Monday, October 13, 2008

Adventures in home repair


(Not the toilet in question.)


I decided to put the new toilet seat we bought yesterday on the toilet in the half bath this morning. It's an older toilet, and by "older" I mean it's so old it came over on the Mayflower. The vanity next to the toilet is a boxy older style of vanity and when I say it's next to the toilet, I mean it's right next to the toilet, and it makes it hard to get in under and around the toilet to do the necessary repairs.

So half awake I lay down on the floor next to the toilet so I can see the nut I need to loosen up to get the toilet seat off. I spy what I believe is the nut and I began unscrewing it with my hand. Next thing I know water is pouring out of the toilet tank and on to me and the floor. Being the genius I am I unscrewed one of the nuts that attached the water tank to the toilet base. After a not so refreshing shower with toilet tank water I corrected my mistake and I managed to wrangle the old seat off that toilet.

I managed to turn a 5 minute job into 45 minutes of work and a whole lot of cussin'. Taking a dump in that little half bath from now on is going to be sooooooooooo satisfying.

15 comments:

Cormac Brown said...

You should have Beth introduce you to Dan. If he can't fix things, no one can.

D. Debil said...

"Taking a dump in that little half bath from now on is going to be sooooooooooo satisfying. "

That goes without question. Add a space heater for the full Earl Butz.

Butt seriously. Plumbing is always an adventure. When the hardware guys don't actively misinform you about the parts you need, they are no where to be found to answer simple questions.

My all time record for installing a sink was six trips to Lowes for new and different parts.

I usually average three-four trips for simple flapper replacements and faucet repairs.

=

Elizabeth said...

GAWD, that last line was funny. Just the laugh I needed this morning.

Whiskeymarie said...

There really is nothing like a refreshing toilet water shower.
Like a light spring rain, it is...

Barbara Bruederlin said...

I just replaced the toilet seat here as well! We are leading parallel lives, obviously.

It took me three days - no tank shower, but the bastards did not put the washers into the packaging and the nuts had wings on them, so I couldn't do them all the way up without bumping into the toilet. It shouldn't have taken multiple trips to Canadian Tire, but it did.

Dr Zibbs said...

Hahahaha. Whenever someone gets squirted with water in a movie it's stupid. But when it happens in real life it's hysterical.

Mnmom said...

Silly monkey!
Laying down next to the toilet should only have to happen when you have the stomach flu. I'm grossed out just thinking about it.

themom said...

You should reqad my sons blog (nomadic tendedncies), the end of July he had to replace a "part" on his toilet (in Egypt), and being an ENGINEER, he figured no problem. The end result was hilarious and ended up costing around $250. My late husband was a plumber and I learned a lot - call a plumber!!

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

themom-I only call the plumber when I can fix it myself, and luckily for me in this case I did fix it be myself.

K.Line said...

What is it about bathroom improvements????

Chris said...

So glad that I'm not the ONLY one who runs into that kind of fun when doing a simple job.

Jess Wundrun said...

dear dr.

pardonez-moi for getting all smartypants on you, but if your toilet was made before 1980 it uses 5 gallons of water for every flush. Between 1980 and 1993 it uses 3.5 gallons. 1993 to now it uses 1.6 gallons. There are now dual flush toilets that use .8 gallons for pee and 1.6 gallons for poop, or there are toilets that use 1.28 for each flush.

If your toilet is older than 1980, a new toilet in your household will pay for itself in 3-4 years in water savings.

Carry on.

D. Debil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr. Zaius said...

Hee hee! It's a good thing you weren't working on the furnace!

Dr. Zaius said...

Ha! So you're McCain's "Joe the Plumber"!