Coytee Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Finishing upstairs bath. Full bath, new shower, new toilet. The toilet is next to the shower. The plumbing that feeds the shower, Tee's off through the wall to supply the toilet. Toilet got installed (by me) last night. Today, I hooked up the water supply and filled it. Then I noticed.... Long story short, the plumber (we hired the plumbing out to a 'professional', now I'm curious) I digress... Anyways, the two supply pipes coming to the shower, hot on left, cold on right are evidently reversed. I now have a hot feeding my toilet. On the surface, that doesn't bother me much (actually not at all) Then I noticed it was coming in warm enough that the tank and bowl were actually warm to the touch so it's dumping hot water in there. Any issues with that? Will the Delta shower control freak out with the hot feeding the cold input? Fortunately, the shower is still in open walls so I have the time and opportunity to do some surgery in there and re-route the pipes to the opposite side. Just kind of bites you in the hiney that it's hired out and they get it backwards. I've done it myself on the basement setup (also feeding toilet hot water) so it doesn't bother me that much....but for I already know that the wife is freaked out by a warm toilet. Add another project to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 If it's an easy fix to switch them I think I would. Using more hot water (for the toilet) will cost more, and it might create some condensation on and around the toilet bowl. I recently replaced a bathroom vanity faucet. Even though the hot and cold handles were identical, one was labeled hot. There might be an issue with a rubber seal or something. Is your home on a crawl space? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The danger with the toilet bowl filling with hot water is that you may suffer scalding yourself. You are welcome. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The danger with the toilet bowl filling with hot water is that you may suffer scalding yourself. You are welcome. Keith Haha…. The water is warm…….and deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wax seal between the toilet and the floor? If so, you should fix the supply to cold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Ah if you paid a plumber to do it shouldn't he(she) fix it? I know it might be hard to get them to admit they made a mistake......when I built my home the plumber made a couple mistakes which i insisted he fix. His office manager(wife) tried to charge me a second time for the fixes. I said "why didn't you do everything incorrectly then I could have paid you double". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted December 4, 2015 Moderators Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wax seal between the toilet and the floor? If so, you should fix the supply to cold. Holy cow, would never have thought of that. Never seen a seal other than wax. Is there such a thing? If so, are they better than wax in any way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I hope you don't have one of these. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The shower faucet should be reversible.......... as in adjustable w/o tearing up the wall. Far too often hot and cold get reversed on these fixtures so they make them so they can be easily reversed. But........ as noted.......... if the toilet uses a wax seal the hot water could impact its effectiveness AKA leakage/seepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wax seal between the toilet and the floor? If so, you should fix the supply to cold. Holy cow, would never have thought of that. Never seen a seal other than wax. Is there such a thing? If so, are they better than wax in any way? You can buy replacement seals that are all rubber for as they say 'a few dollars more'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Well...never thought about the wax ring. It's one of these new ones. Not just a wax "ring". It has a plastic collar around it and a second (removable piece that we needed to keep) part that is used when your flange is below the tile. I forget the name. The plumber did this maybe 2-years ago, while I was in Florida. I've been back now for 2-years. It's only been the last six months or so that I've had the ability to do some things around the house (some health hiccups). So this bathroom became a delayed project. I've got the ability to reroute the copper pipes. Probably have the parts I would need already on hand. (always keep a couple parts on hand in case something happens and I don't want to drive 15 miles into town) Wax ring.... never thought of that. stupid wax ring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 I'm not on a crawl space. Aside from that, this is up 2-flights of stairs. About killed me carrying the durrock and then tile up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 It won't matter for the shower. I would fix the toilet to have cold water though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Years ago, a plumber on one of my projects did the same thing. The fixtures were from France, and the shower valve was labeled "chaud" and "froid," or something like that. When I confronted Mickey, he admitted only to not speaking French... Some shower valve cartridges are inherently backwards, but you shouldn't have hot water supplying the toilet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) My guess is that the shower valve has a thermostat inside to maintain the temperature of the output water by mixing hot and cold. I believe some building codes require this on new installations or replacement installations to prevent scalding. If the input water connections are reversed it might not function properly. And scalding is a possibility you want to avoid. Further, the reversal could cause problems when you or your successors want to sell the house. I say, fix this now. WMcD Edited December 5, 2015 by William F. Gil McDermott 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I learn something new everyday. I have not heard of that. All my experience is old school where the valves mix hot and cold depending on how they are opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Any issues with that? Some of the parts in the tank will wear out faster. Perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 5, 2015 Moderators Share Posted December 5, 2015 Only you Coytee I would say fix it also But one thing to think about if the toilet is a good ways away from the hot water heater it would mostly see cool water only, unless you flush it a couple of times quickly. Like when you stand at a faucet a long way from the water heater and it takes awhile to fill the lines with hot water the whole way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) This is definitely a "code" and safety issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermostatic_mixing_valve You might tell the plumber that. If he / she has made an installation which does not meet local codes, he should fix it for free. WMcD Edited December 5, 2015 by William F. Gil McDermott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I would turn that puppy 0ff and NOT use it untill corrected. Case being, you are dealing with ceramics, if they are cold, and hot water comes into them, you have a pretty good idea what can happen. Crack and expolde flooding everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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