How to Replace a Toilet

Have you wanted to change your toilet to a water saving model but did not want to pay to have it installed? Well here's a How To Project so you can save yourself a few hundred dollars in plumber fees.

Toilets are heavy so you will want to remove it in two sections. First you will remove the water tank and then the bowl itself.

Material and Tools:

New Toilet
Wax Ring
Adjustable Wrench
Screw Driver
Putty Knife

Step1:
Shut off water supply into toilet tank. Shut-off valve is usually right under the tank.

Step2:
Flush toilet, while hold down flush valve, to drain as much water as possible from tank. Sponge up remaining water in tank.

Step3:
Disconnect water line going into the tank with adjustable wrench. Remove the two nuts that hold the tank to the bowl and carefully remove tank and set it aside.

Step4:
Remove the two bolt caps and nuts that hold the bowl to the floor and carefully pull up the bowl and put it aside out of the way or in another room.

Step5:
Using the putty knife remove all the old wax from the flange and clean it up.

Step6:
Take your new bowl, turn it upside down on the floor and place the new wax ring on the waste opening. If the wax is hard you can soften it up with a hair dryer.

Step7:
Place the new bowl on the waste opening carefully guiding the bolts through the holes on the bowl. Press down while rocking the bowl back and forth so that the wax seals the fitting.

Step8:
Secure bowl to floor with the nuts and cover with bolt caps.

Step9:
Install the large rubber gasket in the large opening on the bottom of the new tank. Refer to the manufacture's instructions.

Step10:
Install the bolts and rubber washers from inside the tank. Refer to the manufacture's instructions.

Step11:
Place tank onto bowl carefully guiding the bolts through the bowl. Secure tank to bowl by placing washers and nuts on the bolts. Do not over tighten nuts.

Step12:
Install toilet seat and reconnect water line to tank. Tighten with adjustable wrench.

Step13:
Turn water back on while checking for any leaks as the tank fills up. Flush toilet to make sure everything is working.

Tips:

If water leaks out of the tank check to make sure the gasket was installed properly.

If tank is not tightly bolted down to bowl water can leak out from gasket. You may have to tighten nuts a little more.