Toilet Installation & Replacement in the Bay Area
Replacing a toilet is straightforward when the flange, the floor and the rough-in are all sound, and considerably less so when they are not. We fit comfort height, dual flush and water efficient toilets across 15 Bay Area cities, repair or replace the closet flange, and set the pan so it never rocks or weeps.
If the toilet itself is sound and it is only running, blocked or rocking, see toilet repair for fixing the one you already have.
- Replacing an old toilet like for like
- Comfort height and accessible pan installation
- Dual flush and high efficiency models
- Closet flange repair, replacement and height correction
- Re-setting a rocking or leaking toilet with a new seal
- Moving a toilet to a new position
- A new angle stop and supply line with every installation
Signs It Is Time to Replace Rather Than Repair
Catching these early is almost always cheaper than waiting for the failure.
A Cracked Tank or Pan
Hairline cracks in vitreous china do not stop spreading. They open a little with every temperature change and eventually let go all at once, which with a full tank means several gallons across the floor. Once porcelain is cracked there is no repair, and replacement is the only safe answer.
Constant Blockages
Older high volume pans with worn or scaled trapways block repeatedly however carefully they are used. Where mineral heavy water has narrowed the internal passage, no plunger or auger keeps it clear for long. A modern pan with a properly glazed trapway usually ends the problem for good.
A Toilet That Rocks or Moves
Movement grinds through the seal and lets waste water into the subfloor beneath, where it goes unnoticed until the floor gives underfoot. Sometimes shimming and a new seal are enough. Where the flange has broken or the subfloor has softened, the pan has to come up and be done properly.
Staining and Scale That Will Not Clean
Where the supply carries a lot of mineral, scale builds inside the rim jets and the trapway. Flush performance drops, streaking returns days after cleaning, and no cleaner reaches the passages that actually matter. At that point the pan is finished as a fixture even though it still holds water.
You Are Fighting the Height
Standard height pans sit low for a lot of people. Comfort height models put the seat at roughly the height of a dining chair, which makes a real difference for anyone with a bad back, poor knees or reduced mobility. It is one of the most common reasons for a straight swap.
High Water Use
Older pans use several times the water of a current model on every flush, and in a busy household that is the largest single indoor use in the property. Toilets sold in California now flush at 1.28 gallons or less, so replacing a genuinely old pan pays back through the water bill.
Types of Toilet We Fit
Two Piece Standard
Tank and pan supplied separately and bolted together on site. The most common choice, the widest range of spares, and the easiest to carry upstairs or into a tight cloakroom. Parts stay available for years, which matters when a flush valve or fill valve eventually needs replacing rather than the whole fixture.
One Piece and Skirted
Moulded as a single unit with no join between tank and pan, often with a smooth skirted side. There is far less to clean around and nothing for grime to collect in. They are heavy and need clear space to manoeuvre, and the rough-in has to be right because there is very little adjustment available.
Comfort Height and Accessible
A taller pan with the seat set around seventeen to nineteen inches from the floor, which is the range used for accessible fittings. Easier to sit down on and to stand up from. Fitted exactly like a standard pan, so in most bathrooms it is a straight swap onto the existing flange.
Dual Flush and High Efficiency
Two flush volumes, a short one for liquid waste and a full one for solids, or a single high efficiency flush engineered to clear properly at low volume. Both cut water use noticeably in a busy house. Look at the flush performance rating rather than the marketing, because a pan needing two flushes saves nothing.
How We Install a Toilet
Check the Rough-In and the Floor
We measure from the finished wall to the centre of the closet bolts, normally twelve inches but sometimes ten or fourteen in older Bay Area homes. We also check the floor is sound and level, because a soft or uneven floor will unseat any pan eventually, however well it is fitted.
Quote Before Anything Comes Out
You get a price covering the pan, the fitting, a new angle stop and supply line, and any flange work we expect to find. If we uncover rot or a broken flange once the old pan is off, we stop and give you the revised figure before carrying on.
Remove and Inspect the Flange
The old pan comes out, the old seal is scraped back to clean material, and the flange is inspected. Broken ears, a flange sitting below the finished floor after tiling, or corroded cast iron all get put right at this stage rather than sealed over and forgotten.
Set the Pan
New seal, new closet bolts, and the pan lowered square and pressed home in one movement so the seal compresses evenly. Bolts are tightened by hand in stages and never cranked, and the pan is checked for any movement before the tank goes on top.
Connect, Test and Adjust
A new angle stop and braided supply line go on, the tank is filled and the fill and flush valves adjusted to the correct water line. Then we flush repeatedly, check the base, the tank bolts and the supply connection for any weep, and clear up after ourselves.
Getting the Detail Right on a Toilet Replacement
Most toilet installations that go wrong go wrong at the flange. The closet flange is what holds the pan down and seals the waste connection, and it needs to sit level with or slightly proud of the finished floor. Add a layer of tile without adjusting the flange and it now sits low, the seal has to bridge a gap it was never designed for, and the pan starts weeping quietly into the subfloor. We check that before setting anything.
Rough-in is the second thing people get caught out by. Twelve inches from the finished wall to the bolt centres is the standard, but plenty of older Bay Area housing was built to ten or fourteen, and a pan bought on the assumption of twelve simply will not fit. Measure before buying, or send us a photograph with a tape measure in shot and we will confirm it for you before you order anything.
Water efficiency has moved on a long way. Early low flush pans earned a bad reputation because they reduced the volume without redesigning the trapway, so people flushed twice and saved nothing. Current models use a redesigned bowl and a larger flush valve to clear properly at low volume. If you are replacing a pan that predates that change, the difference in performance as well as water use is substantial.
Moving a toilet is a far bigger job than swapping one, because the waste connection has to move with it. That means opening the floor, cutting into the branch drain, maintaining the correct fall and often revising the vent so the trap does not siphon. On a slab it means breaking concrete. It is entirely doable, but it belongs in a bathroom remodel budget rather than being treated as a straight swap.
What Affects the Price
We quote every job up front, so you approve the price before anything starts. These are the things that move it:
- The pan chosen, from a basic two piece to a one piece skirted or high efficiency model
- Whether the existing flange is sound or needs repair, replacement or height correction
- Condition of the floor and subfloor under the old pan
- Whether the angle stop and supply line are being renewed, which we recommend as standard
- Removal and disposal of the old fixture
- Access, particularly upstairs bathrooms and tight cloakrooms
- Whether the toilet is being moved rather than replaced in position
Most quotes are free and can be done from photos or video you send us. Some on-site estimates carry a fee based on distance, and we tell you that before we come out.
Looking After a New Toilet
Closet bolts and tank bolts hold porcelain, not steel. They need to be firm and even, never forced. Most cracked tanks and hairline pan cracks we are called out to were caused by somebody giving a bolt one more turn.
In-tank chlorine tablets sit against the flapper and the flush valve seal and eat rubber steadily. They are one of the most common reasons a toilet starts running a few months after a brand new fixture goes in.
Wipes marketed as flushable do not break down, and they are the single most common cause of the blockages we clear, both in the pan and further down the lateral. Nothing but waste and toilet paper should go in.
Turn the shutoff below the toilet fully off and on once a year. It keeps the valve free so it works when you need it in a hurry, and it shows up any weeping at the stem before it becomes a problem.
Run a dry hand or a tissue around the base of the pan every few months. Any damp there means the seal or the flange is letting go, and dealing with it early avoids a rotted subfloor and a much larger repair.
Toilet Installation — Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers, without the sales pitch.
What rough-in do I need and how do I measure it?
Measure from the finished wall behind the toilet, not the skirting board, to the centre of the closet bolts holding the pan down. Twelve inches is the common standard, but ten and fourteen inch rough-ins turn up regularly in older Bay Area homes. Get it wrong and the pan either will not sit against the wall or will not fit at all.
How long does a toilet replacement take?
A straight swap onto a sound flange is generally an hour or two, including removing the old pan, fitting a new seal, setting the new fixture and renewing the angle stop and supply line. Flange repair, a rotted subfloor or a change of rough-in adds time, and we tell you before carrying on rather than afterwards.
Is a comfort height toilet right for everyone?
It suits most adults and anyone with mobility, back or knee problems, which is why it has become the default in new work. It is less comfortable for young children, whose feet no longer reach the floor. In a family bathroom that is worth thinking about, and a small step stool is the usual answer.
Can you fit a toilet I have bought myself?
Yes. Send us the model and a photograph of the space and we will check the rough-in and the trap arrangement suit before you commit to it. What we cannot do is warrant the fixture itself, so any manufacturing fault is a matter between you and the supplier. The installation remains our responsibility.
Do dual flush toilets actually save water?
They do when the pan clears reliably on the short flush. A well designed dual flush model uses noticeably less water over a week than an older single flush pan. A poor one gets flushed twice every time and saves nothing at all. That is why we look at flush performance rather than the stated volume alone.
Why does my new toilet still rock?
Almost always the floor rather than the fixture. Tile that is not flat, an old vinyl layer left in place, or a subfloor that has softened around the flange will all let a perfectly good pan move. Shims and a fresh seal deal with the mild cases. A flange sitting at the wrong height needs correcting properly.
Do you charge extra for nights, weekends or holidays?
No. We do not add overtime charges, ever. The rate you are quoted is the same whether we come out on a Tuesday morning or at 2am on a holiday weekend.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Power Plumbing USA holds California contractor license #1082507 and carries full liability insurance. All work is performed to California Plumbing Code, and we pull permits where the job requires them.
Where We Provide This Service
We cover 15 Bay Area cities from our Union City base. See the full service area →