Typical life of toilet components

[msweig]

We have been living in our current house for about 10 years (and new construction when we got it).  The other day I noticed one of the toilets has an occasional leak between the tank and the bowl.  Not uncommon, and just by a quick glance it appears that the flush valve should probably be replaced.  And while I've technically never done it before, it appears to be easily within my skills.  Then today a different toilet had a problem with the ballcock (float cup style from Fluidmaster).  Took off the bonnet, cleaned a bit, and now appears to be working fine.  But this made me wonder, what is the typically life for all the components in the tank of a toilet?  I'm trying to figure out if it would make sense to just replace all the components when dealing with the flapper valve since I'm already going to have things taken apart.

If it helps I live in Houston, which has particularly hard water.

And any suggestions on what to get / brands for hardware?

Mark

[Snipe Hunter]

I think it really depends on the manufacturer. Builders buy cheap plumbing fixtures... cheap everything for that matter. I visited my mom last week in her 7 year old house. I replaced a flush lever on 1 toilet which had plastic nut that wouldn't tighten without stripping and a flapper valve and float valve on the other toilet. Toilet 32 gets almost no use.. so I went out and got another flapper and float valve for the other just to get ahead of the game. They were Glacier Bay toilets. I see them in a lot of new homes. Not impressed.

I replaced my toilets in the last house with American Standard (cadet 3) toilets and didn't have an issue with any of them in 14 years.

[DaveParkis]

I just replacedbthe entire guts on an old toilet. I had been using the Fluidmaster kits from HD or Lowes, but decided to go to a plumbing supply house this time. Still getting the Fluidmaster stuff, but its the "Pro" line and its definitely better quality. It was $27 for everything including a new gasket and hardware for the tank to bowl connection.

[Cabinet Monkey]

If it helps I live in Houston, which has particularly hard water.

Initial quality certainly is a factor, but I’ve found water quality is the biggest determinant.  

Your’s will shorten the life of wear parts.

[bmich]

I mean they are plastic parts submerged and then open to the air all while covered in the universal solvent. Chlorine, salts, irons, metals in the water. How long do you expect it to last at $27.00 a kit. The kits from HD, L, M are all made specifically for DIY, just watch a youtube video. If you cannot tackle it, call me.