Toilet Installation in Seattle, WA
New Toilets, Resets and Flange Checks
Lighthouse Plumbing installs, replaces and resets toilets across Seattle from our shop in Fall City. Every job gets a new wax ring, closet bolts and supply line, a look at the flange and the shutoff while the toilet is up, and a leak test before we leave. Resets after flooring or water-damage work are a large share of our Seattle toilet calls.
Recent Toilet Work in Seattle
In late September, Alex installed a toilet in a University Park house in the Ravenna area where repairs had stripped the bathroom alcove to the flange and a patch of fresh drywall. He set the new toilet on a new wax ring and closet bolts, connected a new supply line to the existing shutoff, tested it and was done in about 35 minutes.
In early October, Caleb pulled and reset a toilet in a West Seattle house. He shut off the supply, lifted the toilet, inspected the flange and the surrounding floor, set it back on a new wax ring, reconnected the supply, leveled and secured it, and ran it to check for leaks. The job also gave the homeowner a look at the rest of the house's plumbing, from the water heater to the basement drains.
Two more Seattle jobs this fall came the same way, through a restoration contractor finishing water-damage repairs. In Greenwood, Alex reset a toilet, hooked up a new vanity and connected a washer in about 75 minutes. In Lake City's Cedar Park neighborhood, he reset a toilet on a new wax ring, closet bolts and china caps, caulked the base, and installed the homeowner's bathroom faucet and pop-up with a new P-trap.
What We Install in Seattle
New toilets we supply
Toto Drakes and American Standard Cadet Pros, elongated or round-front, standard or comfort height, with a soft-close seat and a new wax ring, bolts and supply line. The old toilet leaves with us.
Toilets already on site
We set toilets homeowners and contractors have bought, as Alex did in University Park. Tell us the model when you book, so we bring the right supply line and know the rough-in it needs.
Resets after other work
When flooring, a vanity or water-damage repairs have been done, the toilet needs to go back on a fresh wax ring and bolts. Three of our four Seattle toilet jobs this fall were resets of that kind.
Seattle-Specific Toilet Considerations
Permits come from Public Health, not the city
In Seattle, plumbing permits are issued by Public Health Seattle & King County rather than the city's building department, and its rule is that installing, relocating or changing plumbing needs a permit. None of the four Seattle toilet jobs above involved one, because each toilet went back onto its existing flange and piping. If a flange has to be rebuilt or a drain moved, a permit is part of the job.
What's under a Seattle toilet
Many Seattle houses are 50 to 100 years old, and the flange is where that age shows. The West Seattle flange above had corroded bolt slots under its old wax ring. We look at the flange on every pull, because a new toilet on a bad flange leaks at the same spot the old one did, and a rusted ring can be repaired or replaced while the toilet is up.
Soft water, old parts
Seattle Public Utilities draws from the Cedar and Tolt rivers, and the water is soft. Mineral scale is rarely why a Seattle toilet runs or fills slowly; a tired flapper or fill valve usually is, and those are repairs, not replacements.
When the toilet isn't the problem
A toilet that backs up or gurgles can be the side sewer, and in Seattle some side sewers are shared with a neighbor. Our Seattle sewer line page covers how that works and what SPU requires.
Our Process
1. Look first
Toilet, flange, shutoff and rough-in checked, price given before work starts.
2. Out with the old
Supply off, old toilet or old wax ring removed, flange inspected.
3. Set and seal
New wax ring, new bolts, new supply line, toilet set level and secured.
4. Test
Flushed and checked at the base, the tank and the supply before we leave.
Frequently Asked Questions: Toilets in Seattle
Do I need a permit to replace a toilet in Seattle?
Plumbing permits in Seattle come from Public Health Seattle & King County, and they apply to installing, relocating or changing plumbing. A toilet set back on its existing flange and piping, which is how all four of our Seattle toilet jobs this fall went, involved no permit. Rebuilding the flange piping or moving the drain does.
How much does toilet installation cost in Seattle?
On our 2026 Seattle invoices, resetting a toilet or installing one that was already on site ran about $650 to $750 with tax. A reset bundled with a vanity or washer hookup on the same visit ran about $1,500 to $1,600. A new Toto Drake or Cadet Pro that we supply runs about $950 to $1,350 across our service area.
What moves it: a flange repair, a shutoff that will not close, extra fixtures on the same trip, and parking and access on a Seattle street.
Can you reset a toilet after flooring or water-damage repairs?
Yes, and it is a large part of our Seattle toilet work. New flooring or a repaired subfloor changes the height the toilet sits at, so it goes back on a new wax ring and new closet bolts, gets leveled and tested. The new vanity and the washer can be connected on the same visit.
That is how the Greenwood and Cedar Park jobs went this fall.
What happens if the flange is rusted when you pull the toilet?
We show it to you before anything goes back. A flange with a sound rim and corroded bolt slots, like the West Seattle one, can take a repair ring; one that is cracked or broken away from the pipe is replaced. Either way the work happens while the toilet is up.
Serving Seattle from Fall City
Seattle is about 30 miles west of our shop in Fall City, the better part of an hour in traffic, so a toilet call in West Seattle, Greenwood, Lake City or the University District is a scheduled trip rather than a 15-minute hop, and we bundle the rest of the house's plumbing into the same visit whenever we can. Our Seattle work also includes a Ballard kitchen and side sewer repairs.
More about our Seattle service area · Back to toilet installation
Why Seattle Homeowners Call Us About Toilets
We check the flange every time
The seal is only as good as the ring it sits on, and older Seattle floors have seen a lot.
We finish the bathroom in one trip
Toilet, vanity, faucet and washer connections on one visit after a repair.
We tell you when it's the sewer
A backup gets the line checked before anyone sells you a toilet.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Lighthouse Plumbing is a fully licensed, bonded and insured Washington plumbing contractor. Our license number is LIGHTP\*762K2, and you're welcome to verify it with Washington State L&I before we start. More detail is on our licensing and insurance page.
Get a Toilet Set Right
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