Reed wrote:
Tom wrote:
I was in the living room when I heard a loud bang from the bathroom.
There was
a crack going from a bolt hole in the tank right up the side. Water was
spewing out the bottom. It was lucky that I was home.

After lots of reading, I've seen the following:

-you can seal it
-you shouldn't seal it, it will always have the danger of a leaking
disaster

-you can't use a modern tank as a replacement

-new toilets are apt to suffer from poor flushing and many models
suffer from
leaks -- unless I get some $500 Japanese model

I wish I could just replace or repair the tank, I'm not concerned
about looks
or anything. But it seems like replacing is the only option. The old
toilet is
maybe 1960s, 1970s? The house is 1950s.

So my question is: are there pitfalls awaiting in trying to put a new
toilet
where the old one had been? Will the bolts in the floor automatically
match
up? Will the old flange need replacing? Anything else? Thanks.

Have you looked into used, second-hand plumbing outlets for a matching
tank ?? My local "Habitat for Humanity ReSale" shop probably has 30 old
toilets of various vintages for sale right now.


Around here, Habitat calls it ReStore...

I'll second that. And since you need to take it all apart anyway (can't
trust tank-bowl seal once it has bounced around in a truck), drop a
rebuild kit in as you put it back together, and you should be good for
20-30 years. I was just at the local ReStore yesterday, and even in this
small town, they had at least a dozen all lined up. Helpful hint- make
a cardboard template of the base outline of the existing toilet, from
centerline in back, to centerline in front, and take that with you. Some
number 12 electrical wire bent to match the contours will get you
started. (Or scribe it Norm Abrams style, if you know how to do that,
and have a set of dividers.) Use that to mark the cardboard, then cut
and test-fit. This half-template will make narrowing down the used or
new toilets a lot faster. Just slide it around the demo unit, and you
know instantly if you will have ghost outline problems. Don't forget to
make a mark on the template where the the bolt hole is.

--
aem sends...