I recently caught part of an episode of this old house where they are supposed to showcase the latest and greatest in home repair and maintenance… In this particular episode the plumber rides into some town in Wyoming on horseback to help a home owner install a new toilet in an unfinished bathroom… Crazy right… so here’s the thing, by most standards he did a fine job and that toilet installation may serve its owners without consequence for many years but, I just wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the differences between standard installs and the Half Moon “Plumbing with Purpose” installs… Toilets are the one fixture that you never want to leak especially on the drain side… You want that stuff to go away and never return… Below I’ll show a step by step break down of the process and compare the “This Old House” (TOH) method to the “Half Moon Plumbing” (HMP) method1… (TOH) used a plastic anchoring ring1… (HMP) always use a metal anchoring ring2… (TOH) actually did properly anchor the flange on this step2… (HMP) properly anchor the flange to the foundation with heavy-duty non-corrosive screws… a solid foundation is vital to a proper install3… (TOH) installed toilet bolts with no additional anchors3… (HMP) install toilet bolts with additional anchors on each side of bolts for added strength at the flanges weakest point4… (TOH) added wax ring on this step… wax rings are impressionable and can compromise their seal when leveling the toilet4… (HMP) add thin layer of silicone to metal flange to protect against corrosion, then add a (wax-free) sani-seal (not impressionable)5… (TOH) installed toilet onto the bolts and tightened evenly5… (HMP) install toilet onto bolts, LEVEL, and tighten evenly6… (TOH) cut bolts and install cover cap6… (HMP) cut bolts, re-tighten bolts and install cover capsThis may seem extreme but, we actually offer a 3- year warranty on some of our “Plumbing with Purpose” toilet installs… as I said earlier toilets are serious business and we want your “business” as well as ours to be good!