Looking for parts for a 1950s toilet

[JRG_52]

Hi folks,
You've helped me before, and I'm hoping you'll be able to help me again. I'm retired and working as a handyman in the greater Seattle area. I have a customer with a leaking 1950s era toilet. The tank is separate from the bowl and connected by a chrome tube. It's leaking from the joint between the bowl and that tube. Note that the supply line comes up through the tile floor. Do you have any idea where I can find parts for this thing, preferably in the Seattle area if possible?

I'm also old school enough to remember using string packing. If I remember right, it's a loose cotton twine impregnated with something like clay or plumber's putty. You wrapped that stuff around the joint until you felt there was enough, then crank down on the compression nut. Is that still a option?

Thanks!

 

[Terry]

You might try Part Works in Seattle for the slip joint nuts and washers on that. The last time I unthreaded one of those, the tubing cracked the entire length. I would look at getting a new elbow too.

Thank Goodness I'm getting the customers that want them repaced and not repaired. Good luck on that.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JRG_52]

You might try Part Works in Seattle for the slip joint nuts and washers on that. The last time I unthreaded one of those, the tubing cracked the entire length. I would look at getting a new elbow too.

Thank Goodness I'm getting the customers that want them repaced and not repaired. Good luck on that.

Thanks Terry. I'd like to replace everything! I'll give Part Works a call and see if they can help me out. BTW, I still share the story of the three Guinevere toilet installation in our old house. Thanks again for saving my life with that!

 

[Terry]

The supply line comes up through the tile floor, and will interfere with the footprint of every new toilet that we can find. The waste side is cast iron with a curved lead pipe from the cast iron to the flange.

I know I can put a plastic sleeve into the lead pipe to create a modern flange. Can I just use a wax ring without messing with the adaptor? Are there other/better options? I'd rather not mess with the cast iron drain pipe if possible.

How about moving the water supply line? My guess is that I'd need to cut into the wall behind the toilet and probably into the wall and ceiling of the floor below. I'm ok with the plaster work, but I'm worried about the plumbing joint. I don't know what type of pipe I'm going to run into and the thought of sweating copper inside a small cavity scares me. I really don't want to burn the house down... I figured I'd pull the pipe out of the floor, plug the hole in the tile, and then cover the old hole with the new toilet - probably something like a Toto Carlyle 2.

What would you do? Are there any plumbers online who could give me an estimate for this work?

Thanks!

How far off center is the supply in the floor? Will a new bowl get by there? Or will it need to be moved. I can't tell by the picture what the pipe is made of. If it's old 1950's galvanized, it could get a little interesting. If you go with the Carlyle II, you will want the supply at least 7" to the left of center on the wall, and 8" is better.

If you have a good lead flange, it can be reused. We make sure we have a solid way of holding the bolts to the floor.
If you sweat copper, make sure you have water handy. As far as cost, I would need to see more pictures of the access.
I thought it was you Jim. Good to see you on here again.

 

[JRG_52]

How far off center is the supply in the floor? Will a new bowl get by there? Or will it need to be moved. I can't tell by the picture what the pipe is made of. If it's old 1950's galvanized, it could get a little interesting. If you go with the Carlyle II, you will want the supply at least 7" to the left of center on the wall, and 8" is better.

If you have a good lead flange, it can be reused. We make sure we have a solid way of holding the bolts to the floor.
If you sweat copper, make sure you have water handy. As far as cost, I would need to see more pictures of the access.
I thought it was you Jim. Good to see you on here again.

Hi Terry, I hope all is good with you and yours. The supply line is about 4 1/2" off center and 6 1/2" from the wall. The toilet has a 14" rough-in. It looks like any modern toilet will interfere with the supply line. I haven't exposed the pipe yet, and yes, old galvanized would be my worst case scenario! Good news about the lead flange. I'm checking with Part Works, per our other thread. I'll reply back with results. Thanks again!

 

[Stuff]

I had a 1940's toilet needing the same chrome pipe but never found one.

If you do replace remember to add in time to fix the wall as the tank should be bolted to it.

 

[JRG_52]

I had a 1940's toilet needing the same chrome pipe but never found one.

If you do replace remember to add in time to fix the wall as the tank should be bolted to it.

Thanks @Stuff. I'm hoping to I get lucky. You're right that it needs to be bolted to the wall.

 

[Robert.artzt]

If im not mistaken you'll need a 2" slip joint washer and nut. If you need to replace the whole thing its called a closet 90.

 

[JRG_52]

Hi folks. I just wanted to circle back and close out this thread. Terry, Part Works in Seattle had the necessary parts and some good advice. Thanks for the referral. The guy I spoke to said that these things are very touchy and that he doesn't do them anymore. He encourages his customers to replace the old toilet. Unfortunately, this was not an option in this case. I was able to get the new pipe (I had to cut the elbow to length), new fitting on the bowl side, and I cobbled together a new seal on the existing flush valve. I was lucky enough to get everything installed with no leaks and after about 3 trys. It was "interesting" because after fixing the big leak between the pipe and the bowl, I found that the tank side was also leaking. Once that was fixed, I noticed that the supply line was also leaking. No big deal, but one more trip to the HW store. It has been a few months and it's still dry and the customer is happy. Thanks all!

 

[Terry]

I'm glad it was you fixing it. That's a lot of special trips on that one. It does keep the look of the home though.
Would have loved to have seen a picture.