On 3/11/2017 11:30 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 14:36:32 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/11/2017 1:51 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 10:16:25 -0500 (EST), justan wrote:

Wrote in message:
On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 16:05:27 -0500, Poco Deplorevole
wrote:

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:51:38 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 3/10/2017 3:34 PM, Poco Deplorevole wrote:


My neighbor, about 35 years old, one generation down, had a plumber's truck in his driveway this
morning. We had a cup of coffee later, and I asked what happened. His fill valve was leaking around
the sides and no water was going into the overflow tube as the toilet was filling. He spent $75
getting a new fill valve installed. I asked why he didn't just go to WalMart and buy a new valve for
$10. He didn't know that was possible.

I guess that kind of proves your point.


I'll tackle most DIY repairs or projects *except* anything to do with
water and plumbing. Too many bad experiences and frustrations. I'll
hire a plumber even if it's only to replace the flapper valve in the
toilet. :-)

I hate plumbing crap also, but I've outgrown my fear of toilets. Everything is right there, if the
shutoff valve works. That's sometimes a problem because folks don't open and close the valve and it
gets stuck. So, go close and open your toilet valves right now. The rest is easy, unless the wax
ring is leaking. I've replaced one, but it's a PITA.

Plumbing has never been a problem for me. I did all of it in both
bathroom remodels including the underground. One involved plumbing in
a wall hanging toilet.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/new%20room/Plumbing.jpg


Plumbing is ALWAYS a problem. All but the most routine jobs
require at least 3 trips to Ace hardware.

I have a pretty extensive supply of parts and my neighbor has more PVC
stuff than me. Most of the plumbing is plastic here these days so you
are just pasting pipe.
When Builder's Square was going out of business, I was there on the
last day and they announced the people in the store could have all you
can get in a basket for $25. I went to the electrical aisle and the
plumbing aisle and loaded up. I got all sorts of strange adapters so I
am pretty much ready for anything. I pushed the cart up to the racks
and stripped off all of the bubble packs into the cart. I ended up
with all sorts of cool stuff.
I took a lot of stuff out of the box so I could get more in the cart.
It may have been the most fun I have ever had shopping.



I have an extensive supply of toilet flapper valves that didn't fit.

All of the toilets I have had in decades used proprietary parts so I
never buy generic parts. The Kohler was really picky about stuff and I
finally put it out on the curb. It was a model on the bleeding edge of
the 1.6 gallon flush and it never worked right.



The last toilet flapper I tried to replace was for a Kohler. Lowes had
OEM replacements as well as at least two aftermarket replacements for
that particular toilet. Bought the OEM figuring how could I possibly go
wrong? The OEM didn't work. It leaked despite all my attempts to clean
the flange it was supposed to seal to and despite all
my attempts to adjust it. Ended up breaking one of the rubber "arms".
Back to Lowes ... bought one each of some aftermarket types. First
didn't fit at all. Second one fit and worked. Decided to sell the
house after that. House had 6 bathrooms. :-)