okay, so i mentioned last week that my toilet is broken. it is STILL broken. i went to Home Depot (which i shall call Home Sucko from now on) and bought what i thought was the correct part. an employee who claimed, "yea, i can help you with plumbing...i guess i know enough," (i know, that should have been a clue!) told me that this generic fill valve would replace the fill valve on any toilet. he was wrong. i have a Mansfield toilet, which of course needs special parts.
so anyway, i buy the part, and get home to realize there isn't a shut-off valve for the water, nor do i have any of the correct tools for the job. so since my Dad knows how to turn the main water line off, and has a toolbox containing more than 15 screwdrivers and a hammer, i ask for help. you're thinking this is probably near the end of the story? wrong. turns out, since my water is through a private company rather than the City, you can't turn the water off at the man-hole thing in the yard. aarrrgghhhh. so...with no idea how to turn the water off, and my brother (who owns the house) out of town and unreachable, and the water company closed for the weekend...i wait.
last night, i finally find out how to turn the water off (which is a grid-like system in the garage with a valve for each water outlet in the house - weird!). so this morning i turn the water off and start work! only to discover the generic part that idiot dude at Home Sucko told me to buy will not work in my toilet. long-story-long: after sponging up excess water in the tank, unscrewing the water line, and spending 30 minutes trying to loosen the bolt that holds the fill valve in...i have to buy a different part. a part that no hardware store carries (or so they say over the phone). what to do?
well...i didn't throw a massive fit, so that's a win. i merely put all the parts back together as best i could, turned the water back on, and started writing an entirely TOO long and detailed blog to vent my frustration. has anyone even made it all the way through this entry? i know it's been unnecessary...but i just want the world (or the 5 people that read my blog) to know that i TRIED, damnit! i was willing to get dirty and learn toilet-repair-lingo...all to no avail. oh well...i'm going back to sewing!
gotta say, i admire your trying to fix the toilet. that says alot. i probably would have called the plumber to begin with, you on the other hand at least believe you can fix it, and give it a go. it's not your fault if the odds were against you. i really admire you.
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