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What’s involvedToilet bowl

Replace a toilet (what's involved)

What replacing a toilet takes: lifting the old one off, a new wax seal, setting the new one, and what a plumber checks under it. No hands-on steps.

  • 5 parts
  • Every step animated
Replace a toilet (what's involved): the animation’s first picture

What’s involved

No hands-on steps here: what the job is, what a pro does, and what to have ready.

  1. The old toilet is unbolted from the floor and lifted off. The wax ring under it is replaced, and the new toilet is set on it and bolted down.

    A toilet is heavy, and porcelain cracks if it's dropped or knocked.
  2. With the toilet off, they check the flange it bolts to and the floor round it. A cracked flange or a soft floor is fixed first.

  3. Measure from the wall behind the toilet to the bolt caps at its base, and pick a new toilet made for that distance.

  4. Clear the room, have old towels on hand, and find the toilet's valve on the wall. If it's old or stiff, ask for it to be replaced at the same visit.

  5. A bad seal leaks under the floor where you can't see it. Ask Handyman for a plumber to set the new toilet.

What you need

  • The new toilet, made for your wall-to-bolt distance
  • Old towels
  • Clear space to set the old toilet down

Call a pro if

  • The toilet rocks, or water seeps from under its base
  • The floor round the toilet is soft or stained
  • You're replacing the toilet

Handyman says: New toilet? I'll find you a plumber.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.

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