homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

[M-technik-3]

I hate the vessel sink thing, think it's going to be a very short lived thing. Like the subway tile and dig the garage bar!

[flyboyx]

im not a huge fan of them either personally, but they have been around for 15+ years now.

people love them though. i guess they are probably fine in a half bath designed only for pissing and shitting. they are really best for just washing hands and thats it.

[tim88325is]

Sorry I missed this! It was a contractor, not me, though I think I could have done it (and probably in a more orderly fashion, because I'm very particular about things).

I am sure its fine but I thought PEX was more flexible so less fittings would be needed in the walls.

I am no expert but it seems like some of the angles could have been bent instead of cutting the PEX and installing elbow.

[2mAn]

Not sure which of the homeowner/ project threads would be appropriate so I figured I would bring this one back up with my new place... and issues!....

We just bought our first place, a 2/2.5 condo in Inglewood. Its a great location to a lot of current and future prime spots, including The Forum, the new Rams Stadium, a new Metro line and a park directly across the street.

The condo itself was built in 1981, 11 units total in this building. Ours just got new paint and new floors. Looks like the toilet in the downstairs was also replaced. Master bathroom also got a new shower, and showerhead, etc but the toilet is still an older one. The other bathroom has a new faucet but same toilet and shower. Basically, updates mixed throughout the place, likely replacing the stuff that obviously wasnt working. Countertops are all old and the windows are also old.

Reason why I bring up all that history is that according to my wife, the master bathroom (which we designated to be 'hers') has a toilet that just doesnt seem to have the strength to actually flush the goods, and there doesnt appear to be any hot water. Im thinking that I need to hire a plumber to come check this out but I figured Id ask here first.

Also, it seems like the power outlets in both upstairs bathrooms arent working. We had the issue in the kitchen, but a quick trip to the box fixed that.

My first goal is to get her bathroom fully functioning with hot water, outlets that work and then deal with the toilet

Any of you guys have suggestions on where to start? Im guessing we'll need to replace the toilet sooner than later, and we will eventually update everything, but for now I just want it all working as it should

[fight4life28]

Possibly the reason for the toilet not having enough power is.

Air locked (vent which could possibly be cast or steel pipe flaked over the time frame and is blocking the venting.

Possibly doesn't have a vent at all?

Clog or something blocking the toilet passage or old toilet with broken flap or hardware can cause this sometimes.

No hot-water to entire house or just the one problem bathroom?

Electrical could be simple breaker or possibly worn out GFI or anything if it didn't work at all when you moved in. Hard to say without pictures or knowing what worked before hand. Cheers to the new place ��

[MR E30 325is]

Not sure which of the homeowner/ project threads would be appropriate so I figured I would bring this one back up with my new place... and issues!....

We just bought our first place, a 2/2.5 condo in Inglewood. Its a great location to a lot of current and future prime spots, including The Forum, the new Rams Stadium, a new Metro line and a park directly across the street.

The condo itself was built in 1981, 11 units total in this building. Ours just got new paint and new floors. Looks like the toilet in the downstairs was also replaced. Master bathroom also got a new shower, and showerhead, etc but the toilet is still an older one. The other bathroom has a new faucet but same toilet and shower. Basically, updates mixed throughout the place, likely replacing the stuff that obviously wasnt working. Countertops are all old and the windows are also old.

Reason why I bring up all that history is that according to my wife, the master bathroom (which we designated to be 'hers') has a toilet that just doesnt seem to have the strength to actually flush the goods, and there doesnt appear to be any hot water. Im thinking that I need to hire a plumber to come check this out but I figured Id ask here first.

Also, it seems like the power outlets in both upstairs bathrooms arent working. We had the issue in the kitchen, but a quick trip to the box fixed that.

My first goal is to get her bathroom fully functioning with hot water, outlets that work and then deal with the toilet

Any of you guys have suggestions on where to start? Im guessing we'll need to replace the toilet sooner than later, and we will eventually update everything, but for now I just want it all working as it should

Bathroom should be on a GFI. Find an outlet with test and reset buttons on it. Reset it and see if that solves the issue.

Either call a plumber about the poorly flushing toilet, or upgrade it and see if that solves the issue. Sam's club has a great 90 dollar dual flush toilet that I use in all of my rentals and in my personal bathroom. Haven't had an issue yet. And my wife takes massive dumps.

You have hot water elsewhere in the house I assume? Did you give it plenty of time flowing hot water to see if it eventually gets hot? I'd start by checking connections under the sink to make sure that it was connected correctly. Someone could have connected the lines backwards.

[2mAn]

Possibly the reason for the toilet not having enough power is.

Air locked (vent which could possibly be cast or steel pipe flaked over the time frame and is blocking the venting.

Possibly doesn't have a vent at all?

Clog or something blocking the toilet passage or old toilet with broken flap or hardware can cause this sometimes.

No hot-water to entire house or just the one problem bathroom?

Electrical could be simple breaker or possibly worn out GFI or anything if it didn't work at all when you moved in. Hard to say without pictures or knowing what worked before hand. Cheers to the new place ��

Bathroom should be on a GFI. Find an outlet with test and reset buttons on it. Reset it and see if that solves the issue.

Either call a plumber about the poorly flushing toilet, or upgrade it and see if that solves the issue. Sam's club has a great 90 dollar dual flush toilet that I use in all of my rentals and in my personal bathroom. Haven't had an issue yet. And my wife takes massive dumps.

You have hot water elsewhere in the house I assume? Did you give it plenty of time flowing hot water to see if it eventually gets hot? I'd start by checking connections under the sink to make sure that it was connected correctly. Someone could have connected the lines backwards.

Thanks for the quick replies! Im excited to be a homeowner, just was hoping I would be in for a little longer before issues popped up haha... I will get pics tonight and update.

Bathroom/ Hot Water Issues:

Hot Water works fine in the other upstairs bathroom, so thats an isolated problem with that particular bathroom. I will also double check the other sinks in the downstairs to make sure its just the one upstairs bathroom...

Most of that stuff sounds like its in the tank, so I will snap a pic of that, I know that the drain hardware seems old, especially because I have to make sure it closes after flushing, so it doesnt just keep running water.

Whats this $90 Sams Club toilet?!? I almost want to get that right away but Ive never replaced a toilet before lol

Electrical Issues
What is GFI?

I can picture the testable type of outlet with the reset button, but Im not sure if ours have those. Most of the stuff in this house is original except for things that seem to have been just replaced.

I will double check the box and snap a pic for you guys too.

on that topic, I want to properly label the box so I know whats for what. What type of label marker is ideal for that? Does it even matter?

[z31maniac]

GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) outlet:

https://home.howstuffworks.com/question117.htm

[MR E30 325is]

Thanks for the quick replies! Im excited to be a homeowner, just was hoping I would be in for a little longer before issues popped up haha... I will get pics tonight and update.

Bathroom/ Hot Water Issues:

Hot Water works fine in the other upstairs bathroom, so thats an isolated problem with that particular bathroom. I will also double check the other sinks in the downstairs to make sure its just the one upstairs bathroom...

Most of that stuff sounds like its in the tank, so I will snap a pic of that, I know that the drain hardware seems old, especially because I have to make sure it closes after flushing, so it doesnt just keep running water.

Whats this $90 Sams Club toilet?!? I almost want to get that right away but Ive never replaced a toilet before lol

Electrical Issues
What is GFI?

I can picture the testable type of outlet with the reset button, but Im not sure if ours have those. Most of the stuff in this house is original except for things that seem to have been just replaced.

I will double check the box and snap a pic for you guys too.

on that topic, I want to properly label the box so I know whats for what. What type of label marker is ideal for that? Does it even matter?

The 90 dollar Sams toilet is magical, IMO. It has separate flush functions for poos and for pees. Even comes with the wax ring.

YouTube a toilet install video. It is easy. Biggest things are to do everything in order, and to not overtighten the base to the floor, as you can crack the base flange.

Your house was built in the 80's? You're going to have a GFI for the bathrooms. They can place the GFI outlet anywhere along the circuit, fyi, so it may not be right in the bathroom.

I label my service box with little white stickers from Home Depot. Use a sharpie for brief labels like 'dryer' and a pen for longer labels such as 's. bedroom, hallway, front entry'.

[2mAn]

First thing I dealt with was the bathroom water. Figured this was easy enough. Turned it on and let it run to see if it got hot... and snapped pics while I waited





It got warmer for sure, I didnt wait until my hand was scalding hot. I also didnt bother trying the shower since it seemed to actually get warm water.



Next up is the toilet... heres whats in the tank



the toilet flushed perfectly fine the first time then the second one got kind a week I just left it at that. Not sure its even worth fixing, unless you guys see something obvious.


And now the electrical... first is the box itself. You can see someone had previously tried to label it. This is why I asked.



Everything seems fine so I went upstairs to test the outlets. Both bathrooms did not work but all of the rest in the bedrooms upstairs did so it’s definitely something within the bathroom outlets themselves. How difficult is it to upgrade to the GFCI ones?

[2mAn]

Looking at the picture of the breaker box, not sure why I didnt bother trying the one that was out of line.... pulled it to the off side and back on. It went further up to line up with everything else and sure enough, both bathrooms work now haha

homebuying fun indeed... Im learning :)

Now about those outlets, should I still replace them?... and also what about the toilet. Everything just seems old, and I dont know if I should bother to replace them now, or just wait until they crap out completely

[Todd Black 88]

That’s the gfi. Yours is in your breaker box.

[Todd Black 88]

When you say the toilet has a weak flush the second time, what exactly do you mean?

Did you wait for the tank to completely refil?

The gfi measures for voltage leakage to ground, but it trips at notoriously low levels and are common issues. They will sometimes trip if using the outlet at high moisture levels, like after a hot steamy shower.

If it trips randomly, chances are it’s the gfi in the breaker box itself. If there was an issue in the outlets, it would trip instantly when using it.


20 year home owner, licensed plumber, b ticket gas fitter with HE electrical ticket

[2mAn]

That’s the gfi. Yours is in your breaker box.

When you say the toilet has a weak flush the second time, what exactly do you mean?

Did you wait for the tank to completely refil?

The gfi measures for voltage leakage to ground, but it trips at notoriously low levels and are common issues. They will sometimes trip if using the outlet at high moisture levels, like after a hot steamy shower.

If it trips randomly, chances are it’s the gfi in the breaker box itself. If there was an issue in the outlets, it would trip instantly when using it.


20 year home owner, licensed plumber, b ticket gas fitter with HE electrical ticket

Yea it looks like they have it hooked up to the bathroom outlets together, so I guess I wont worry about it until it becomes a reoccuring problem..

I waited until the toilet fills back up, but when I flush I have to hold the lever waiting for it to empty , it just doesnt seem very happy to do its job

[fight4life28]

The outlets being together is fine. Was okay with codes at one point of life.

Now the toilet someone has installed a new valve slash fill controller. they probably said it below the normal level so that's why you don't have enough water flushing him to the toilet leaving the toilet remains there. Google search the product of what the controller is and simply just tell out more water and possibly fat a faster rate of water to fill the tank. That should take care of your issue.