Toilet Talk (Anyone Used Bunnings $275 Plumbers?)

CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 12:57
Last edited 18/12/2018 - 14:24

EDIT: Toilet is Caroma ceramic back to the wall with skew pipe. Pics (Warning, gross looking) https://imgur.com/a/ddGAQT9

The old man's toilet is on the fritz and I'm considering the best course of action. As always, price is a factor but then again this is the most important room in the house we're talking about, so a cost/quality is balance is important too.

The issues:

a). Existing toilet doesn't flush without a lot of assistance from the shower + reaching into the open cistern to manually activate the flusher/water outlet (gross). It looks like this is a generic part that has a $19 Bunnings replacement, though I'm not 100% that once I get into it DIY style it will actually fit and work correctly. Also, issues 2 and 3 make me think a whole new toilet may be the way to go.

b). Toilet cistern top is MIA, presumed broken, and difficult if not impossible to replace according to Reece, who said they couldn't source a replacement for the model (I sent them pics).

c). It's begun leaking slightly at the base of the bowl (where it connects to the floor). I assume some caulk or similar paste type stuff might be a quick and easy solution, but am not sure.

At first I was thinking of just trying to replace the flusher/outlet and/or entire cistern myself, starting early and calling in a plumber if I messed it up. Given how old the whole thing is (25+ years, as it was there when he moved in at that time), it seems like it might be worth just replacing professionally in one fell swoop.

Questions for OzB:

  1. Seems ceramic is best in terms of quality, feel and ease of cleaning. Is this the way to go?

  2. Am I right in thinking I should go with a Caroma given they seem to be the big boys in toilets? Or are the cheaper alternatives at Bunnings (Estilo, Mondella, Stylus) all just as good at a lower price point?

  3. If I do get a whole new toilet installed, Bunnings will do the labour for $275 (and remove the old one) plus guarantee the work/product for 5 years if you buy one of theirs. Is this a good deal?

  4. The cruddy commode is in the inner west in Sydney. Can anybody recommend a plumber in that area if Bunnings plumbers aren't the way to go?

Am hoping to get out of this for $500 all in, but will loosen the purse strings a bit for quality/convenience/peace of mind.

Cheers OzBargainers for any useful feedback.

CC

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Comments

  • stirlo on 17/12/2018 - 13:06

    Aldi sells a toilet kit with installation included every few months. If you can wait/find a store with old stock then get that (It cost $300 I think). Otherwise get Bunnings brand. They’re all made in China anyway

    • qwerty on 17/12/2018 - 13:11

      Those toilet kits are S trap only

      • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 13:19

        Is that bad? The existing toilet is a back to the wall unit with an S-bend, I believe.

        • endotherm on 17/12/2018 - 17:45

          An S bend snakes down from the bowl and into the floor. A P trap snakes down and out horizontally into the wall. There are other left and right variants (skew) that go into the left or right walls at right angles to the bowl. They tend to be very expensive due to their rarity.

          • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 18:03

            @endotherm: Annnnd it turns out we have a skew (not an S-bend as I first thought). In a unit. So this indeed makes me think twice about replacing the pan.

            Hopefully the water leaking out at the floor under the pan is actually coming from the cistern (I'm not there right now and need to double check, but I was fidgeting with the cistern to pan pipe coupling). Either that or there may be a cheaper/easier way to use caulk or glue and seal it up?

            • endotherm on 17/12/2018 - 18:19

              @CrankyCarrot: The pan shouldn't leak unless there is a crack. It is normally a rubber/silicon o-ring or flat washer that leaks and needs replacing. Is it leaking on the floor or into the pan (a leaking cistern that doesn't stop filling/topping up?). Usually replacing some rubber or tightening connections will stop any drips. Usually the guts of the cistern can be replaced with generic mechanisms if necessary. A couple of photos should lead to better suggestions.

              • CrankyCarrot on 18/12/2018 - 14:23

                @endotherm: Ok, brace yourself - this toilet belongs to an older guy who has been a bachelor for a very, very long time now. The water appears to seep from the where the floor connects to the pan, but I need to double check it's not running down from the pipe (not overflow) connecting to the cistern as I unscrewed it before when I was trying to work out if I could DIY it or not. I screwed it back of course, but perhaps not tight enough as he was complaining of the leak after that.

                PS The skew pipe is visible in the 2nd to last pic under a huge stockpile of TP.

                Sufficiently braced? Ok:

                https://imgur.com/a/ddGAQT9

                • endotherm on 18/12/2018 - 23:58

                  @CrankyCarrot: I've seen much worse. The toilet is indeed very old. You aren't going to find a replacement lid for the cistern, perhaps in an antique building wreckers. You'd probably get away with making a cap out of wood with some blocks to stop it wobbling and falling in, plus a hole for the button. It's mainly cosmetic anyway, its purpose is to provide access for servicing and contain the water and silence the filling and flushing.

                  The foot of the pan where it is attached to the floor is mainly mechanical to support the bowl. The "waterworks" are contained in a sealed section suspended above. A crack in the foot isn't going to cause a leak unless there is a crack in the actual bowl as well. I can see a small crack in the base of the foot but it is nowhere near the bowl section. I'm 99% sure the water on the floor is coming from a bad seal on that elbow pipe coming from the cistern into the back of the bowl. The rubber looks perished and would really need to be replaced,. The water will drip down the pipe and run down the bowl and onto the floor as illustrated. You can double check by running your hand along the bottom face of the pipe and you will find it is wet, that is not normal. If you disturbed the pipe it would break the seal and allow water to bypass it. You could try tightening it pretty firmly, or run some silicon over it and onto the pipe and ceramic, or just buy some new rubber for a couple of dollars, probably cheaper than buying a tube of silicone. You should do both ends of the pipe but it will mainly be coming from the top — from memory it is an o-ring around the pipe that is crushed to form a seal when you tighten the threaded ring nut. If you go to Bunnings you will find they sell kits of rubber seals to fit most systems. They also sell generic flush mechanisms that fit 99% of cisterns, and are designed to be adjusted and cut to fit. It's not overly complex and if you follow the directions on the box a novice could do it. You can also talk to the plumbing staff for advice, they are probably giving out similar information every day to DIY renovators.

                  • CrankyCarrot on 19/12/2018 - 18:46

                    @endotherm: Hey thanks for all that.

                    I'll definitely take another look at the foot of the pan tomorrow when I'm over there and try to ascertain where exactly the water is coming from. Seems likely to be the piping I was messing with, which beats the alternative from the sounds of it.

                    Given that it's a skew system in a unit, it sounds like it'll be worth keeping the pan in all but worst case scenarios due to the increased cost/difficulty in replacing it, so maybe DIY is the way to go on the upper parts as you suggest.

                    Will keep at it.

    • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 13:24

      $300 and the installation is included? Ceramic? That sounds too good to be true! Have you gotten one of these or known anyone (on the forums or IRL) who has?

      I'll search here for more info anyway.

  • yellowrain on 17/12/2018 - 13:15

    The cruddy commode is in the inner west in Sydney. Can anybody recommend a plumber in that area if Bunnings plumbers aren't the way to go?

    Try 'The Right Plumber' (google it). I've used Simon before: he is professional, reasonable and up-front about what he can do and what the costs will be around.

    • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 13:20

      Thanks - I'll take a look.

    • CrankyCarrot on 24/12/2018 - 21:07
      +1

      Hey, ended up using this company and Simon. Everything you said was true. Cheers.

      • yellowrain on 31/12/2018 - 13:53
        +1

        Happy to hear it worked out well for you.

  • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 13:22

    Also, is this a bad time of year to get plumbing done? Is there likely to be any difficulty or increased cost getting things done this week (leading to xmas)?

    I assume weekends will always incur a surcharge, regardless of time of year.

  • Meho2026 on 17/12/2018 - 14:27
    +1

    Have a look here- products and services>toilets, prices include installation
    https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/your-home/saving-water-at-…

    • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 14:52

      Yeah, was just talking to mum and she suggested seeing what these guys charge. Many open tabs now…

      • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 15:45

        They're very helpful and friendly on the phone, but the prices seem a little less than competitive.

        For just labour, it's $88 call out + $99 per hour. With an estimated 2-3 hour installation, it'd be $385 just for that, plus the cost of the toilet (which in our case needs to be a "skew," of which they have a choice of one plastic cistern system), and that's $990 for the whole thing or $330 for just the cistern.

        May source parts elsewhere and use them for labour. $990 seems ridiculous for plastic.

  • Phyph on 17/12/2018 - 16:57

    Recently replaced the toilet in the en-suite. Cost about $240 all up, did the work myself with some help from the wife and I had to take the old one to the tip.

    Bought the pan and cistern from Bunnings, ceramic, back to the wall s-trap. Took about 3hrs with a minimal issues, 1 of the screws holding pan to floor was stripped. Had to buy a longer flexible hose as cistern inlet was on opposite side.

    It’s not a hard job, just be certain about what you need before you start.

    • CrankyCarrot on 17/12/2018 - 17:59

      Fair enough. Using Google and OzB for this reason.

      This one is a "skew" not an S-bend though, which I believe complicates things somewhat.

  • CrankyCarrot on 24/12/2018 - 21:11

    Toilet Update: It's been fixed, thank f.

    Due to being real old, the pan needed a cistern with no less than a 9L flush, and for some reason you can't get those in ceramic. At least, not easily. So plastic it was, as some of them can be converted from 4.5L to 9L.

    The pan was ok - not leaking, that was runoff from the cistern pipe seal.

    Called in a pro (as recommended by yellowrain, above) to take care of it as I couldn't afford mistakes or any more time.

    It's 90% more hygienic in there now.

    Cheers all.

    • clandestino on 07/03/2019 - 17:48

      Just came across your post whilst searching for something completely different.

      Thought I'd let you know, I purchased a $99 Aldi toilet and when the plumbers came out, they said "you'll have to take it back - sorry, you weren't to know".

      The reason - My config was "back to the wall" - which the Aldi toilet is not compatible with.

      cheers

      • CrankyCarrot on 14/03/2019 - 16:51

        I think someone earlier raised the issue of back-to-the-wall vs other styles and the complications involved. Nothing worse than having to do a "deep dive," on toilets.

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