Replacing a Broken Toilet Handle

18 12 2009

A few months ago, right around the time I decided to start this blog, I was jiggling the handle of my downstairs toilet to get it to stop running.  I had the top of the tank off, so I was looking at it, and watched as the plastic flush lever snapped. 

Crap! I immediately thought.  What now?

First, I tried my go-to fix, duct tape.  But that didn’t hold the pieces securely enough for the lever to continue working.  So then, it was on to my next handy tool, the Internet.  I found this great how-to with photos on hammerzone.com (http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/bath/fixt_repair/toilet/flush_lever/broken.htm).  I’ll use their pictures to illustrate here, because I didn’t think to take any of my own at the time. 

Plastic flush lever is snapped - Uh oh!

Before touching anything, I called my dad to make sure he thought it was a job I should tackle by myself.  The skill level was considered “basic” so I thought I could handle it, and he agreed.  So then it was off to Lowes for a new handle.  The handle on there had been a basic plastic one, which depressed me anyway, so I ended up with a lovely shiny one – I had wanted to get one that was brushed nickel, but since the other metal in my bathroom is all high shine, that’s what I had to stick with. 

Then, it was time to get started.  The handle is attached to the toilet with a plastic nut, which is a left-hand thread, so it’s backwards to normal nuts.  So instead of the usual “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey,” it’s the other way around to loosen it.  I removed the plastic nut first (make sure to see Hammer Zone’s note on metal threads if you have an older toilet), and pulled out the broken toilet handle. 

Be careful not to tighten the nut instead of loosening it

Mine was also square

Next, it was time to install the new flush lever.

Mine was similar to this, but came with an angled metal lever instead of a straight one.

It took some time to angle the flush lever through the hole from the previous handle and fit the square piece correctly.  Take your time with this, because it’s worth a little patience.

Mine was angled, so it took a little longer

Before doing anything else, you have to put the left-hand thread nut back on the handle to hold it in place.  Just finger tighten it, because you can break the plastic if you overtighten.

Handle is installed - next, attaching it to the flush mechanism!

In Hammer Zone’s instructions, he has some trouble with the flush lever interfering with the the ball float, but I didn’t have that problem.  I also didn’t need to drain the tank to complete the next part.  I took the chain off of the old plastic lever and threw that away.

It's easier to work deeper in the toilet tank for this part, so you're not constantly running the water

Then, I hooked the chain into one of the holes in the flush lever.  I tried to make sure there wouldn’t be too much slack in the chain and that it would pull the flapper straight up. 

It can take a few tries to get this just right

If there’s slack in the chain, you can remove the hook and move it further down the chain to reduce the slack. 

Too much slack can keep the flapper from closing properly

You can then hook the end of the extra chain back onto the hook to keep it out of the way

Checking the chain length may not seem that important, but Hammer Zone says, “When the chain has too much slack, it will often lay underneath the flapper valve as the flapper falls back into place. When this happens the water will continue to flow into the bowl forever, or until someone “flicks” the handle.”  Also, with respect to this step, they tell us:

“Chain Length and Position May Be Important:

It’s best to attach the chain so it pulls the flapper straight up, if possible. If the chain tends to pull the flapper sideways, the flexible runner may break eventually.

If the chain is hooked to the end-most hole in the lever, the lever might hit the tank lid before the chain is able to lift up the flapper.

When I repair the lever or flapper valve, I always do a few test flushes to make sure the linkage is working properly and the chain is not interfering with the closing of the flapper.”

Once I’d checked everything, it was time to test out the new handle.  I flushed the toilet a few times to make sure it was working correctly, and it was.  Job complete!

Thanks Hammer Zone for helping me install my new toilet handle!


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Installing a New Showerhead

16 11 2009

When I moved into my house just over a year ago, I was very unhappy with the showerhead in my upstairs shower.  My mom thought it was great, because it has a few different settings, but since it’s plastic, I just thought of it as grody (that’s my favorite word lately for things that I think are gross).  I had a feeling changing out the showerhead would be an easy project, once I got around to doing it, and Bob Vila agreed, rating this as a “beginner” project on his website.  So now that I’m feeling a little better (I had the bronchitis) and was actually home on a weekend, I decided to include this in my to do list for the weekend.

First, I picked up the materials that I would need.  Before you head out to your local store, double check how your current showerhead is attached.  If it’s a square neck, you can use an adjustable wrench, but if it’s a round neck, you’ll need a strap wrench.  Mine was a square neck, so I put an adjustable wrench on my list.  I also needed a showerhead, of course, and was overwhelmed by the choices when I got there.  It’s definitely an individual choice, so after some back and forth, I finally decided on a Moen with three settings.  Another important thing you’ll need is plumbers tape – this is to wrap the threads of the shower stem to keep any water from coming out.  Some showerheads will come with what the guy at Lowe’s called a “baby roll” of plumbers tape (which mine did), but make sure to check before you leave the store. 

Bob Vila also suggests that you take this as an opportunity to replace your shower stem and collar (the handy little metal disk that sits up against the wall) if they’re pitted or corroded.  I didn’t do that this time, but I might in the near future.

When I was ready to start my project, I set out everything I would need and got started.  I’m pretty tall, but I still needed to stand on the sides of the tub to get a good view of the showerhead in order to remove it.  You might want to think about putting a step stool in the tub for more stability. 

Old Showerhead

Here's the old showerhead

The first step is to remove the old showerhead (remembering the old rule “righty tighty, lefty loosey” if you’re like me and always tightening things instead loosening them.  In this case, “lefty” is also counterclockwise).  Once you’ve removed the showerhead, it’s important to remove any traces of plumbers tape or sealant left behind on the threads.  I was able to do this with my fingernails, but I think a good stiff toothbrush would also do the trick if you’re having trouble.  If you are planning to replace the shower stem, check out Bob Vila’s step by step guide here.  He does suggest turning off your water before starting this project, but I didn’t do that, and it wasn’t any trouble.

Once you’ve cleaned off the tape and/or sealant, you’re ready to install the new showerhead. 

Clean shower stem

My shower stem, all cleaned off. You can see it's starting to corrode, so next on my list is replacing the stem

The next step is to wrap the plumbers tape around the exposed threads.  The tape should be wrapped clockwise, twice around the threads.

Wrap tape clockwise around the threads

The tape should be wrapped clockwise around the threads

The tape is not too thick, but I used a pair of scissors to cut it.  You’ll want to have those handy to make it easier!

Finally, it was time to put the new showerhead on!

new showerhead

New showerhead - yay!

Although this part might seem the easiest, it’s also a spot where mistakes can happen.  You want to be sure not to cross-thread the showerhead and shower stem, so carefully align the showerhead and hand-tighten it on to start.  Then, you can tighten it further using your wrench (I again needed the adjustable wrench to tighten this showerhead).

Installed

It's all installed!

Finally, you do want to turn the water on at this point to check for any leaks.  Then your new showerhead is ready to use! 

All done

Looks good!


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Putting in a Sump and Sump Pump in a Sandy Crawl Space

25 08 2009

Finally, after all of the headaches I’ve had with crawl space flooding and my sump pumps, this past Wednesday was time to permanently install my sump pump.  For me, this was a two-person job, so I was lucky to have help from my parents.

The existing sump pump (the failed one of December storm fame) was sitting in its sump (which is basically a plastic basin that situates the pump at a lower level to help manage surface water).  The sump in my crawl space was to the left of the opening and very small and shallow (yes, I now know what it looks like and where it is!).  As a result, it didn’t handle the water seeping in from underground (particularly from my yard) until flooding was already an issue.  Plus, it was flush in some places and lower than the surrounding sand in other places, which didn’t keep sand and debris out of the sump and protect the pump.  All possible reasons for failure, along with the motor simply burning out.

Because the sump didn’t seem sufficient, and my dad suggested I’d want the pump in a more accessible place because of my general stress over flooding and sump pump failure, we decided to entirely replace the sump and to relocate it to just inside the crawl space (which, now that I’m thinking about it, will be awesome for whenever I need to get the heater serviced).  After choosing the spot to locate the sump, we put together a list of what we’d need – large plastic garbage can (to act as the sump, more on that later), 2-inch arbored hole saw drill bit for cutting holes, weed control fabric, something to tie the fabric to the garbage can, and a small-handled shovel.  This might all sound a bit strange, but all will be revealed. I should also mention at this point that This Old House has a great demo video and instructions for installing a sump pump in a basement, the professional way. We then headed to my local hardware store, which I love almost as much as my local Lowe’s. 

We decided to use a plastic garbage can instead of the typical sump basin because it would be a little larger, enabling me to have a large lip sitting above the sand, keeping it from pouring into the basin.  Most sump pumps are located in basements, where sand and debris aren’t an issue.  If you read up on sump pumps, one of the main recommendations is not to have them anywhere near sand.  Since I have to have my pump in a sandy crawl space (no one seems to want to do homeowner shows/tips on that little problem), we had to come up with a specialized solution.

We made sure that we could fit the garbage can into the crawl space entrance (which always seems tinier and more claustrophobic in my mind), marked off in the sand how large a hole we would have to dig and took turns digging out the sand.  We thought we’d be able to dig about three feet down and leave only a few inches of the garbage can above the ground, but true to stories I’ve heard from my neighbor, the water table starts about two feet down.  We dug to about that two feet and decided not to go any lower so that water wouldn’t constantly be filling the sump basin and running the pump.

We dug about two feet down to prepare the crawl space for the new sump basin

We dug about two feet down to prepare the crawl space for the new sump basin

The next step was to drill holes in the side of the garbage can, which would allow the water to filter into the basin from underground and start the pump before any significant water seepage into the crawl space happened.  Using a drill with a two-inch arbored hole saw drill bit, my dad drilled a series of holes into the garbage can.  Picture Charlie Brown’s Halloween Costume in “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown,” after he says “I had a little trouble with the scissors.”  He started the holes several inches from the bottom, so that just the slightest bit of water wouldn’t be seeping in and starting up the pump, so make sure if you’re creating your own sump basin, that it fits your needs!

Drilling holes

Sump with holes

Once the holes were finished, it was time to wrap the basin in something so that water would be able to seep through, without allowing any sand to trickle in.  We chose a weed control fabric, similar to this one at Lowe’s, and secured it to the sump basin with stretchy plastic green ties.

Fabric attached!

The ties themselves weren’t that important; we just needed something to hold the fabric to the sump basin until we could install it in the hole we had dug and seal it up with sand, which was our next step.

Once the sump basin was in and sealed up around the outside with sand, it was time to put in the sump pump itself.  We had already unplugged the other failed sump pump (ALWAYS unplug before attempting to install anything!) and we wanted to attach the working pump to the existing piping.  The pipes that were installed with the original pump had been cemented from the outside of the house, so we weren’t able to pull them over to attach to the current pump.  Also, they are connected to my gutters (which was one of the reasons I thought the pump was originally working – water was coming out, but it was from the gutters!). 

Although I had some additional pipes from the new sump pump, we quickly learned that one was 1 1/2″ while the other was  1 1/4″.  I didn’t have a connecting piece of pipe with the two sizes, so that necessitated another quick trip to the hardware store for that.  The pipes are connected to each other and the sump pump with clamps, which keep the pipes secure while water is gushing through them - not the sort of thing you can take a shortcut with unless you want water to be unknowingly sprayed throughout your crawl space!

Connected hoses

The fresh sand underneath these pipes is covering up the old sump pit

The next step was to test the pump to see if it would work.  We’d actually tested the pump in the garbage can before putting any holes in it, because I was concerned that without a swift on-rushing of water, the float that manages the water level and tells the pump when to turn on was rising too slowly to get the pump working.  We used a garden hose to fill up the garbage can with the pump in it, and I learned that the pump works exactly the way it’s supposed to – it’s just my nervous-ness about flooding that would encourage me to start it up before it hit the correct level. 

Whoop, there it is, my sump pump

We repeated this process with the installed sump pump, once it had been plugged in to the underground outlet (instead of running an extension cord to my outside GFI circuit, which is what I had been doing) and the pump again performed beautifully.  The only thing left was to seal up the crawl space again and wait for the first big storm to really test it out. 

It works!

When the December flood happened, the cinder blocks holding back the earth around my crawl space had started to migrate inward, making it difficult to properly cover the crawl space. Add to that the plastic piping and electric cord from the semi-installed sump pump, and I soon had feral cats making their home under my house.  Thanks to a cat repellant and the newly fixed crawl space entrace, I can now correctly seal it up again, cat-less.

Sunday brought the first big storm and I learned that the sump pump works perfectly against flooding, well before the crawl space had flooded beyond my comfort level.  Because of where the pipes come out of the crawl space, it sounds as though someone is shuffling my outside garbage cans around, but I’m happy to put up with strange noises if it means no flooding!

The other concern we had had when installing the pump is that too much water would regularly seep into the sump, when it wasn’t raining hard, and the pump would run its motor constantly.  Fortunately, this hasn’t been the case, but if that happens to you, you can get a cinder block to raise the pump up so that the water has to reach a higher level before the pump turns itself on.


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Lessons I Learned from my Sump Pump

25 08 2009
Picture this – it’s a cold December night at the beach, where it’s pouring rain instead of snowing.  In a perfect-storm-like series of events, first the sump pump protecting my crawl space (and therefore, my heater) fails.  Then, so does my neighbor’s in the connecting crawl space.  Over five inches of rain falls in the space of a few hours, saturating the already straining coastal water table and creating first a flood in my backyard (which is an all-too-regular occurrence ’round these parts), and then, a flood in my crawl space. 12 inches of water. Then 18.  Then, goodbye heater.
Just before I realized how bad the crawl space flooding was, I snapped this picture in my backyard

Just before I realized how bad the crawl space was, I snapped this picture of the water in my yard

In a last ditch effort to find a stroke of luck and magically fix my problem, I crawled into the tiny crawl space, with my pajama pants tucked into my snow boots and a flashlight between my teeth.  Soon, I was kneeling in 18 inches of cold, dirty water in the dark, shaking, praying and feeling around for where the sump pump might be.  No luck.  I was kicking myself for not paying closer attention during my home inspection and actually getting into the crawl space to see a) where the sump pump was located and b) what the heck a sump pump even looked like!  That night, I didn’t even know how to spell sump pump – I thought it was “sum” pump.  I was totally clueless, soaking wet, and miserable.  And I had no heat. 

I hunted around for the instruction manual to the sump pump, which I thought the previous owner had left me.  Eureka! She had.  I could tell from the cover what the pump should look like, but I knew I hadn’t seen anything like that in the crawl space.  Then, I saw a clear warning – do NOT attempt to fix your sump pump while it is still plugged in.  Ah yes, water and electricity aren’t such a good mix.  I figured it was a lost cause, and then remembered that my dad should know where the sump pump was, at least, and maybe have some suggestions for me.  So panicked and tearful, I called him at 12am, knowing that he wouldn’t likely get back to sleep that night.  But I was at my wits end!

With no hardware stores open, the rain still coming down, and no sunlight, there was nothing we could do.  My dad promised to drive the two hours south the next morning and suggested I get some sleep.  After changing into warm and dry clothes, I first hovered by the crawl space to see if maybe, just maybe, the sump pump would kick in.  Nope.  Then, I hovered around my thermostat, watching the numbers slowly drop.  I finally forced myself to go to bed for a couple of hours, afraid of what the morning might bring.

The next day was sunny and cold, as I headed back into the crawl space

The next day was sunny and cold, as I headed back into the crawl space

Super Dad arrived early, and hit the hardware store to get a new sump pump and hoses. We set up the pump to get rid of the standing water, and I found out what a correctly working pump should look and sound like. Phew.  A few hours later, the water had receeded but my heater was still a lost cause.  I was scheduled to head up to my parents’ house the next day, so I scheduled the heater guy to come out when the water was gone and braced myself for an expensive afternoon.  Since I would have a few days away, I bought a space heater to warm up my living room and watched miserably as the temperature continued to drop one degree at a time. 

This is what I had been sloshing around in the previous night, but it had receded

This is what I had been sloshing around in the previous night, but it had receded

It turned out I was one lucky girl though – despite the heater repairman quoting me some high priced replacements and discussing the possibility of moving the heater into my shed (which is where it should always have been in my opinion), after a few days, the heater dried itself out and was working again.  Hallelujah!

I was very lucky - see the label on the heater in the background? The water had risen to halfway up that label.

I was very lucky - see the label on the heater in the background? The water had risen to halfway up that label.

The temporary sump pump and hoses would stay there until nicer weather would allow us to install a more permanent solution.  Over the next few months, I would learn more than I ever wanted to know about sump pumps – every time it rained, I had to babysit the pump, which never seemed to start when it was supposed to.  Eventually, we figured out that the pump wasn’t working well because of the sand and debris getting sucked into the pump, so I replaced it with another one.  By this time, I was so neurotic about any water in my crawl space, that I continued to babysit the pump and start it up whenever I thought the level was too high (so basically any time it rained).  I had no more heater incidents, and the summer months proved to be mostly crawl-space-flood free (though not backyard flood free).

My current sump pump (prior to final installation) does its job!

My current sump pump (prior to final installation) does its job!

All of this taught me some extremely important lessons about homeownership:

1) Whether you are interested in electronics/appliances/anything-in-your-home or not, you should both know where it is and how it works. From the first day you live there.  Even if you have someone else living with you and you think they know all about it, I think it’s Murphy’s Law that it WILL fail the one time they are not there and unreachable.  Had I known about sump pumps, the location of mine and how it worked, I would have been able to tell much earlier that it had failed and may have avoided both the flood and the late night call to my poor dad.  And had I known that my neighbor’s crawl space was connected to mine, I would have talked to him a lot sooner about keeping an eye on the flooding during that storm.

2) Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I didn’t want to seem stupid in front of my home inspector and my dad, so I didn’t ask them about sump pumps, or take him up on his offer to see where mine was.  Which brings me to point 3…

3) Don’t be afraid to get dirty.  If you’re afraid to get dirty early on, you will definitely get dirty later on.  If I’d crawled into my scary, dirty crawl space on the day of my inspection, I would have known exactly where the sump pump was.  But I didn’t want to get dirty (I was wearing white pants, so that was mistake number 2), so I didn’t bother.  Which led directly to me kneeling in cold, dirty floodwater.  I was dirty, wet and miserable anyway, but in much worse shape and almost out a heater.

4) Get the neighborhood gossip.  This might sound funny, but especially in my neighborhood, everyone knows everyone else’s business (and yes, I hate that, but that’s a story for another post).  But when I moved in, I learned fairly quickly that the previous owner of my home had recently had to replace the heater because of crawl-space flooding.  That should have been clue #1 that it could happen again and was something I should know how to deal with.  When your neighbors tell you homeownership stories, listen to them.  It might save you later.

I’m now *almost* at the point where I can look back on that night and laugh (mostly because it only cost me the sump pump and some hoses and clamps, and not a new heater).  But more than just being an anecdote in my tales of homeownership woe, it was a night of lessons for me, which I haven’t since taken for granted!


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