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Tried to fix a running toilet with a $6 flapper and flooded my downstairs neighbor's ceiling
Back in 2009 I was living in a third floor walkup in Chicago and my toilet started running at 2am, so I figured how hard could it be and ran to the hardware store for a $6 flapper. I watched one video, shut the water off, popped the old one out, and snapped the new one in like I knew what I was doing, except I put the chain way too short so it never seated right. Turned the water back on, flushed once to test it, and it seemed fine so I went to bed feeling like Bob Vila. Woke up at 6 to water dripping through my ceiling light and a very unhappy knock on my door from the guy below, whose ceiling had a nice brown oval about the size of a pizza. I yanked the flapper out again, ran to the store for the right size, and this time sat there watching the tank for a full ten minutes before I trusted it. Cost me $380 to fix his ceiling plus a case of beer as an apology, which is a lot of money for a part that costs less than lunch. My dad still brings it up every Christmas, and honestly the old brass float setups on my grandparents' place never had this problem. Did anyone else learn plumbing the hard way on the third floor, or was I the only guy who skipped the ten minute leak check?
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the_sarah1d ago
Wow, a pizza sized brown stain on his ceiling and you still slept through it?
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