now. I never have a problem by doing these 3 things: I use the extra thick wax rings (they sell wax rings that are thicker than normal), I stick the wax ring onto the bottom of the toilet first..... (makes it easier to line it up then trying to put the wax ring on the flange of the floor for some reason), and I take the time to make sure it's level. I also don't use the cheap closet bolts that come with the toilet. Even the 400 dollar toilets don't come with good ones that wont' rust. I buy the brass ones with stainless nuts. It's so easy to install a toilet now after I've done about 5 between my home and my brother and parents. The only thing that slows us down around here is the old Florida homes have Terrazo solid slabs which means there is a larger void between the the old flanges if they have failed and not been replaced with new PVC flanges. So it can take me up to 2 days to properly removed an old lead and oakum flange that has failed and then I have to install a special PVC flange that goes into the old cast iron 4 inch pipe. We often have to shave the top of the cast iron pipe down to level it with the floor and then because there is a void between the terrazo and the pipe (When they build the homes, they have like a 1.5 to 2 inch gap between the iron pipe and the terrazo) I like to strengthen this area with either concrete or I use the super high quality construction epoxy. (The construction epoxy that is in a large caulking tube and is like 30 bucks). Then the whole new PVC flange will stay solid another 50 years I reckon. So installing the toilet itself takes 30 minutes but with these old Florida homes, installing a new flange is what slows me down and it's extremely messy if you have to grind the top of of the cast iron down. (I guess the concrete terrazo floors settle over the decades so the pipe is too high, I've seen this a lot).

These wax seals are EXTRA THICK

 

[RickFlorida]

I will say this to help out what Twowaxhack is trying to say. I agree it's always better to have a professional do the job. So if someone can afford it...always hire a professional. Even with my 20 years of part-time remodeling experience for my uncles small crew, (He remodels kitchens and baths for condos), there is so much that I don't know and when I try to do things myself, I often have to re-do it and thus wasted time/money. I normally did the demolition work and painting, we usually hired plumbers due to condominiums having such important liability concerns. Long story short, I'll give you an example of what I've done wrong....... I remodeled one of my bathrooms and just bought a toilet from Lowes without thinking about water flow, design, etc. After I installed the toilet, it seemed to clog like every time a guest was staying over. Finally, someone with experience pointed out that maybe for my situation, a 1.6gpf toilet would be better. So I wasted 300 dollars or maybe even more and had to buy another toilet as without experience or knowledge, I made a mistake. A handy man or DIY guy is likely to make mistakes like me.

 

[lookingforaquiettoilet]

I have one of those toilets. Depending on the eating habits of the users, be sure to have a good toilet plunger on hand...or better yet, buy a toilet auger.
A guy coming over doesn't portend well unless it is a plumber or otherwise well-experienced installer.

Just wanted to update you it's been over a month since it's been installed & there's no issues

I'm curious what you guys are eating over there when you're cloggin it

 

[lookingforaquiettoilet]

I will say this to help out what Twowaxhack is trying to say. I agree it's always better to have a professional do the job. So if someone can afford it...always hire a professional. Even with my 20 years of part-time remodeling experience for my uncles small crew, (He remodels kitchens and baths for condos), there is so much that I don't know and when I try to do things myself, I often have to re-do it and thus wasted time/money. I normally did the demolition work and painting, we usually hired plumbers due to condominiums having such important liability concerns. Long story short, I'll give you an example of what I've done wrong....... I remodeled one of my bathrooms and just bought a toilet from Lowes without thinking about water flow, design, etc. After I installed the toilet, it seemed to clog like every time a guest was staying over. Finally, someone with experience pointed out that maybe for my situation, a 1.6gpf toilet would be better. So I wasted 300 dollars or maybe even more and had to buy another toilet as without experience or knowledge, I made a mistake. A handy man or DIY guy is likely to make mistakes like me.

My toilet flushes fine with less than 1.3GPF. Sounds like your toilet had issues man if you got clogs every time a guest was over.

Before purchasing it, did you do your research?

Was it certified by an independent lab to flush a good amount per flush?

Checking this stuff would've helped:
See how it mentions "Ultra-High Efficiency Toilets (UHETS) meets EPA WaterSense and MaP PREMIUM criteria

You may be wondering what that is:



I purposely tried clogging mine, and it just flushes everything I throw at it.

A handy man or DIY guy is likely to make mistakes like me.

Also completely disagree with your opinion here, just because you or some other guy made a mistake don't mean that all others will IMHO.

Some people take their time with jobs, do it right, others rush thru stuff & don't do a quality job.

Some DIY/handymen are actually pretty good, while others should be no where near a project.

I've experienced both good & bad handymen in my day.

I once hired a guy to cut down a tree and he couldn't. The next hour, another guy did the job. That's life.

As long as your doing your due diligence & checking reviews/feedback on the app & not hiring amateurs with less than 50 jobs completed you will be good in most cases.

A professional in this case would've done the same job (or worst, could've messed it up somehow) & they would've charged me more just because they got a nice $100,000 truck with a logo on the side.

I've seen people hire big companies with nice trucks only to engage in BBB complaints & lawsuits.

The gentlemen I hired was someone who did two previous jobs, so I knew him and had trust, find someone you know who works good for cheap & your life will be so much better!

 

[Twowaxhack]

Yes everyone, Keep hiring handymen and letting your friends and neighbors do your work. It’s all the same…….

Most of you guys different than the rest of the world, bad things don’t happen to you. Handymen are known for there great insurance policies and guaranteeing their work.

Most handymen, neighbors and school teachers have way more experience than professional plumbers and we just charge high prices so we can buy expensive trucks. I was hoping to keep all that a big secret……..

 

[havasu]

Most handymen, neighbors and school teachers have way more experience than professional plumbers and we just charge high prices so we can buy expensive trucks. I was hoping to keep all that a big secret……..

You forgot retired cops!

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

But what if the professional service you choose to employ is called "Mr. Handyman"?

 

[Bird Doo Head]

LookingForAQuiet Toilet mentioned MaP in Post #33. It's a really helpful site.

Their site, map-testing.com, makes choosing a toilet very easy. You can pick the parameters that you want and then a list of toilets appears. The specifications lists & MaP score are there, too.

Some time ago, I required a toilet meeting these specifics: 10" Rough-In, Round Front Bowl, Standard Height, 1.28 GPF, White, Two-Piece, Left Side Trip Lever, with a MaP Score = or > than 1,000.

MaP Testing popped up a list of toilets (with bowl & tank part numbers shown) meeting the specifications, thus saving me from searching countless manufacturers' web sites.

They test all kinds- floor mount, wall mount, flushometer, pressure, etc.

Thanks for mentioning it LookingForAQuiteToilet.
Paul

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

But what if the professional service you choose to employ is called "Mr. Handyman"?

It doesn't matter what the name is.

As long as many professional licensed and insured plumbers (or electricians or whatever) are charging large amounts of money for jobs--meaning beyond affordability for many--there will be handymen, retired cops and firefighters, and friendly neighbors. I am a handyman and friendly neighbor.

One neighbor here was quoted $1,000 labor to install a Level II charger for her Tesla. I did it in 90 minutes for $90. Another neighbor was quoted $4,000 to do the same, but his situation required rearranging breakers in his service panel (the IDIOT builder and electricians decided that installing a service panel outside--about the stupidest idea there ever was--with every spot filled was smart). It took $50 worth of duplex breakers, another $20 for the 60A breaker, about 5 hours labor and $500 worth of copper wire. Most of that labor was digging the trench for the conduit, which the homeowner did.

In another recent case, a local plumber wanted $125 just to show up. Senior widow had a leaky faucet. Turned out it was the pull out hose, not the faucet. $12 on Amazon, and 15 minutes to install. But wait she says, there's a drip in my bathroom. A two pack of Moen 1224Bs, ($15) and 15 minutes and the job was done. Cleaned out her P-Trap and sink tail piece while I was there. Another 15 minutes. Total time less than an hour. No drips, no leaks. $60 plus parts and she gave me a tip. Before I put my ladder away I installed new batteries in her smoke detectors.

Another neighbor was quoted $125 to install a new disposal. I did it in 15 minutes. Asked for $25, they insisted on giving me $40.

So, pros, please keep driving the $100K trucks. Keep charging large trip fees, large hourly rates, etc. It keeps the retired firefighters, police and other handymen busy doing the things you cannot be bothered with. There's need and room for both. I'm sure most of you don't want these piddly one hour jobs working for the handicapped, the widows and seniors. They all love me and I'm happy working for them. The senior community is only 3 miles from here, so the drive is easy.

I will not be digging sewer lines, doing sewer clean outs, running a trenching machine, installing a new water line, or similar. That's when I tell them they need a licensed professional and get a permit. I even go as far as saying don't try another handyman. I have a local plumber on speed dial and give his number out regularly. Those mentioned jobs are for the pros.

PS My truck was only $33,000.

 

[Twowaxhack]

It doesn't matter what the name is.

As long as many professional licensed and insured plumbers (or electricians or whatever) are charging large amounts of money for jobs--meaning beyond affordability for many--there will be handymen, retired cops and firefighters, and friendly neighbors. I am a handyman and friendly neighbor.

One neighbor here was quoted $1,000 labor to install a Level II charger for her Tesla. I did it in 90 minutes for $90. Another neighbor was quoted $4,000 to do the same, but his situation required rearranging breakers in his service panel (the IDIOT builder and electricians decided that installing a service panel outside--about the stupidest idea there ever was--with every spot filled was smart). It took $50 worth of duplex breakers, another $20 for the 60A breaker, about 5 hours labor and $500 worth of copper wire. Most of that labor was digging the trench for the conduit, which the homeowner did.

In another recent case, a local plumber wanted $125 just to show up. Senior widow had a leaky faucet. Turned out it was the pull out hose, not the faucet. $12 on Amazon, and 15 minutes to install. But wait she says, there's a drip in my bathroom. A two pack of Moen 1224Bs, ($15) and 15 minutes and the job was done. Cleaned out her P-Trap and sink tail piece while I was there. Another 15 minutes. Total time less than an hour. No drips, no leaks. $60 plus parts and she gave me a tip. Before I put my ladder away I installed new batteries in her smoke detectors.

Another neighbor was quoted $125 to install a new disposal. I did it in 15 minutes. Asked for $25, they insisted on giving me $40.

So, pros, please keep driving the $100K trucks. Keep charging large trip fees, large hourly rates, etc. It keeps the retired firefighters, police and other handymen busy doing the things you cannot be bothered with. There's need and room for both. I'm sure most of you don't want these piddly one hour jobs working for the handicapped, the widows and seniors. They all love me and I'm happy working for them. The senior community is only 3 miles from here, so the drive is easy.

I will not be digging sewer lines, doing sewer clean outs, running a trenching machine, installing a new water line, or similar. That's when I tell them they need a licensed professional and get a permit. I even go as far as saying don't try another handyman. I have a local plumber on speed dial and give his number out regularly. Those mentioned jobs are for the pros.

PS My truck was only $33,000.

Buy some insurance but that might be difficult considering you’re doing unlicensed work.

You’re also committing two misdemeanors by operating a business without proper licenses and doing electrical work without a permit.

That’s pretty much law all across the United States.

Our rates may be cheaper if we didn’t have unlicensed people out there working without insurance that we compete with that are not following the law.

Big facts.

Here’s a good read for everyone that doesn’t believe it’s a criminal offense.
https://winknews.com/2023/06/14/unlicensed-contractors-collier-county-hurricane-ian-hirt/
More :
https://www.wkrg.com/northwest-flor...peration-okaloosa-county-sheriffs-office/amp/

 

[Twowaxhack]

https://www.electricallicenserenewa...ation-Courses/NEC-Content.php?sectionID=847.0
It’s been local code here for over 25 years that all the electricity to a home be able to be turned off outside of the residence with no more than 6 moves of your hand.

Now they’re wanting a main breaker as of 2020.