The oldest toilet outside a museum....

[Dotty]

And they wanted me to find and repair the leak! Not a prayer! It's a museum piece! It's over a hundred years old!

 

[parkesy_plumb]

wow!! still in use? dont touch it imho

 

[Dotty]

I'm not, I've told them it should be retired gracefully.

 

[Ray Stafford]

How could you resist it?

I would want a signed release form against any damage, but given that, I would not be able to resist the job.

Mind you, it looks like tens of hours of work, and parts would have to be hand made. Proper craftsmanship went into that, and it would be an offence to the original, long dead plumber not to give it a go.

 

[parkesy_plumb]

bet that things seen more arse than ron jeremy

 

[Masood]

How could you resist it?

I would want a signed release form against any damage, but given that, I would not be able to resist the job.

Mind you, it looks like tens of hours of work, and parts would have to be hand made. Proper craftsmanship went into that, and it would be an offence to the original, long dead plumber not to give it a go.

Ditto. I'd want to charge a couple of weeks' labour, too. Strip down and full restoration would be an amazing thing to do!

 

[AlexGas]

I just wonder where the plumber who put the WC in is!?

 

[parkesy_plumb]

I just wonder where the plumber who put the WC in is!?

Haunting croppie if he dares to touch it

 

[leethegasman]

It would seem a shame to replace it someone needs to work there magic on that toilet,hopefully the customer has the funds and can be without it for a while.

 

[bassmonster]

Imagine the first person to have a dump in that, they probably had the biggest grin on....

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Put some leak sealer in it :lol:

 

[lame plumber]

And they wanted me to find and repair the leak! Not a prayer! It's a museum piece! It's over a hundred years old!

View attachment 18666View attachment 18667View attachment 18668View attachment 18669View attachment 18670

you can see the leak, bit of gasket paper and you their hero, trouble with John is he installed these as an apprentice

 

[missplumb]

i wonder if thats where the phrase "sitting on the throne" comes from:sorcerer:

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

It is lovely. Thank you for the photos.
I can completely understand why the owners of this loo would like to keep it working.

 

[turnpin]

looks like an early sani-flo model and check out picture4 I spy a wee beastie if you pardon the pun ...lol regards Turnpin

 

[stevetheplumber]

i would love to take that on if they realy want it fixed i would insist on a waiver against it disintergrating
ting and id want an open cheque but i would be suprised if theres anything involved that couldnt be fixed any glands on shafts will be prakable it will be all in brass so can be soldered might have to bodge some gaskets but what a challenge

 

[Dotty]

i would love to take that on if they realy want it fixed i would insist on a waiver against it disintergrating
ting and id want an open cheque but i would be suprised if theres anything involved that couldnt be fixed any glands on shafts will be prakable it will be all in brass so can be soldered might have to bodge some gaskets but what a challenge

You've nailed in there Steve. The pictures don't do it justice but close up you can see ho fragile the thing is. The pump has failed, other parts have frozen solid and so on. It's a pull out and take away job. I actually would like like to get it up and running but the reality is I wouldn't be allowed the time.

 

[Paulus]

Maybe a home project for you croppie. It would be brilliant to see it restored. I almost said working then but had a vision of you sat on it with your teeth clenched.

 

[Phil]

Get back in touch Croppie and do the job before they call a numpty who will replace like for like with a B&Q bog in a box.

 

[WHPES]

It's an old valve closet. These continued to be made up until the 1930s. That would be just my kind of job. Love working on these things. Would really need to be looked at by a restorer (such as myself). It is, as you suspect, worth a lot of money and even in its current condition, would be in the thousands. I have seen one not as good as that sell for £2,000 some years ago. Please tell the owners to be very careful with it as there are not many around today.

 

[kris]

It just goes to show guys how easy our job has become. Back in those days fitting deluxe toilets like that one, also lifting cast iron baths upstairs on there own. Lead wastes and cast iron. Oh how im glad

 

[WHPES]

The only people who would have had one of those toilets would have been wealthy and able to afford the purchase price and hours of work fitting one. Converted into todays money, such a device would have cost over £1,000 and we can guess at the hours. Everyone else had outdoor ash pans, ash closets, tin baths, and later outside washdown closets when they became affordable.

I have a good collection of books on antique plumbing. The most famous is "The Illustrated Plumbing and Sanitation" by Davis and Dye. which is a huge tome about all plumbing at the time.

An interesting book is "Bogs, Baths and Basins, The story of Domsetic Sanitation" by D J Eveleigh, ISBN 0750927933. Copies turn up regularly on ebay and amazon.

 

[WHPES]

i wonder if thats where the phrase "sitting on the throne" comes from:sorcerer:

You are quite correct. These early valve closets were often designed to look like pieces of furniture such as large, ornate wooden chairs. This was much the same as the appearance of their predecessor, the commode.

 

[chris watkins]

We like old & some customers do too. (thankfully) I think my Greek-o-Roman bath may take some beating on the age front.
The WC was new, I was never sure about the peep hole above it, very worrying!!

 

[chris watkins]

We like old & some customers do too. (thankfully) I think my Greek-o-Roman bath may take some beating on the age front.
The WC was new, I was never sure about the peep hole above it, very worrying!! View attachment 18680View attachment 18681View attachment 18682View attachment 18683

The fruit bowl (basin) was a good one as well it was literally a blue & white Delftware bowl with a waste hole cut in the bottom of it, oh what fun it was tightening it up.