The running toilet
A toilet that keeps running is almost always the cistern inlet valve or the flush valve — not the pan. The inlet valve (the part that fills the cistern) fails open or fails to shut; the flush valve (the part that holds the water in and releases it) fails to seal. Both are replaceable without changing the whole suite. We carry the common inlet and flush valves, and we will tell you when a $30 valve is the fix and when a tired old cistern is better replaced.
The blocked toilet
A blocked toilet is either a local blockage in the pan or the S-bend, or a sign of a blocked sewer further down the line. We clear the pan with a plunger or a closet auger first; if the blockage is downstream, we jet the sewer and run CCTV to find the cause. A toilet that gurgles when the laundry runs, or that backs up when it rains, is a sewer problem, not a toilet problem — and we treat it as one.
Cracked pan and leaking suite
A cracked pan leaks at the crack, often slowly and invisibly, rotting the floor underneath over months. A weeping seal at the pan collar shows up as a smell or a damp patch at the base. We replace cracked pans, reseal the collar, and check the floor and the joists underneath before we refit — a new toilet on a rotten floor is a job that comes back.
Suite replacement
Replacing a toilet suite is not a swap — the pan collar, the floor flange, the set-out (the distance from the wall to the waste outlet) and the water supply all have to match the new suite. Older Traralgon homes often have a pan with a different set-out to a modern suite, so we check the set-out before you buy the unit. We also reinstate the overflow relief gully and the floor waste as part of a proper suite change.
Dual-flush and water efficiency
An old single-flush toilet uses up to 11 litres a flush; a modern dual-flush uses 4.5/3. On a family home that is a real water saving over a year. We replace old suites with water-efficient dual-flush units, and we set the flush volume correctly. For a rental, a running or single-flush toilet can sit under the urgent-repair provisions of the Victorian RTA where it is wasting water.
Back-to-wall, wall-faced and concealed cisterns
Modern renovations increasingly use back-to-wall and wall-faced suites, and concealed-cistern (in-wall) systems. Concealed cisterns need access for service — a service panel or a flush-plate access — and we install them with that access in mind so the next repair is not a tile-out job. We also service and repair existing concealed cisterns where the flush plate or the valve has failed.
The pan collar, the floor flange and the set-out
The part of a toilet job that determines whether a replacement goes smoothly or turns into a floor-up is the set-out — the distance from the finished wall to the centre of the waste outlet. Older Traralgon homes often have a set-out that does not match a modern suite, so a new toilet bought off the shelf can sit too far from the wall or need an offset collar. We check the set-out before you buy the unit, and we carry the pan collars, offset connectors and floor flanges to suit the older installations. A weeping pan collar is the other common one — the rubber seal at the waste connection perishes over decades, and the first sign is a smell or a damp patch at the base of the toilet long before any visible water. We reseal the collar, check the floor and the joists underneath for rot, and reinstate the floor waste so the next leak comes outside, not through the boards.