Maiden Voyage of the SS HAJOCA

I got the toilet installed today, sort of. It was really a lot of work and I have one tiny, tiny leak that I can’t make go away. It’s at the transition from the flush valve to the flush tube. These are all new parts and there is a new washer in there. I took it apart and put it back together and it still leaks. I physically can’t tighten it any more. It is a fraction of a drop every 30- seconds. It could not be a smaller leak and I can’t make it stop. It’s very frustrating. I must admit though, the toilet looks great, and that is what’s important after all.



I may need to remove the tank and install a new washer tomorrow. There is also a small piece of trim that goes just under the tank, and I need to add some lead weights to the flush lever. Originally this would have had a cast iron flush valve inside and the weight would not have been an issue. With the new flush valve the lever is too heavy and the flapper won’t stay down. I just need to add some lead fishing sinkers to add a bit of weight to it. I had to do the same thing to my upstairs toilet.



Another problem was one of the slip nuts for the supply line. It’s that large brass nut at the tank. It’s a 7/8ths inch slip nut and I had to go to 3 hardware stores to find one. I also left the wax gasket in the sun too long and it fell off as I was putting the toilet on. It pretty much fell apart so that was another trip to the hardware store.

The long flush tube had to be trimmed at both ends. I was paranoid about cutting too much off, so there was a lot of trimming and testing. Very time consuming.

Also, on these old toilets there are 4 bolts that mount them to the floor. There are two at the closet flange, just like most modern toilets, and then two at the front that screw in to the floor. As we all know, my floor is the Oberon Saloon tile. I bought a $12, ¼ inch Glass/Tile drill bit. I alternated between two holes because I had a feeling the bit wouldn’t last. I was right. The thing absolutely disintegrated about half way through both tiles. I didn’t even make it a total of a half inch in and the bit literally fell apart. I then destroyed a ¼ inch masonry bit to finish the holes.

When all was said and done the bolts were too short to make it in to the sub floor. I have half inch tile and half inch cement board. It was a complete waste of time, money, and drill bits. The bolts are there, but they do absolutely nothing. I’ve going to need to drill 3/8th inch holes in the tile for the sink. That should be fun.



I also got the marble on the small cabinet. I’ve decided to do it on large one as well, but that maybe weeks away. And I broke down and moved the tub so I could re-grout the tile under there. Honestly, this bathroom may never be finished.