This is not a job I was excited about, for obvious reasons. But about a week ago our master bathroom toilet started leaking massively and needed immediate rectification. We assume it was the large crack in the tank that was causing the problem, though in theory it could've been a failed floor seal as well. What's most annoying about this whole thing is the toilet is only a few years old, much newer than the others in the house, as part of a master bathroom reno a few years ago.
Since the tank appeared to be the main culprit the initial idea was to simply replace that piece. It could've been quick and easy. After some research we learned our model (from American Standard) has been discontinued and the tanks available online are nearly as expensive as a whole new toilet. And apparently the cracking is a common problem so we'd likely just experience the same thing again. This seems to be a good reason for discontinuation. We went to Home Depot and purchased a new toilet from a different brand, Kohler this time. Those boxes are super heavy, unsurprisingly, and it was nice to have two people to get it home.
Yesterday I got to work. Overall the process isn't very complicated but there were a couple tricky steps that caused frustration. First remove the old toilet. Turn off the water (righty tighty) on the wall behind and disconnect it from the toilet. Flush if the tank is full to remove as much water as possible. With a sponge and a bucket take the remaining water out of the tank and bowl. I dumped this water into a different toilet once it was essentially dry. Disconnect the tank from the bowl, a socket wrench will probably be useful. Take the tank off and set it aside, or bag it up and take it out if you want the space. Then undo the bolts that hold the toilet to the ground and lift the entire bowl off the floor. Again set it aside or just take it out, you won't use it again.
The pipe connection needs to be cleaned up before installing the new toilet. What creates a seal on the floor between the toilet and the drainage pipe is typically a wax ring. The old one needs to be scraped off the pipe (a metal putty knife was ideal) and it's kind of gross. Just remember that a new wax ring will be going there anyway so getting it perfectly clear is pretty unnecessary. I removed the old bolts in the floor but the new ones were exactly the same and didn't end up being as secure, which is the primary thing that caused me frustration later. So if I were to do this again, I'd just leave the old bolts if they're in good shape and tight. Also make sure to not use unnecessary pieces (like washers and nuts) in fastening the floor bolts. Anything underneath the toilet when the bowl gets installed will be stuck there, as I'll explain next.
At this point you should just have the connection ready and the new toilet to be installed. If you haven't already open up the box and take out all the pieces. There should be a bowl, a tank, a cover, a seat, a wax ring, and some hardware. Flip the bowl over, ideally on a large towel or something so it doesn't damage the floor. Firmly but without overdoing it, press the wax ring on the bottom of the bowl. There should be a clear spot to do this, or check your toilet's instructions to be certain. I ended up using an 'Extra Thick' wax ring, purchased separately, because there's very little clearance between the floor tiles and the pipe connection in our bathroom (resulting from some reno contractor laziness that still irks us). Here's the tricky part. You'll need to flip over the bowl without letting the wax ring touch the ground and then evenly lower the bowl onto the two floor bolts. If you do this where the either the front or back end comes down first the wax ring may not create a proper seal and your toilet will leak everywhere. And you'd need to get a new ring because they're one time use. So this is a little stressful but didn't seem to be crazy difficult if you can handle the weight.
After getting the bowl on successfully I still ran into some problems. Even with a thicker wax ring the toilet bowl rocked pretty significantly when I sat on it. I pressed down as hard as I could but it wouldn't go perfectly flush. It only seemed natural that this would improve after tightening the bowl to the bolts on the floor, using the provided washers and nuts, but it didn't. Instead I learned that over-tightening these can be disastrous. No, I didn't crack the bowl or anything but one of the bolts came loose in the pipe connection below the bowl. This meant I needed to pull everything back up and scrape off another wax ring before trying again. In the end it turned out to be a savvy move to have a spare. I also used plastic shims, also purchased separately, to stop the bowl from rocking, which could be installed out of sight under the back of the bowl.
Once the new toilet bowl is installed successfully, the rest is pretty easy. Put the new tank into its position on top of the bowl and secure it using whatever hardware is supplied. Again I used a socket wrench for this. Use a level to check the tank and perhaps tighten or loosen a bit as needed. Hook the water back up and turn it back on at the wall. Let the tank fill up and flush it a couple times to make sure your wax ring connection is solid. If yes, then adjust the water height in the tank if you choose and place the tank cover over top. Finally, put on the seat. These are usually pretty simple but this time I did have to Google how to use the unfamiliar pieces. Done!
More than anything I learned that the bolts in the floor are the most difficult and annoying part of doing this, not the grossness of working with a toilet or even the wax ring. If those bolts are secure and come loose, you have to start over entirely. Next time I'll probably opt for a plastic, not wax, ring for my seal (like this). Even if more expensive, they won't get ruined if you make a mistake and most are designed to better hold the screws to prevent issues like I encountered.
Anyway, it's done now and working wonderfully. Hopefully I don't need to do this again anytime soon. But if so, I have a much better idea of what I'm doing.
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