The Way to Install a Toilet in One Hour

Many homeowners have been confounded by DIY plumbing projects. But if you observe a few simple steps, you won’t have anything to fear. I asked Mike Hardy, a master plumber in Roswell, Georgia, to demonstrate the right way to install a bathroom. He had been gracious enough to allow me to photograph him while he installed a bathroom recently, and he shared a few secrets that can make the task a snap.

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Ability amount: Moderate
Time: 1 hour
Cost: Toilets vary from $125 to $500 on average; materials for setup run roughly $15.

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Materials:

Toilet with tank and chair
Nut driver (optional, but it makes life easier)
Phillips head scarf
Flathead screwdriver
Crescent wrench (or ratchet set)
Channel lock pliers
Wax ring using bolts included
Bathroom/kitchen caulking
Braided bathroom connector (most toilets and cutoff valves demand a 3/8- by 7/8-inch connector)
Spare coins (cheaper than toilet shims)

Unless you are a seasoned plumber or have a very strong stomach, I urge gloves and a rag for removing the wax ring and bolt. If you are a seasoned plumber or a dock worker, simply wipe out the wax on your jeans.

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1. Eliminate the old bathroom, bolts and washers. A flathead screwdriver works well. You don’t want to find the wax and some other trapped mess on your skin. There may also be a bit of sewer gas which can escape if the P-trap is dried out. You can alleviate this by pushing a rag to the opening — just make certain you remember to remove it later!

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2. Install the new wax ring and bolts. Purchase a wax ring that accompanies bolts, though it costs a few more dollars more than one without. When you install the ring and bolts, be sure that the bolts are put inside the stations and booted to fit the bowl.

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3. Lift the bowl up and push it onto the wax ring. Ensure the bolts are lined up to fit in the holes at the bottom of the bathroom. Supply ample pressure to make the base sit on the tile. This will create a watertight connection. And yes, this film has been cropped.

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4. Install the washer and nut on each bolt. Mike Hardy chooses to leave off the plastic fastener that holds the decorative cover in place, because he’s discovered that the bathroom tends to loosen over time. He likes to have the washer directly contact ceramic. Ensure you don’t overtighten the bolts and crack the porcelain.

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5. Install the plastic covers. Hardy uses a small dab of caulking to hold these in place instead of this plastic snap.

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Hint: This is some fantastic information that the pipes handbook won’t tell you: Many floors are slightly irregular, and this can cause the toilet to rock. For the price of a stick of gum you can level the base and avoid this fate.

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6. Degree the bathroom. With the flathead screwdriver, lift up the bathroom marginally. Slide a coin or coins to the void to level the bathroom. This will avoid a rocking bathroom, which will cause a loose toilet, which will eventually result in a leaking bathroom. You may also purchase bathroom shims, but Hardy finds their dimensions to be limited.

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7. Install the toilet tank. You can also do this until you place the bathroom, and it’ll be a lot easier to tighten the bolts. The drawback is that it makes the bathroom heavier and slightly harder to put into the wax ring.

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8. Install the bolts throughout the tank and tighten the nuts. Hardy is having a nut driver in this picture. Be careful not to overtighten the nuts.

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The back nut on this one proved difficult to tighten, so Hardy broke out his crescent wrench. You can avoid this by installing the tank until you place the bathroom.

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9. Install the braided hose connector. Connect one end into the cutoff valve in the wall and another end into the tank. Many cutoff valves are 3/8 inch at the cutoff valve, and the tank link is 7/8 inch. Roughly assess the length before purchasing the toaster.

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10. Install the toilet chair. Hand tighten the bolt and screw. If you are able to buy the chair and bathroom as a kit. Occasionally it can prove hard to buy a chair which will match a particular bowl. We recommend having a plastic chair for sanitary reasons, and a self-closing you to avoid waking up your partner at 3 a.m.

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11. Slide the plastic sheeting over the screws.

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Hint: Kohler has a very cool feature that very few people are aware of. When you want to wash out the toilet bowl, remove the vinyl covers displayed in the preceding photograph, and the chair will slide away for simple cleaning.

Raise your hand when you have little children and are excited by this.

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12. Seal the joint between the bathroom and the tile. This follows building codes and keeps gunk from collecting under the bathroom.

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13. Turn on the water at the cutoff valve. Hold your breath! Please watch the bathroom and all connections to test for leaks. You could even track the length of time it requires the bathroom to fill with water. Check to find out if the bathroom “runs,” meaning it refills the tank though it hasn’t been flushed.

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Hardy and his pièce de résistance.

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An alternative view of the installed bathroom if you don’t need to have the plumber in it.

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