My house is 4y/o new construction. I have 3 bathrooms. We have a basement, a first floor, and a second floor. One bathroom is on the first floor, two bathrooms on the second floor.

I've noticed on the first floor, if I use the bathroom on the first floor first thing in the morning, once it flushes and the tank fills, it will not shut off. It has a buoy on an arm lever to cut off water flow, but once it gets to a certain point, it doesn't cut off. If I take the lid and just kind of mess with the buoy and arm, it will eventually shut off.

This only seems to happen in the morning, and I've started to flush one of the upstairs toilets before I head downstairs to "my thrown", and it seems to be working.

Any ideas? Are my pipes possessed???

It’s possible the flapper, that is pulled up when you trip the flush lever is worn out and not sealing properly. Might need to be replaced

Can you adjust the float's arm (bend?) so that the floats pushes up more on the cut off switch when the tank is filled?

Flapper completely seals, and the float is all the way at the end of the arm. But when I jiggle the float, after awhile it shuts off. I honestly don't even move it.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Even when I cut off the water supply, go to work, and come home, I can turn the water supply back on, and it shuts off.

Is there any type of pressure buildup in toilet lines? Sometimes all of our toilets will intermittingly cut on for a few seconds to refill the tank. But the first floor tank will continue to fill until I either correct the float, or shut off the water supply.

I had a Toto bowl that was doing the same thing. It would run from time to time and make strange noises as well. I replaced the cap on top of the float tower. The rubber inside the cap was full of holes.
Korky part # R528

Pd15, that makes sense. I'll check that out.

Is everything pretty much standard size with toilet mechanics and parts?

Just replace the ballcock with a fluidmaster. It’s a $12 part and takes maybe 10 minutes tops to change.

"...Sometimes all of our toilets will intermittingly cut on for a few seconds to refill the tank..."
Just replaced the flapper on our one toilet for the same reason.
Examing the old part (American Standard) the flapper was good but very small particles of black and a black smear showed up on the rag I used to wipe it down at the seal with the drain out of the tank. The chain connecting the pipe has two pieces of plastic pipe over it's length, presumably to keep the chain from tangling. The surface of the old pieces was very crumbley and wiping them with a rag have the same black smear and very small particles. The new ones are hard and shiny. I am guessing these were deteriorating and keeping the flapper from having a good deal. Now time will tell?

Sigcrazy, I was considering something along those lines. The current arm is plastic, so I can't really bend it. The entire unit is plastic, so I'd have to replace the whole thing. Who comes up with this crap???

Again, this is a 4y/o house, and I am not impressed with the lower budget materials they used all around.

time to replace the valve. They go and are cheap and easy to fix. If it won't shut off the valve, if it leaks down and refills the flapper valve. These are all pretty simple devices.

quote:

Is there any type of pressure buildup in toilet lines? Sometimes all of our toilets will intermittingly cut on for a few seconds to refill the tank. But the first floor tank will continue to fill until I either correct the float, or shut off the water supply.

bad valve

contractors buy the cheapest shit they can...

and if you use a tablet you drop in or some kinda in bowl cleaner it will deteriorate the rubber...hence the black smear...

go to lowes and buy a complete replacement kit that will fit your toilet...buy two kits...one of the others is on the way out soon

A man's throne is his ...

An interesting issue. If you run the sink in the same bathroom (cold) for a minute before the first flush, will the ballcock still refuse to close?

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Just replace the ballcock with a fluidmaster. It’s a $12 part and takes maybe 10 minutes tops to change.

This.

Woodman, I’ve tried running faucets, but the problem persisted.

quote:

Originally posted by Jelly:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Just replace the ballcock with a fluidmaster. It’s a $12 part and takes maybe 10 minutes tops to change.

This.

Bingo

Is there a pressure regulator ("PRV") after the meter? Any idea what your water pressure is, measured at a ground-floor hose bib?

I think I corrected the problem. I pulled the fill valve out (Sterling?), and noticed it was a two piece unit. The top of it had a 1/4 turn quick release, that attached the float arm to the fill pipe.

I'm thinking it somehow was not turned all the way, or was accidently turned at one point. We did have some house guests that had an "incident" in our toilet which required plunging. Perhaps they pulled the lid trying to get the water to stop?

I wiped down the gasket, and made sure it snapped into place. If it fails again, I'll just replace it.

Woodman, not sure of the water pressure, but it does have a pressure regulator on it. We had issues with the first pressure regulator after we first bought the house. Sounded like someone banging on the walls with a sledge hammer anytime we flushed a toilet or ran a shower.

Yep, if the flush valve is not seated properly, the tank will continue to fill. You would probably see a ripple in the bowl as water continued to enter it. Food dye also is a traceable indicator.

Sterling is (since 1984) Kohler's builder-grade offering. Decades past I installed lots of their shower/tub kits. A great product if you don't mind the noise.

I had that at my house. It's a gasket that is failing. It's pink/red in color. They seem to get loose over time. They fail over time. My guest bathroom had this issue and I had to replace it several times while the other 2 baths have been only replaced once.

I was just thinking that it has been a few years since I replace the guest bath....guess I just jinxed myself.

Is there a screw on the arm to adjust the pressure on the stem in the middle of the valve?

Most with the plastic arms have a screw to adjust when it shuts off the water