Toilet Repair & Replacement

It's 3 AM and Your Toilet Won't Stop Running

You know that sound — the constant hiss of water flowing, the periodic phantom flush that jolts you awake at night. Maybe you've been doing the "jiggle the handle" trick for months. It works for a minute, then starts again. Meanwhile, your water bill has quietly climbed $50, $60, $70 a month higher than it should be. A running toilet wastes over 200 gallons of water every single day. That's more than most families use for showers, dishes, and laundry combined.

Or maybe it's not the sound that bothers you — it's the puddle. Water pooling at the base of your toilet every time you flush. That's a failed wax ring, and every day you ignore it, water is seeping into your subfloor. By the time you see staining on the ceiling below, you're looking at thousands in structural repair. The $150-$200 wax ring replacement today prevents the $3,000-$5,000 subfloor rebuild tomorrow.

"Our toilet was running constantly — I'd been jiggling the handle for six months. Turns out it was costing us $60/month in wasted water. GB replaced the flapper and fill valve for $150 total. Paid for itself in less than three months."

— Burlingame homeowner, running toilet repair ★★★★★

When Your Toilet Needs More Than a Jiggle

Most toilet problems fall into a few common categories, and each tells you something specific about what's failing inside:

Running toilet (won't stop or cycles on/off): The flapper — that rubber seal at the bottom of the tank — deteriorates over time. Minerals in Bay Area water accelerate this. When it doesn't seal, water leaks from tank to bowl continuously, and the fill valve keeps refilling. This wastes 200-700 gallons per day depending on severity.

Phantom flushing (toilet flushes by itself): Same cause — a deteriorating flapper letting water slowly leak into the bowl until the fill valve triggers a refill cycle. You hear it "flush" every 15-30 minutes even when nobody uses it.

Leaking at the base: The wax ring between the toilet and the floor flange has failed. Every flush sends a small amount of water under the toilet and into your subfloor. This is invisible damage — by the time the floor feels soft or spongy, the plywood underneath is rotting.

Weak or incomplete flush: Older toilets from the 1980s-1990s used 3.5 to 5 gallons per flush. Early "low-flow" models from the 1990s used 1.6 GPF but had terrible flush performance. Modern 1.28 GPF toilets from TOTO, Kohler, and American Standard actually flush better than those old water-guzzlers thanks to improved bowl geometry and glazing.

Constant clogging: If your toilet clogs weekly, it's likely a first-generation low-flow model from the early 1990s. These toilets were the industry's first attempt at water conservation — and they never worked well. Replacement with a modern high-efficiency toilet eliminates the problem entirely.

Rocking or unstable toilet: This means the flange (the fitting that connects the toilet to the drain pipe in the floor) is broken, corroded, or the bolts have pulled loose. A rocking toilet will eventually break the wax seal and start leaking at the base — it's a repair-now-or-pay-more-later situation.

"Our downstairs toilet had been leaking at the base for a few weeks — I kept mopping it up and putting it off. When GB came out, they found the wax ring was completely gone and moisture was starting to damage the subfloor. They replaced the wax ring and repaired the flange before any real rot set in. Saved us from a much bigger problem."

— San Mateo homeowner, wax ring & flange repair ★★★★★

Repair vs. Replace: When It Makes Sense to Upgrade

We always try to repair first — most toilet fixes cost under $200 and take less than an hour. But replacement makes financial sense when:

• Your toilet is 15+ years old and needs its second or third repair
• It uses 3.5+ gallons per flush (check the stamp inside the tank lid)
• The repair cost approaches 50% of a new toilet installed
• You're dealing with constant clogs from a 1990s low-flow model

The math on replacement is compelling: swapping a 3.5 GPF toilet for a modern 1.28 GPF model saves over 16,000 gallons of water per year — that's $30-$50 per month off your water bill. A $500-$700 toilet replacement often pays for itself in under two years, and you get a toilet that actually flushes properly.

We install and recommend TOTO (Drake, Ultramax), Kohler (Wellworth, Cimarron), and American Standard (Champion, VorMax) — all proven performers with excellent flush ratings and long-term reliability.

Our Toilet Services

How We Fix Your Toilet

"We replaced 3 old toilets (all from the '80s, using 3.5 gallons per flush) with TOTO Drakes. The installation was clean and fast — done in half a day. Our water bill dropped about $40 a month. Should have done it years ago."

— Hillsborough family, 3-toilet replacement ★★★★★

Why Fix Your Toilet Now