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Project Impediment

The saga of the “Leaky Toilet in a One Toilet House” overshadowed the last month of this project.

Week 1: Replace the inside mechanism of the toilet. Something not quite right, project gets put on hold, pan put under pipe to catch water.

Week 2: All I needed was a rubber seal to connect the replacement parts on the inside of the toilet to the lovely piece of pipe shown here; but of course, they don't make them any more. (In fact, no one believes me when I describe what I need.) Turn valve on, fill tank, turn valve off, flush, became the routine.

Week 3: So I was going to have to replace the supply line and the valve. Again, the men at the hardware store don't believe me when I describe what I have in my bathroom. While waiting for a friend’s assistance, new routine becomes: keep valve in off position, fill bucket in tub, flush with water from bucket.

Week 4: After receiving specific instructions at the hardware store on how to replace the valve, including checking the pipe with a magnet—iron should not be cut, copper should—we determined it was not iron, cut the pipe, and discovered it was not copper! I am the proud owner of a 1940s duplex with brass plumbing in a non-standard size. None of the fittings would work, and it was now time for an emergency 9 pm run to Lowes so I could have water in the house. An hour of searching finally turns up the right parts, and 10 minutes fixes the toilet.