I am not a plumber nor am I a carpenter but I have no money, so I do what I have to do. I do not do it particularly well.

Some years ago my father in law needed to live with us. We installed a taller toilet. My brother-in-law came to help so I don't have to take all the blame.

We did not get the wax ring seated correctly.

This toilet has always been roundly hated. It is so tall you feel like you are going to fall off and the full flush feature also functions as a bidet. This later feature is a bit disconcerting to say the least, but it is funny to hear the exclamations of surprise when visitors use it.

I should have junked it as soon and Grandpa passed but I am in fact a lazy farmer and so it has just mildly annoyed us for the past decade. It also quietly leaked water into the five feet of insulation sealed by a plastic sheet that is attached underneath manufactured homes.

Last winter I crawled under the house to run an electric line to the shed that was going to be my daughter's house/studio and I noticed water collecting and making the sheeting sag. I stabbed it with my pocket knife and continued my slow and painful crawl under the house.

After sleuthing the connections in the laundry room my suspicion feel upon the offending toilet. It has taken me a year to build up the courage to do something about it. I probably would still be thinking about it but my wife was cleaning the shower and the floor gave way. (just a little bit)

Saturday, we took it all apart.

Manufactured homes are not known for a quality build. Ours has CPVC plastic pipe which was an upgrade from the discontinued grey pipe of the past. Note that the shower lines are not routed through the wall. The mixing valve and the shower head were also not supported by the wall but just hung there. The cold water line broke after this apart and sprayed everything with gallons of water.

This is the cold water line to the sink. Note the high quality workmanship. Also note the broken line. CPVC becomes brittle with age and tends to crack when disturbed.

My wife wanted to put in a different shower and as we had to remove flooring anyway I agreed. I think this was folly...

I cut the shower/tub up with a power hacksaw. I was very careful to avoid waterlines. The waterlines are CPVC and are now very brittle.

After doing a stellar job of avoiding disaster I sat the sawzall down on the edge of the tub to remove the wall around the shower valve. I bumped the reciprocating bastard with my knee and it fell though the floor and hit the main cold water line at the junction to the sink connector. 

Much anger and invective followed.

I really need to finish this floor but I have to crawl under the house to reroute plumbing. I am going to convert to PEX as much as possible. I need to run the PEX up through the wall.  I will also have to change the drains. There is no way to finish this project without cutting the belly wrap and burrowing through fiberglass insulation. 

Eventually I will have to do this job. If only I had a plumber friend who needed pig feed...