Most good plumber near me will recommend replacing a gate valve regardless of its condition. The time to discover if it will work is not during a flood in your bathroom. If you have it replaced with a ball valve then check your water heater and laundry valves, too. Have them replaced at the same time with premium ball valves. Ball valve laundry bibbs make it easy to shut off the water to the washer after each use which may help to prevent floods in the future.
There are two, one on each side of the toilet, closet bolts which hold the toilet to the floor. If there are caps over the bolts, remove or pop them open. Using a small crescent wrench unscrew the nuts from the bolts. Alternate side to side when unscrewing this will be much more important when reinstalling the water line repair bolts but alternate anyhow.
Offers 24-hour service. They are called emergency plumbers for a reason. If your pipe broke in the middle of the night, you can't just turn off your water source until the next morning when a plumber is available. Search the internet for plumbing that offers 24-hour services in your area, or look them up at the directory listing. Surely one or two companies exist in your community.
Service magic only let's licensed and insured tradesmen advertise on the site so that would be a great place to start. I would recommend getting at least three different quotes from different companies. This way you have an exact price of how much your works are going to cost and you will know exactly what you are getting for your money. You will also get the very best price for that work. Most plumbers will often try and sell you work that maybe you don't need as they are trying to make a living.
Here are some general cautions. Do not begin jobs on holidays, weekends, or at times when plumbers raise their rates or are difficult to reach. Do start early leaving plenty of daylight to call a plumber if something goes wrong. Study the situation carefully. Think about what might happen if something suddenly broke and what the effects would be. Old corroded copper tubing might break in the wall when you are wrenching an angle stop that supplies the water line repair to your toilet. A flood in the wall could be costly. If the angle stop, on the other hand, is new and shuts off easily and you have another toilet in the house then it might make sense to repair the toilet yourself. Be honest, too. Are you handy with tools? Did you do well in shop classes in school?
If you do in fact choose to replace it, there is a good chance that you have an Aqua Magic IV which is no longer produced and has been replaced with the new Aqua Magic V. If you are replacing your toilet and have the Thetford Aqua Magic IV, there are other options such as the Thetford Aqua Magic Style Plus or Thetford Bravura Toilet as well as choices from the Sealand line of toilets. You will have to choose whether you want a hand or foot flush, and whether you want to stay with plastic or upgrade to china. You will also have the choice of adding a water saver. Regardless of which choice you make you will most likely be happy with the quality and dependability of any product available.
Water leak detectors can keep your home safe. They can give you the peace of mind knowing that you won't come home to a house full of water. It is a lot less expensive to buy a water detector than it is to pay thousands of dollars in home repair costs.