Installing a Toilet by Mark Donovan

Installing a Toilet by Mark Donovan

The installation of a toilet is a relatively easy job for a homeowner. With a couple of wrenches, a screwdriver and a few shims a new toilet can be installed in about one hour.

Toilets can be purchased at any home improvement store or plumbing supply center. Typically a gravity flush toilet costs between $150 and $300, however the price can double or triple for more elaborate units, such as pressure flush systems. Todays toilets are mandated to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, where as older units used as much as 5 gallons. The initial 1.6 gallon toilets were notorious for frequently clogging, however over the past several years suppliers have improved the performance of these low water-use systems.

Setting the Toilet

A toilet usually consists of two main parts: a bowl and a tank. It is best to first install the bowl. Prior to seating the bowl, check if the closet flange has been temporarily plugged with insulation or a rag to prevent sewer gases from escaping. Remove this. Next set the bowl on top of the closet flange to determine if it sits level. If it does not, prepare some shims to use later.

Next remove the bowl, and insert the closet bolts (approximately 2 long bolts) into the slots on the closet flange.

Then turn the bowl over and install a wax ring gasket over the outlet of the bowl. This outlet is also know as the horn.

Place the bowl onto the closet flange. Make sure the bowl is well seated by rocking the bowl down. Once the bowl has been seated, place a level on it and use the shims as necessary. Next, using nuts and washers tighten up the bolts. Note: be careful not to over-tighten these bolts as it could crack the bowl.

Next attach the tank to the bowl using the tank bolts, nuts and washers. Again, do not over tighten.

Installing the Float Supply Unit

Install the float supply unit into the tank and hook up the water line to the tank inlet. Again, do not over tighten and make sure to use the washers supplied.

Next, turn the supply line on and adjust the float as necessary.
Finally, caulk around the base of the unit and you are done.


About the Author
Me_Donovan@comcast.net
http://www.homeadditionplus.com
http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com

Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. Mr. Donovan's formal education and profession have been as an Electrical Engineer and Marketing Manager.

Double The Storage Space In Your Bedroom Closet by Lee Dobbins

Double The Storage Space In Your Bedroom Closet by Lee Dobbins

Everyone needs more storage space, right? Well a good closet organizer can double the storage space in your closet and make it easier for you to find just what you need.

Theres 2 basic types of closet organizers. One is actually more like closet furniture and has built in drawers cubbies and of course poles to hang your clothes. These can run you quite a bit of money but do a great job to organize and beautify your closet and will be durable enough to last a long time. A less costly alternative is found in wire closet organizers that offer almost the same amount of organization but arent as pretty and may not wear as well. Both kinds will work with a walk in closet or a simple reach in closet.

When buying an organizer system for you closet, you want to keep in mind what kind of clothing you have and how much of it. Do you have tons of shoes, but not a lot of shirts? Then you'll want more storage units for shoes. If you have a lot of hats, scarves and purses, make sure you design in storage space for those. Your organizer system should be customized to the types of clothing and accessories you own as much as possible.

There are many different storage units you can incorporate into your closet design to make things easier to find and also give you more storage space. Some of the organizer units you might want to think about include:

Shoe Cubes - each cube fits a pair of shoes and they stack on top of each other so all your shoes are available at a glance
Shelves - for folded jeans, sweaters, purses and hats
Tiered Tie Racks - for ties, scarves or belts
Drawers - for those personal items you dont want to leave out in the open
Slide Out Bins - great for laundry, just slide them out and bring them down to the washer.

A well though out closet organizer design can double or even triple your storage space. Don't forget to add stacked rods for your shorter items to hang on top of each other which gives you twice as much space in the same linear area.

About the Author
Lee Dobbins is editor of Bedroom Designs and Decorations where you can find great bedroom design ideas for dozens of bedroom themes.

Save Yourself From Allergens and Enjoy the Comfort by Faith Williams

Save Yourself From Allergens and Enjoy the Comfort by Faith Williams

Discover the newestbut oldest- way to make you and your home environment healthierradiant floor warming systems. The ancient Roman Baths used hot air and hot water for health benefits in the Romans bathing rituals. Today, using radiant heat, the heat stored in the floor is similar to the heat provided by a radiatorwith one big difference. No longer will allergens like dust mites, dust, pollen, mold or pet hair be blown around your home and aggravate your allergy symptoms.

Allergy proofing your home isnt easy, but can have big payoffs for the allergy sufferer. Airborne allergens are one of the hardest types of allergens to avoid. Heating and air conditioning systems have been established as harbors for molds. With vents to every room in the house, your heating and cooling system can be an effective distributor of airborne allergens such as pollen, mold, animal dander, feathers, house dust, and even dust mites.

Radiant floor warming works by heating a wire heating element under the flooring surface. The heated floor radiates heat to the people and objects in the room. The flooring surface is maintained at a comfortable, yet higher, temperature than the ambient temperature of the floor before the heat was turned on. Since the radiant heat is conducted from the floor level up, it helps provide a warm and comfortable environment for the occupants of the room. It provides even, uniform heat throughout the room. There are no moving parts to blow allergens into the airso you are not breathing them in!

Doctors often recommend removing carpets to eliminate some trapped allergens. Even with daily vacuuming, you may not catch all the allergens that have settled down to the bottom of the carpet. You also run the risk of stirring up the dust with your vacuum cleaner. Tile, stone, and hardwoods are easier to keep clean by weekly mopping. Radiant floor warming materials are designed to work under tile, stone or hardwoods.

Using a programmable thermostat, you can have the floor turn on just before you get out of bed in the morning and turn off when you leave for work. You can even adjust it to turn on later for weekend mornings. Whatever your lifestyle, you are in control of the radiant floor warming and can help keep those airborne allergens at bay!


About the Author
Faith Williams is Customer Service Department Manager for Radiant Floor Warming. Radiant Floor Warming offers safe, efficient electric radiant floor warming materials for tile, stone, carpet and laminate. Visit the website at http://www.radiantfloorwarming.com or call toll free 888-FLR-WARM (357-9276).