Flush This

The other day when it was raining and I was um, going to the bathroom, I thought hmm, it's raining so hard it sounds like it's raining right here in the bathroom. Being in another world lately, I didn't think anything of it until I went to the bathroom when it wasn't raining and still heard water dripping. I noticed rust coming from my flusher lever and then shuddered at the thought that my tank was overflowing. I hate plumbing stuff.

I went to the hardware store and the nice person working there told me that I needed to replace my fill valve and an even nicer person shopping who noticed me looking bewildered at all the different things hanging on the pegs not knowing exactly what I needed told me which kit to purchase that would be the best. I confidently went home and planned to replace the valve and be good to go...heh heh in just an hour or two.

Turn off water supply, easy enough. Remove old fill valve. One nut came off. The other wouldn't budge. Hard as I tried, I couldn't get the nut to move. I had to mostly feel under the tank to try to get the wrench to fit, as there was only about 8 inches between the shower and stool, and hardly any wiggle room. Finally I got on the floor, put one arm over my head, squeezed my head beween the stool, and shower and then shimmied the rest of the way between so I could reach up under the tank with my other hand too. I put a pair of channel locks on the nut, shimmied out, sat backwards on the stool, with one arm in the tank with a wrench and the other on the channel locks trying to move the nut. Nothing. The channel locks slipped off.

Fast forward 8 hours, and about 30 times getting on the floor and squeezing and manuvering.

I am still shimmying putting the channel locks on, shimmying out. Nothing.

Swear...

Swear some more....

I'm going to blow it up....

I know, I'll get a hack saw and see if I can saw the mother..ummm...thing off.

This is going to take all night. Forget it...I'll go to bed and start all over...

Morning comes and back on the floor shimmying in and out...

Grrr...

GRRRRR,....

I'm going to take the whole toilet up and throw it out and get a new one, it has to be easier.

I call my friend/plumber Richard. Turns out he is coming up this way this afternoon. I'll get the toilet, he will be glad to stop in and put it in. He had offered to try to undo the nut, but I didn't want him to dread ever volunteering to ever help me again, and knowing it will take him hours, I assured him the new toilet was the way to go.

I go purchase a new toilet, get it home, take the old toilet up, which only took me 20 minutes, not 8 hours, and he showed up, plopped the new one in. It took him less than an hour, I gave him 50 bucks.

I helped Richard carry his stuff back out to his van, when he showed me a bow he just bought for 50 bucks from his last customer he had planned on giving to his grandson.

Isn't it great how stuff just works out?

And.... I'm good to go.