[Izannah]

OK... so my problem started SEVERAL months ago. First, the valve that controls the fill line in the tank stopped functioning and my tank would continually overflow and the water would get to where it would leak through the flusher handle hole of the tank onto the floor. This part was a replacement part that never really worked (we had replaced it because of the constant flow syndrome. Like many of us out here, I'm NOT educated in the ways of toilet repair (I had a lot of help replacing the fill valve thingy... like they did it ALL) and too darn broke to afford a plumber for help, although I'm told it's a fairly easy repair job to do on your own (ha! Not for the wrench-challenged folk like me!). Sooooo, waiting for help to come along, I found it easier to just turn off the water supply valve supplying water to the tank. Turn it on to flush every now and then (I figured it was my part to help conserve water)... no big deal. Well now it's a very big deal because turning that valve NO LONGER SHUTS OFF THE WATER!! Is it just stripped from the over-abundance of turning off and on? Is it easily replaced? Should I just bulldoze the house now and call it quits? Help!!

[twinkiedooter]

Bulldozing the house is a good solution for starters. I have to stop laughing now and get serious.

Replacing the shut off thingy is not that easy for an amateur. You'll have to buy a whole new shut off thingy as the one you have is stripped like you thought.

In the meantime to alleve your toilet overflow problem you probably will have to replace the whole left side aparatus in your toilet. This is called the ball cock assembly. If that does not stop the water flow in the tank when you raise up the big black float ball - then the inside works are shot and you need a whole new shebang.

You will have to beg someone who is handy to come and fix this problem for you and you will have to find the shut off valve for the whole house to be turned off. When they do replace the ball cock assembly, they might want to replace the shut off valve with a new shut off valve for you. The shut off valve is under $10 depending where you go and the ball cock assembly is probably less than $10. Both can be bought at Lowe's or Home Depot or a hardware store will have these items.

In the meantime I don't know of any bulldozer rental companies that I can recommend right now.

[Marriedguy]

You have two issue the running toilet and then your valve is not closing.

I'm not a plumbing expert but the running toilet could be caused by the stopper in the tank not blocking the hole that allows you to flush. So instead of the tank just filling its running. This is a quick fix. What you do is go to Home Depot or a local hardware get a kit that will supply you the whole assembly and follow the instructions in there.

The second problem is that valve is not working now this really isn't a problem if you stop the toilet from running. If you have to replace the valve then I would recommend you call a plumber if the leaking toilet was an issue than replacing the valve is definitely a task you don't want to take on your own. It will require you to cut pipes and I don't think your ready and beside if you get a honest plumber this is not an expensive job.

[massplumber2008]

Hi everyone!

Hey Izannah... Lots of good info. So far... :)

Does your angle valve look like A, B, or C pics. Below (or similar)?

Does inside toilet tank look like the other pic. Below.. I also think the old replacement flush valve overflow pipe was not cut to proper height (why it leaked out the handle)... but first, confirm this is correct setup...

Last pic. Is the complete replacement kit Married guy mentioned... ;)

Let us know as much as you can. See what we can come up with... Mark

PS...And although Twinkie and Married guy aren't "EXPERTS"...they both nailed it!! ;)

[Izannah]

Hi everyone!!

Hey Izannah...Lots of good info. so far...:)

Does your angle valve look like A, B, or C pics. below (or similar)??

Does inside toilet tank look like the other pic. below..? I also think the old replacement flush valve overflow pipe was not cut to proper height (why it leaked out the handle)....but first, confirm this is correct setup...

Last pic. is the complete replacement kit Married guy mentioned...;)

Let us know as much as you can. See what we can come up with...Mark

PS...And although Twinkie and Married guy aren't "EXPERTS"...they both nailed it!! ;)

[F]
Thanks soooooooooooooo much to all who answered!!! Somehow I knew that duct tape and prayer were not the answer in THIS particular case! :p

All of you supplied GREAT info and in easy to understand lingo to boot! Rock on!!! To answer the whole angle spigoty thingy mystery...mine looks like "A" and I'm sure I will have wonderful dreams of that particular piece of hardware being destroyed in many devious ways...

After reading the first few posts (thanks for being so darn speedy! Double rock on!!!), I went ahead and frantically thumbed through the phone book trying to decide if handymen were cheaper than plumbers after hours on a Friday night (not like I was looking for a date or anything!). Found one whose ad reads "There ain't nothing I can't MAKE, FIX or $#&@ up." Literally. Who wouldn't call that one? Next thing ya know, he's replaced not only the fill mechanism thingy bobber (that is the technical term, right?) but also the flapper and the flush handle AND fixed the angle spigoty thingy of DOOM all for a VERY reasonable price!

The sound of water NOT running has never sounded so sweet!

Thanks again to all who read, sympathized, laughed at and offered your help to me. Such a wonderful response to my first (and with my wacky life, most likely not my last!) posted question. So very happy to have found such a great resource! Woo hoo!

Iza...

Wonder what will break down next?

[twinkiedooter]

Thanks for the update. Glad you didn't try to do this repair yourself - especially the wall turn off thingy as you could have ended up with quite a flood. Glad you found yourself a good handyman to do the job as the plummer would have charged you big time (no offense Massplummer).

If you ever have problems with your dishwasher (I'm an amateur expert), washing machine (amateur expert again) or anything else (I'm pretty good at amateur car diagnosing too), just log onto AMHD and we'll ALL have a good time trying to help you. This is a fun place to come to as well. Who knows what will go flooey?

Enjoyed the fun, my dear.

[twinkiedooter]

May I suggest that you invest a few bucks on a what I call a Mrs. Fix It Yourself Book? The best ones are oddly enough from the 1980's and 1990's by Time and Life and Reader's Digest. I bought mine originally at $25 plus S&H years ago and lost them moving. Bought them again not too long ago on Amazon.com for about $3 and $3 shipping. They are in soft cover and hard cover. This way if you get these books and look under each section for say plumbing, etc. you can see what the inner workings of the machine or toilet innards are and just what they are supposed to do and not do.

Good luck, my dear, it was really fun!

[renagadefunktra]

Hehe, I just found this thread after being hosed down by my loo, gross, and in my face. Freakin shut off mechenism on my wall for water supply is also (so I now know) shot. There I was being so freakin smart checking the rubber seal in the valve after turning off the wall water supply and draining the water out only to have the valve seal and high pressure water blow out in my face... MMmmm... I wish that was more obvious before I undid the valve cap. Sux to be me.