Past Work

How Plumbing Now Solved a High Water Bill for a Gloucester, Ontario Homeowner

Work Completion Date: November 14, 2025
Location: Gloucester, Ontario

Plumbing Now resolved a high water bill mystery for Wayne in the Gloucester neighbourhood of Ottawa by diagnosing and repairing leaks in three separate toilets in their 1970s detached home.

The plumbing repairs included replacing a failed double wax seal, fixing an overfilled tank that was sending water down the overflow tube, and replacing a toilet due to pinhole defects.

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Leaks We Found in Their Home

Our Red Seal Plumber found three leaking toilets in different rooms in their home:

Water Leak 1: Powder Room Toilet Leak

The water level was set too high, causing continuous overflow into the fill tube.

Water Leak 2: Main Bathroom Leak

The flapper wasn’t sealing because a factory shipping elastic band had never been removed during installation. Over time, it had gotten under the flapper and disintegrated into a sticky material.

When our Red Seal Licensed Plumber removed the toilet to replace the wax seal, they found the flange sat half an inch below the tile floor.

A previous installer had stacked two wax seals to compensate, but the double seal had failed and caused the leak into the ceiling below.

Water Leak 3: Master Ensuite Toilet Leak

Only after removing the flush tower and shining a flashlight against the outside while looking inside the overflow tube did our plumber discover pinholes along the manufacturing seam. This defect was invisible with the tower installed in the tank.

This one presented the trickiest diagnosis. Testing two different flappers didn’t stop the leak.

How We Repaired the Water Leaks in All Three Toilets

For the main bathroom, we cleaned the existing ABS flange and installed a half-inch ABS extension flange on top, fastened to the subfloor and sealed with silicone. We added a wax seal where the two flanges meet for complete protection.

The toilet was also reset with a new heavy-duty wax seal, new bolts, and a new toilet supply line. We tested with multiple consecutive flushes and checked all connections for leaks.

The powder room required only a water level adjustment to the appropriate height.

However, the ensuite bathroom needed an entirely new plumbing installation for the toilet: a new fill valve, flush tower, flapper, tank-to-bowl gasket kit, and new toilet supply line. A Korky flapper was selected for the 13.2-litre tank capacity.

After adjusting the water level and testing with more flush cycles, we monitored the tank for 10 minutes to confirm the water level held steady.

Before and After Pictures of the Toilet Repair

Wayne’s Water Bills Are Back to Normal

All three toilets now hold water properly with no leaks detected at any connection. The ceiling leak from the main bathroom was stopped. Further, the improper double wax seal was replaced with a single-seal system on a properly elevated flange.