# The Heavy Duty Hardware and Construction thread...



## stan_der_man (Jul 28, 2009)

This is a subject SocialBFly and I discussed a while back which I thought would be a good topic of discussion for all large sized folks and the people who admire them...

How to reinforce and fabricate household items, furniture, beds, or anything else that needed to support the weight of a heavy person, or be enlarged to comfortably fit a large sized person. This is the thread to ask questions or give tips on things that you have modified, reinforced or built from scratch!





I'll start with this tip...

Nylon insert stop nuts!







One of the greatest problems heavy people have with items designed to support weight isn't so much the strength of the item or it's ability (or inability) to hold their weight, it's that the nuts and bolts rattle loose from the item (chairs, car seats, whatever...) These nuts are designed not to rattle loose over time and can be purchased at any typical hardware store.


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## Ho Ho Tai (Jul 28, 2009)

It's perhaps an overkill for us, with a combined weight of about 450 lb., but it is sturdy enough to use as a grease rack for your pickup. Best part: made right here in Minnesota.

The company, Room & Board, has many such, of different styles



Room & Board platform bed


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## Risible (Jul 28, 2009)

Stan, you've seen my rolling kitchen stool. I have two of them, actually; they're pretty nifty. We started with regular dining stools and Chuck added heavy duty casters onto each of the legs. That worked okay for a few weeks, then the JB weld on the casters failed and the wheels started to fall off. Put some more JB into each of the legs, put them back into service and first one, and then the other stool crumpled while I was sitting on them - Epic Fail.

Chuck brought them in to a weld shop; the guy there fabricated like this steel plate to reinforce the legs, then welded the casters on.

I love my stools now. They're very sturdy.  

View attachment resize466.jpg


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## Carl1h (Jul 29, 2009)

That's excellent. I have been thinking about something like that for a while now.



Risible said:


> Stan, you've seen my rolling kitchen stool. I have two of them, actually; they're pretty nifty. We started with regular dining stools and Chuck added heavy duty casters onto each of the legs. That worked okay for a few weeks, then the JB weld on the casters failed and the wheels started to fall off. Put some more JB into each of the legs, put them back into service and first one, and then the other stool crumpled while I was sitting on them - Epic Fail.
> 
> Chuck brought them in to a weld shop; the guy there fabricated like this steel plate to reinforce the legs, then welded the casters on.
> 
> I love my stools now. They're very sturdy.


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## stan_der_man (Jul 29, 2009)

Ho Ho Tai said:


> ...
> 
> 
> Room & Board platform bed



Very nice bed Ho Ho Tai! That is the beauty of many of these sort of designs. Simple, welded steel, square tubing is incredibly strong.



Risible said:


> Stan, you've seen my rolling kitchen stool. I have two of them, actually; they're pretty nifty.
> ...
> I love my stools now. They're very sturdy.



They are great stools Risible, I have to admit, I tried one of them out when you guys weren't looking... they glide very nicely across the kitchen floor! I'll take some pictures tomorrow or within the next day or so...



Carl1h said:


> That's excellent. I have been thinking about something like that for a while now.



I actually use something like Risible's stools in my garage and scoot around on it when I work. No matter what weight a person is, having to repeatedly stand up and sit down when doing a chore can be rough on the knees. And again, like Risible's stools the design is simple and sturdy (but my utility stool isn't nearly as cool looking as Ris' stools, but it was very inexpensive to build...)

Beside the stool, I will also post some pics of the handle I reinforced on our camping trailer. Instead of simply bolting the handle into the wood backed paneling of the trailer with a wood screw, I drilled a bolt completely through the wall and reinforced it with a medium gauge aluminum plate, which wasn't that expensive. I also used the stop nuts mentioned above to hold the handle in place. I can't emphasize enough that using proper washers or nuts can really make a difference in holding things together.


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## Risible (Jul 29, 2009)

Carl1h said:


> That's excellent. I have been thinking about something like that for a while now.



Carl, if you need more details, drop me a PM and I'll get the hubby to followup with you.



fa_man_stan said:


> ...
> They are great stools Risible, I have to admit, I tried one of them out when you guys weren't looking... they glide very nicely across the kitchen floor! I'll take some pictures tomorrow or within the next day or so...



Ah ha! Saw you!


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## musicman (Jul 29, 2009)

Great idea for a thread, Stan!

Modern toilet seats are not designed with adequate support, i.e. not enough little bumpers underneath. This is what usually causes them to break and/or loosen up. But you can buy extra bumpers at almost any hardware store and put them on. They will make the seat last for years, rather than months.

I have found two types of bumpers. One type is made of rubber or soft plastic with nails embedded in it. It is designed for use on a wooden seat. See picture below. To install, you should take the seat off, mark where you want to put the bumpers, drill tiny pilot holes (smaller than the nails; about 1/16 inch diameter) for each nail, and then hammer the bumpers in place. If you don't drill the holes, I have found that you will not be able to hammer the bumpers all the way down to the wood, because the softness of the rubber will "push back".

View attachment 196915_front500.jpg


The other type is made of a harder plastic with screw holes molded into it. See picture below. Installation is similar, except you drill holes and use screws. If you have a plastic seat, you will need this type, but it will probably also work on wooden seats. (I've never installed this type.)

View attachment 195354_front500.jpg


Most hardware stores should sell toilet bumpers. I have bought them at Home Depot in the past (but I can't find them on their website right now). I usually put 4 to 6 extra bumpers on each seat. If you can handle a hammer and a drill (or know someone who can), this is an easy job and it will greatly extend the life of your toilet seat.


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## stan_der_man (Jul 31, 2009)

musicman said:


> Great idea for a thread, Stan!
> 
> Modern toilet seats are not designed with adequate support, i.e. not enough little bumpers underneath. This is what usually causes them to break and/or loosen up. But you can buy extra bumpers at almost any hardware store and put them on. They will make the seat last for years, rather than months.
> ....



Great find Musicman! I know with my wife, we've had trouble with toilet seats cracking and breaking between the bumpers of the seat. Having more of these under the seat would distribute the weight better. The seats we've had usually cracked between the bumpers (typical seats only have 4 to 6 bumpers at most...) And again, I highly recommend tossing the bolts that come with the seats (especially plastic ones...) and replace them with snugger fitting bolts, plastic or rubber washers and nylon ring stop nuts. I also recommend the real wooden seats as opposed to the white fiber board toilet seats.

I'll post more specifics and photos about that, but first I wanted to post something a bit more off the wall to show that building things sturdy can apply to all sorts of things, not only the necessities...

Here are some pics of a swing I built for Mtmaiden a while back. It is all bolt-together construction so anybody could make something like this with typical household tools (a hack saw, hand file and hand drill with typical metal drill bits... aluminum is fairly soft...) I would estimate this swing could hold around 400 - 450 lbs. The swing seat is 32" wide, with 28" usable seating width. (81.3cm wide - 71.1cm usable) It could fairly easily be modified to hold more weight but that would require welding. This swing cost around $50 - $60 to make (depending on the price of aluminum of course...) The important thing about building such a swing is having sturdy brackets that bolt through wooden supports (and sturdy wooden supports of course...)


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## rainyday (Aug 1, 2009)

Quite a while back I posted this explanation of how to make your own office chair. Works great.

I've since killed one of the casters, but I went to a caster shop and explained the problem and bought some even heavier duty ones the store guy said should help. I just need to get a tap bit to drill out the stump of the broken caster so I can put them on. Zero problems with the sturdiness of the seat structure though.


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## stan_der_man (Aug 2, 2009)

rainyday said:


> Quite a while back I posted this explanation of how to make your own office chair. Works great.
> 
> I've since killed one of the casters, but I went to a caster shop and explained the problem and bought some even heavier duty ones the store guy said should help. I just need to get a tap bit to drill out the stump of the broken caster so I can put them on. Zero problems with the sturdiness of the seat structure though.



That link to CoolCasters is great Rainy!

http://www.coolcasters.com/

I've noticed that the plastic casters on office chairs where the wheels are split into two parts usually aren't that sturdy. There were some very nice casters on that website. The metal casters with polyurethane wheels on them should be very sturdy, we use those types of casters on some of our utility carts. The only thing is that if you are using a chair (or rolling anything) on a carpet, narrower wheels will tend to dig in more and not roll as well as wider wheels.

This isn't the prettiest chair in the world but it's sturdy, was easy to build and is a basic design that is very stable and has a place for strong casters to be bolted to the bottom. It's sort of the same idea as you posted Rainy... a utility chair with a box frame underneath. I pieced this together from an old fiberglass seat (which could be substituted with a wider padded bench and additional supports...) Excluding the seat, this only cost about $40 (including casters) to make.


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## rainyday (Aug 2, 2009)

When I first looked at that chair I thought you'd welded it onto an old BBQ grate lol.


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## stan_der_man (Aug 2, 2009)

I'll 'fess... It's actually welded to a drainage grate... much stronger than that of a BBQ...


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## olwen (Aug 2, 2009)

Stan this is an awesome idea for a thread!

I bought a queen sized pine (with a veneer) platform bed from gothic cabinet craft a few years ago and asked if it could be reinforced. Well they put extra boards in the hollow base. So like if I unscrewed the top portion I could use the base as a bookcase if I wanted to, and I have to say, I've had sleep overs with my other fat friends over the years and with a combined weight of at least 600 - 800lbs this bed has never broken down or warped, cracked or anything. The reinforcement cost about an extra $65.


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## stan_der_man (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks Olwen and very nice bed! The emphasis of this thread as you also noted Olwen, is that many times these modifications to existing products really aren't that expensive and can be very simple. Beds or couches can be reinforced or propped up with wood beams (2x4s or 4x4s) or cinder blocks at a very low cost amongst many things.

I'll get pics of the handle reinforcements posted soon and I also plan on posting some pics on the modifications I did to our toilet seat.


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## biodieselman (Aug 3, 2009)

Risible said:


> Stan, you've seen my rolling kitchen stool. I have two of them, actually; they're pretty nifty. We started with regular dining stools and Chuck added heavy duty casters onto each of the legs. That worked okay for a few weeks, then the JB weld on the casters failed and the wheels started to fall off. Put some more JB into each of the legs, put them back into service and first one, and then the other stool crumpled while I was sitting on them - Epic Fail. ...



Ris wanted me to 'redneck engineer' a kitchen stool she bought online because they were 'retro' looking. The first attempt was done on the cheap & wasn't well thought through.



What do you expect for 'redneck engineering' on the cheap?

Ris liked the look of the stools but they weren't designed to have wheels, & they were too tall to sit comfortably on for any length of time. I cut the thin wall tubing legs down to the height she wanted. I bought four of these heavyduty casters rated at 280 lbs per wheel from Grainger. The four 1/2" all thread couplers we (at work) use to hang heavy piping were cemented into the thin wall steel tubing of the stool & the 1/2" stem of the caster screwed into the coupler.

What I didn't anticipate was Ris tipping the stool because the center of gravity was too narrow. The weight of a person applied at the end of a 16" long lever puts tremendous strain on the thin steel tubing. After a few weeks, the walls of the tubing became deformed, wallowing them out to a greater inside diameter. When the stool tipped up on two wheels, the caster, coupler & JB Weld simply slipped out of the legs, causing Ris to fall.



Thank God she wasn't seriously hurt.








There were several problems with the stools. The most critical problem was the narrow center of gravity. The straight stool legs & light construction weren't designed for scooting around. We didn't want to spend a lot of money on a stool, but I knew the only way to make it strong & stable was to take it to a weld shop. I found a local one-man shop willing to do small jobs as I wanted to do one stool at a time so that Ris wasn't without a stool. The guy taught welding at Mt. Sac community college. 

I told him that Ris is a very heavy woman, had a damaged ankle from a car accident & couldn't stand for very long. I told him I wanted the wheels bolted to a steel frame wider than the legs & gussets to strengthen the legs. It wasn't until I returned to pick up the first stool that I realized I had made another design error, one I should have known from brewing biodiesel. I had bought a cheap four-wheel 55-gal drum dolly to wheel around heavy barrels of oil & fuel. My driveway is sloped & once when rolling a full 55-gal down the slope to fuel my truck, two wheels got stuck on an expansion joint & the barrel almost tipped over.



I bought a five caster drum dolly for safety.

If you think about it, have you ever seen a modern computer chair with 4 wheels? All modern chairs have five wheels because the extra wheel makes the chair far more stable. As you can see in the photo, the second chair has five wheels rated at 280 lbs/wheel, the center of gravity has been widened for increased stability, the thin wall tubing has been gusseted & the 1/2" wheel stem has a nylon locking nut to prevent loosening. Try & bust this stool, Ris! 






When I asked him how much I owed him, he said all repairs for the handicapped were free. We argued politely for a few minutes but he wouldn't budge. Hearing the Christian radio station in his shop, I gave his young daughter a $100 bill & told her to put it in the offering plate. There are still good people in the 'big city'.


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## stan_der_man (Aug 5, 2009)

Great stools Bio! Also, it's nice to know there are still kind people in this world... and an instructor from Mt. Sac even! I almost took a welding class there, unfortunately it didn't fit in my schedule. Granger is the ultimate hardware store, my place of work gets parts from there.

Here are photos of the back plates I used to mount the handle on our camping trailer. As with the stools Bio posted, anything you build is only as strong as it's weakest link. In the case of Ris and Bio's rolling stools, the thin tube steel the stools themselves were made out of is what is going to be your limitation. With the handle I mounted to our trailer, the thinness of the trailer walls and the aluminum handle were the weak links. But in the case of dealing with a flat surface, spreading out the weight that is pulling on the wall gives you greater overall strength. Also, having bolts go all the way through the wall with a backing is exponentially stronger than using wood screws of any type, even if I were lucky enough to hit a stud (which aren't that sturdy in a trailer anyway...)































Notice in all the projects mentioned so far that stop nuts were used. Not only will they hold things tight, they are very useful in this case because of the softness of a hollow wall. You can't tighten the nuts all the way, they can only be tightened enough to create tension, not torqued down enough to keep them from rattling loose.


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## SocialbFly (Aug 5, 2009)

Thanks for starting this thread Stan, i had forgotten we talked about it...a couple of things...i love to swing, i am so jealous of MtnMaiden...and when Ris isnt looking....um, one of those stools is going MIA...teasing Ris, just teasing...awesome ideas everyone...


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## stan_der_man (Aug 20, 2009)

SocialbFly said:


> ...and when Ris isnt looking....um, one of those stools is going MIA...teasing Ris, just teasing...awesome ideas everyone...



So if that rolling stool goes missing they won't blame me for taking it for a joy ride now... 

Here is the long awaited dissertation (with photos of course...) on how to bolt down a toilet seat! 


This first image is a picture of the bolts holding down out toilet seat. As I mentioned before, bolts don't necessarily have to be brutally tight, or strong for that matter. What is important is the bolt fits snug in the porcelain (i.e. the bolt should be the biggest that will fit through the hole in the toilet...) and the head of the bolt should seat as exactly in the fitting on the toilet seat as possible. What often ends up causing the seats to break isn't necessarily sheer weight, it's from a heavy person causing the seat to slide around when they sit down and get up (which in and of itself is very annoying...)







As you can see, the head of the bold caps the toilet seat fitting almost entirely and the inset of the toilet seat fitting is beveled at such an angle that the bolt properly seats into the fitting. Also notice that the hinge and toilet seat fittings are made out of metal (brass in this case...) Don't get a toilet seat with a hinge made out of plastic. You get what you pay for...







What is important with bolting a toilet seat to porcelain is not to over tighten the bolt because of the possibility of cracking the porcelain, but you want the bolt just snug enough so that the seat fitting can't move. This is where a nylon (or plastic... but nylon is less likely to crack with age...) washer is needed because it is soft enough to absorb some pressure from a tightened nut, but won't squish (or deteriorate over time...) like a rubber washer. A slightly beveled plastic washer (with the beveled part fitting into the porcelain hole...) helps but isn't necessary. The nylon ringed stop nuts will hold in place and not rattle loose over time.







As Musicman mentioned above... you want to have as many bumpers under that toilet seat as possible (certainly more than the typical 4 they usually come with...) Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the underside of the toilet seat, but ours has six bumpers to support the middle part of the toilet seat from bearing too much weight. The other thing I'd like to point out is that we used a real wood toilet seat. The paste board (fiber board) toilet seats (typically painted white) don't support weight as well as real wood. The fiber of wood is much stronger than fiber board or paste board. I suppose it can be said there are more ways than one that fiber is good for a person's tush...


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## SparklingBBW (Aug 20, 2009)

Here's a question that feels a bit embarrassing, but if we can talk about how to bolt the seat of the "throne" down better and prevent breaking the seat, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to reinforce the base of the throne. I've had problems where there is some leakage of water from the bowl getting into the surrounding floor (read under the linoleum) and causing squishiness. I'm half embarrassed to call a plumber and have to tell them my weight is causing this problem, so I'd like to have a solution in mind to fix the problem before I make that phone call. Thanks so much in advance for your genius ideas and help for this SS problem! 

Gee


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## stan_der_man (Aug 20, 2009)

SparklingBBW said:


> Here's a question that feels a bit embarrassing, but if we can talk about how to bolt the seat of the "throne" down better and prevent breaking the seat, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to reinforce the base of the throne. I've had problems where there is some leakage of water from the bowl getting into the surrounding floor (read under the linoleum) and causing squishiness. I'm half embarrassed to call a plumber and have to tell them my weight is causing this problem, so I'd like to have a solution in mind to fix the problem before I make that phone call. Thanks so much in advance for your genius ideas and help for this SS problem!
> 
> Gee



Just curious... Is your toilet on a wooden floor (an upstairs bathroom, or if your house has a build-up or hollow foundation) or is your house built on a concrete foundation?


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## rainyday (Aug 20, 2009)

SparklingBBW said:


> ...I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to reinforce the base of the throne. I've had problems where there is some leakage of water from the bowl getting into the surrounding floor (read under the linoleum) and causing squishiness.



If you have water leakage you may need a more extensive fix, but the plastic toilet shims they sell for leveling toilets might help temporarily. Here are a couple links for them:

Amazon

Ace


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## SparklingBBW (Aug 20, 2009)

I know there's a crawlspace under the house, a ranch style duplex that I rent btw, which I'm pretty sure goes under the bathroom as well, considering where the ac unit sits outside and knowing that workmen went into the crawlspace to install that. Does that help? 

.


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## jewels_mystery (Aug 20, 2009)

Risible said:


> Stan, you've seen my rolling kitchen stool. I have two of them, actually; they're pretty nifty. We started with regular dining stools and Chuck added heavy duty casters onto each of the legs. That worked okay for a few weeks, then the JB weld on the casters failed and the wheels started to fall off. Put some more JB into each of the legs, put them back into service and first one, and then the other stool crumpled while I was sitting on them - Epic Fail.
> 
> Chuck brought them in to a weld shop; the guy there fabricated like this steel plate to reinforce the legs, then welded the casters on.
> 
> I love my stools now. They're very sturdy.



I am so jealous!!!! I love your stool.


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## jewels_mystery (Aug 20, 2009)

olwen said:


> Stan this is an awesome idea for a thread!
> 
> I bought a queen sized pine (with a veneer) platform bed from gothic cabinet craft a few years ago and asked if it could be reinforced. Well they put extra boards in the hollow base. So like if I unscrewed the top portion I could use the base as a bookcase if I wanted to, and I have to say, I've had sleep overs with my other fat friends over the years and with a combined weight of at least 600 - 800lbs this bed has never broken down or warped, cracked or anything. The reinforcement cost about an extra $65.



I love this store and spent many a day in the one located in the village. It seems they have gone way down on their prices.


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## stan_der_man (Aug 20, 2009)

rainyday said:


> If you have water leakage you may need a more extensive fix, but the plastic toilet shims they sell for leveling toilets might help temporarily. Here are a couple links for them:
> 
> Amazon
> 
> Ace



Very cool Rainy! We could actually use some of these on our downs stairs toilet. Not weight related, the toilet doesn't sit flat on the ground ever since we had tiles installed...



SparklingBBW said:


> I know there's a crawlspace under the house, a ranch style duplex that I rent btw, which I'm pretty sure goes under the bathroom as well, considering where the ac unit sits outside and knowing that workmen went into the crawlspace to install that. Does that help?
> 
> .



I would presume that since you have a crawl space your toilet is sitting on wooden floor planks...

Considering that I'm not actually looking at your toilet I'll have to list the things that could possibly be malfunctioning. If your toilet is leaking between the floor and toilet base the cause is one of a few things. Either the seal between the toilet and drain pipe has deteriorated, the pipe has deteriorated or the toilet itself is leaking somewhere underneath. I'm also assuming that your toilet also wobbles a bit? The one thing you are lucky in having a crawlspace under your house is that a plumber can go under the house and see if the pipe has deteriorated. Also if the floor boards of your house have deteriorated causing the toilet to wobble (not be properly bolted down...) a plumber can go under your house and reinforce the toilet bolts from underneath. If this is a reoccurring problem (after a seal is replaced for example) then it might be that the floor boards are flexing under your weight and the toilet will continue to bust seals or wobble lose. In this case your toilet will need to be removed and the floor will need to be reinforced with some sort of strong plywood or aluminum plates. It is important, not only that the seal is seated properly between the toilet and sewer pipe but that the toilet doesn't wobble lose again. Of course if the problem is your toilet, the toilet will need to be replaced. If you have the money, in theory you could replace your toilet with a commercial grade toilet. But you will have to find a trusting plumber because technically a commercial grade toilet isn't permitted to be installed in a house, but under the circumstances if a household toilet isn't sturdy enough I'm sure it will be done. My wife's uncle has a commercial grade "turbo flush" toilet installed in his house because he kept having clogging issues. But you'd also have to see if your pipes could handle this.

I don't know if this really helps you SparklingBBW... really the moral of the story here is that... 1) You need to get the seal looked at and find out whether it's the seal, pipe underneath, the toilet, or a combination of all of the above that needs to be fixed. And 2) if the floor seems to be flexing under your weight, how can the plumber reinforce the floor to better hold your weight and keep the toilet from flexing, and that the plumber should bolt the toilet down in a way that it doesn't wobble loose (again, using nylon ringed stop nuts to hold the toilet, bolted through the floor, not wood screws just poked into the wood...)


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## fat hiker (Aug 20, 2009)

This is a great thread! Thanks for all the great ideas.


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## musicman (Aug 20, 2009)

SparklingBBW said:


> Here's a question that feels a bit embarrassing, but if we can talk about how to bolt the seat of the "throne" down better and prevent breaking the seat, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to reinforce the base of the throne. I've had problems where there is some leakage of water from the bowl getting into the surrounding floor (read under the linoleum) and causing squishiness. I'm half embarrassed to call a plumber and have to tell them my weight is causing this problem, so I'd like to have a solution in mind to fix the problem before I make that phone call. Thanks so much in advance for your genius ideas and help for this SS problem!
> 
> Gee



Stan gave good advice above. Don't be embarrassed to call the plumber. I'd bet that the original leak had nothing to do with your weight. The "seal" that Stan refers to is typically a wax ring that deteriorates over time. This is the cause of most leaks around the bottom of a toilet. Replacing it is a simple 1-2 hour job for any competent plumber. Amateurs can also do it. They show this sort of fix on TV home repair shows all the time. In your case, however, the water has damaged the floor, so that must also be fixed (possibly not a simple fix, but it must be done before things get worse). You probably need to get your landlord involved, as he may need to authorize the fix, and he should also pay for it (IMHO). Again, the leak was most likely NOT caused by your weight, but it needs to be fixed ASAP. Good luck with it!


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## MissToodles (Aug 20, 2009)

olwen said:


> Stan this is an awesome idea for a thread!
> 
> I bought a queen sized pine (with a veneer) platform bed from gothic cabinet craft a few years ago and asked if it could be reinforced. Well they put extra boards in the hollow base. So like if I unscrewed the top portion I could use the base as a bookcase if I wanted to, and I have to say, I've had sleep overs with my other fat friends over the years and with a combined weight of at least 600 - 800lbs this bed has never broken down or warped, cracked or anything. The reinforcement cost about an extra $65.



I broke a daybed from gothic cabinet back in March. Slept one night in it, and as I got up from my sleep, the whole thing collapsed underneath me. I wish I thought of it back then! I didn't exactly need the trundle part.

I need a new bed soon, so I need to ask a question about the bed you posted to--did you remove the top part, the one that sticks out that's wider than the bottom? And boards, not slats were added inside the frame? I'm trying to figure this out, but I can't get a visual.


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## olwen (Aug 22, 2009)

MissToodles said:


> I broke a daybed from gothic cabinet back in March. Slept one night in it, and as I got up from my sleep, the whole thing collapsed underneath me. I wish I thought of it back then! I didn't exactly need the trundle part.
> 
> I need a new bed soon, so I need to ask a question about the bed you posted to--did you remove the top part, the one that sticks out that's wider than the bottom? And boards, not slats were added inside the frame? I'm trying to figure this out, but I can't get a visual.



Well my bed is queensized, so the weight is probably more distributed than would be in a day bed.

The bed which is made of pine came delivered in two parts, the base and the platform. The guys who delivered it screwed the platform onto the base. The platform does extend out maybe six or seven inches from the base. As for the base, it's like if you were to take a large bookcase, lay it flat and put a board on top of it. So the base has two slats going from left to right and one going from top to bottom. It's quite sturdy. 

Trust me, it can hold the weight of two very fat people just fine. It has never cracked or snapped or anything. I would be more nervous about it if it were not reinforced with those slats or boards (are they not the same thing?)....I just asked if they could put some slats into it and the woman in the store drew a picture for me. She knew what I meant, so I'm guessing they've gotten that request before.


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## moore2me (Aug 23, 2009)

fa_man_stan said:


> Very cool Rainy! We could actually use some of these on our downs stairs toilet. Not weight related, the toilet doesn't sit flat on the ground ever since we had tiles installed...
> 
> Considering that I'm not actually looking at your toilet I'll have to list the things that could possibly be malfunctioning. If your toilet is leaking between the floor and toilet base the cause is one of a few things.




And addition to Stan's list of culprits to the leaking toilet base happened at our house - our place is on a concrete slab. The guys that poured the floor did in on a cold and windy day in wintertime and did not do a very good job on leveling the concrete. Unfortunately, the toilet sits on a slightly uneven concrete surface. Anyone (me) of substantial weight who pounces on the toilet was popping the seal and starting little leaks. Very annoying and hard to diagnose too. 

Hubby finally pulled up the toilet, the linoleum, and took a leveler to check the grade on the concrete and noticed the uneven hills. He finally got the toilet to stop leaking by using the shims that were described earlier. (I bet he had to put four or five wax rings on the thing before it quit tho.)


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## stan_der_man (Aug 23, 2009)

moore2me said:


> And addition to Stan's list of culprits to the leaking toilet base happened at our house - our place is on a concrete slab.
> ...



Speaking of concrete slabs Moore2me... My mother's house is on a concrete slab, her toilet is the one I had to repair the seal on man years ago because we believe an earth quake buckled the foundation. I've also heard of people who have concrete slab homes on clay soil that during times of drought have to water around the base of the foundation otherwise the soil shrinks under their homes and causes the foundation to buckle and crack... again possibly causing a toilet to become displaced from the pipe below. From what I've seen and heard, toilets on concrete slab homes can sometimes be problematic, either like your situation Moore2me, or because the bolts holding down the toilet aren't properly anchored into the concrete, or simply because the anchor bolts deteriorate over time.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that when bolting toilet seats, it's always best to use stainless steel bolts and stop nuts because they won't corrode over time. Something that Mtnmaiden mentioned to me the other day that I forgot about, is if your toilet is only slightly out of kilter to where a shim would probably be too thick, you can wedge coins under the base of the toilet (like a nickle or a quarter) because they are made out of metals that don't corrode that quickly (an older, real copper penny might though...)


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## TallFatSue (Aug 31, 2009)

After 4 or 5 years of faithful service, my office chair went c-r-r-r-ack last week and its replacement has arrived! It's very comfy, with a 23-inch wide seat and a 27-inch high back. My tush loves it. The 450lb rating is about what I weigh now, so I debated getting one rated for 500lb or more, but I just couldn't one I liked better than this. The only drawback is that it's a Big and Tall chair, so even at its lowest setting the seat is a bit high off the ground (17½ inches) for most people, but I'm 6ft tall and it's just right for my legs.

Global Industrial: Big & Tall High Back Chair
http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/prod/30027553/i/productInfo.web


> EXTRA VALUE BIG & TALL SEATING
> Combines comfort and sturdy reinforced construction at an exceptional value. Features an extra plush 6" thick 23"W x 21"D seat cushion and large 4" thick 23"W x 27"H back. Contoured design includes lumbar support for proper sitting posture. Covered in durable Scotchgard® Olefin fabric. Includes tension tilt adjustment, tilt lock and pneumatic 17 1/2-22" seat height adjustment. Accented with an attractive aluminum five star base featuring dual casters for easy mobility. Optional Adjustable T-Arms feature 1" side-to-side and 2 1/2" up/down adjustment. Accepts optional glide model 506818. 450 lb. capacity. Easy assembly. 1 year warranty


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## TallFatSue (Aug 31, 2009)

fa_man_stan said:


> Here is the long awaited dissertation (with photos of course...) on how to bolt down a toilet seat!


I've broken a few toilet seats in my time, but not since my engineer husband installed those extra seat bumpers. However the problem of toilet seat slippage and slidage still bedeviled me. Art kept trying to tighten the seat screws, but that was only a temporary fix. He was also afraid of cracking the porcelain, and he did not want to use adhesives which might cause problems later.

Then Art began to mumble something about leverage times the mass of my ass. As he put it, the sideways mechanical force of my mass was multiplied by the lever effect as it was transmitted to the seat screws. Therefore it made much more sense to address the problem of slippage and slidage right where the force was applied. Okay, that wasn't the first time he has thought of me in terms of an engineering project, but hey, after 27 years of marriage my fat and I trust him. 

I think our conversation went something like this:
Sue: "Whatcha doin'?"
Art: (mumble)
Sue: "Think it'll work?"
Art: (mumble)
Sue: "Okay, let me know when you need a test subject."
Art: (mumble)

Next Art screwed two 1-inch bumpers and two 2-inch bumpers to two small L-shaped pieces of steel which he said are common in hardware stores. He said to make sure they have reinforced corners so they won't bend. Then he attached two of these L-shaped bumper assemblies to the underside of the toilet seat. The long bumper legs are under the seat and the short bumper legs rest just inside the toilet bowl at the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions when the seat is down. These snugly grip the inside of the toilet bowl just right when the seat is down, but they lift up and out of the way when the seat is raised. However since Art always lowers the seat when he's finished, I'll take his word for it. :smitten:

After these miracle devices were installed I have not had even a hint of toilet seat slippage, even when I lean over to grab a magazine. It's GOOD to have an engineer around the house.


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## musicman (Sep 8, 2009)

Sue, that's a good tip about the L-brackets. It was very clever of Art to think of that.

Since this seems to have become the Toilet Engineering thread, let me recommend another way to prolong the life of your toilet seat: If you have an old toilet with the standard (round) bowl and seat, replace it with one that has an elongated bowl and seat. (See diagram below for the difference.) This obviously costs a lot more than adding bumpers, but it can help greatly with another weak spot in the seat design, namely the hinges.
View attachment toilet-sizes.jpg


This is a little difficult to explain, and even harder to explain delicately, but I'll try. Most any fat woman will tell you she'd rather sit on an elongated toilet than a round toilet, especially if she has a very large protruding butt. A woman who sticks out farther in the rear will have more trouble positioning her anatomy in the right place over the hole in the round seat. (Sorry if I am offending anyone, and I hope you can figure out what I'm trying to say here.) In positioning herself, she will move around more on the seat and put more stress on it, especially on the hardware that connects the seat to the lid and to the bowl. She will also put a large amount of pressure on the lower part of the toilet lid because the back of her butt is compressed against it. This pressure will act directly on the part of the hinge connecting the seat to the lid. An elongated seat is a couple inches longer from front to back, so it is easier for a woman to position herself, and her butt will not be compressed as much against the lid. This will reduce the strain on the hinges.

When we had our old round toilet, my wife broke the hinges on several seats, even though I had installed plenty of extra bumpers, and I made sure the seats never got loose. (I don't mean that the hinge broke off from the seat. I mean that the metal part of the hinge between the seat and the lid actually snapped in two. Toilet hinges are usually made of cheap pot metal, but it still takes a lot of force to break them like this.) In the years since we replaced the toilet with an elongated one, she has not broken a single hinge. It wasn't until after the replacement that she and I figured out what had been happening with the old toilet.

Here's another tip: If you do replace an old toilet, you should consider installing a higher toilet, which is easier on the knees when you stand up.


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## ssflbelle (Sep 8, 2009)

The Elongated seat, handicap height toilet is the best I have ever had. I use to break the round toilet seats at a weight of 287. The elogated seat handicap height one I got at home depot about 15 years ago is still in use today. It has had a weight as high as 497 pounds. Of course the seal has had to be replaced about 3 times in those 15 years and it looks like I may have to replace it again soon. I would highly recommend getting one of these toilets it is well worth the money, especially when it is on sale. 



musicman said:


> View attachment 69822
> 
> 
> An elongated seat is a couple inches longer from front to back, so it is easier for a woman to position herself, and her butt will not be compressed as much against the lid. This will reduce the strain on the hinges.
> ...


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## ssflbelle (Sep 8, 2009)

I finally wrote to these people today to ask them about the possibility of reinforcing 2 of their platforms I am interested in. Hopefully they will do it and if so I may also be getting one of them. Then I will have to find mattresses. Thanks for the info as I was very concerned about what type of bed frame I would be able to find in the regular stores. 




olwen said:


> Stan this is an awesome idea for a thread!
> 
> I bought a queen sized pine (with a veneer) platform bed from gothic cabinet craft a few years ago and asked if it could be reinforced. Well they put extra boards in the hollow base. So like if I unscrewed the top portion I could use the base as a bookcase if I wanted to, and I have to say, I've had sleep overs with my other fat friends over the years and with a combined weight of at least 600 - 800lbs this bed has never broken down or warped, cracked or anything. The reinforcement cost about an extra $65.


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## olwen (Sep 8, 2009)

ssflbelle said:


> I finally wrote to these people today to ask them about the possibility of reinforcing 2 of their platforms I am interested in. Hopefully they will do it and if so I may also be getting one of them. Then I will have to find mattresses. Thanks for the info as I was very concerned about what type of bed frame I would be able to find in the regular stores.



Let us know what they say. I'd be interested to know how accommodating they are. I just didn't want a platform with pegs as the support, cause I would be worried about the platform sagging in the middle. So I stayed away from those. I also stayed away from the frames with drawers attached since the wood would eventually sag and make the drawers impossible to open and close.


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## ssflbelle (Sep 9, 2009)

This is what they had to say. 


"Thank you for contacting www.gothiccabinetcraft.com.
We can reenforce the Captains beds, Storage beds and Platform beds. The price will vary depending on what is done to reenforce. The most common reenforcement is to used a thicker platform deck. This costs an additional $150 on our Storage, Captains and Platform beds.
If you are interested in purchasing a structurally upgraded bed, please call me at 888 801 3100. Ask for Paul. I will be happy to assist you in getting what you need."

So based on this I wonder if there would still be a problem with platform sagging and drawers? I didn't call as the price of the beds are 269 and 299 and an extra $150 plus the mattress makes the cost a bit more than I wanted to pay. I guess the cost of reinforcement goes up just like everything else. 



olwen said:


> Let us know what they say. I'd be interested to know how accommodating they are. I just didn't want a platform with pegs as the support, cause I would be worried about the platform sagging in the middle. So I stayed away from those. I also stayed away from the frames with drawers attached since the wood would eventually sag and make the drawers impossible to open and close.


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## stan_der_man (Sep 10, 2009)

ssflbelle said:


> ...
> So based on this I wonder if there would still be a problem with platform sagging and drawers? I didn't call as the price of the beds are 269 and 299 and an extra $150 plus the mattress makes the cost a bit more than I wanted to pay. I guess the cost of reinforcement goes up just like everything else.



Just guessing here Ssflbelle... I would think that reinforcing the platform would keep the bed from sagging down onto the drawers below it, and that any upgrade the company does would take into account the strength of the frame below the platform. The weak point of any structure is a flat horizontal, weight bearing surface... Assuming the joints of the vertical supports were reinforced along with the upgrade to the platform, the bed shouldn't buckle and the structure below should remain square, so I don't think you should have any problems with drawer fittings shifting.


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## olwen (Sep 10, 2009)

ssflbelle said:


> This is what they had to say.
> 
> 
> "Thank you for contacting www.gothiccabinetcraft.com.
> ...



A thicker wood would still probably sag over time I'd think. Did you mention how much weight the bed will need to support? 

If you are going for a bed with drawers underneath, the drawers themselves may add some extra support....cheaper still would be to forget about the drawers and just get a regular platform, and ask how much it would cost to reinforce it with slats/boards in the base.


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## katorade (Sep 10, 2009)

Okay, I want one of those stools. Having rheumatoid arthritis, I suffered some deteriation/inflammation in my hip last year and have not been able to walk or stand for long periods of time since. That means that I very rarely get the chance to do one of the things I love most: cooking and baking. Standing in my kitchen, which is ceramic tile, means I'm limping to somewhere soft to sit after about 15-20 minutes on my feet. No risotto for this lady. 

I have been keeping an eye out for something exactly like that. I am still <300 lbs., so I'm not as worried about a stool being able to support me, but I really, really like the 5 wheels and lower center of gravity because I'm terrified of falling or toppling over, especially if I was alone, because I'm at a greater risk for injury and I'd have a ridiculous time trying to get myself back up.


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## joswitch (Oct 12, 2009)

fa_man_stan said:


> This is a subject SocialBFly and I discussed a while back which I thought would be a good topic of discussion for all large sized folks and the people who admire them...
> 
> How to reinforce and fabricate household items, furniture, beds, or anything else that needed to support the weight of a heavy person, or be enlarged to comfortably fit a large sized person. This is the thread to ask questions or give tips on things that you have modified, reinforced or built from scratch!
> 
> ...



I haven't read the rest of the thread, so I don't know if anybody has mentioned this idea yet:

Building a cheap, very strong bed base.
Basically build a raised floor*, using planed, finished timber - 2" x 6" - to make a rectangular frame with an additional long length running down the centre. That "spine" supports your "slats" in the middle so the longest unsupported span they have is a bit less than 2feet long. (I built a standard 4foot wide by 6' 6" long base for my matress). Secure the frame with coach bolts (3.5" long! these bad boys are hella strong! also you can easily undo with a spanner / wrench to transport the bed base in bits and reassembel!). Use washers to keep the heads from chewing the wood!

Over the frame use floor boards (screwed into frame) for slats - with gaps of about an inch or a bit less between them for ventilation. I also had a few offcuts from the floor boards which I used to make 9 small square flat feet (one per corner and one in the centre of each frame piece) which raises the base off the floor by a quarter inch, again for ventilation.

A good firm mattress on top - "et voila!" - one low rise bed to keep you up out of the draughts! (about 10" off the floor, including mattress height) which won't squeak, break or collapse, at least not in the years I and gfs used it... It has been "tested" in the heat of a number of moments :blush: whilst holding a combined load of about 450lbs... I reckon it'd handle another 150lbs easily, dunno about the mattress though.... And it only cost about £60 (about $90) when I built it, in contrast to about £300 ($450) for the commercial, not-so-strong equivalent! - I got my timber from a builder's merchant... and carried it home on foot, on my shoulders**... boy that was a long and painful 3 miles or so! worth it tho!

Pics are of:
-Coachscrew
-corner of frame joined with coachscrews & washers
(and yes, if you have the right drill bit it's a better idea to recess the screw heads so you don't bang your bloody ankle bones on them,... which is very bloody painful, ta for axing!  oh, of course you'd need a socket set for assembly then! )
-view from above frame of floorboard slats...

Incidental notes:
* same principle if you need to build a drum "riser" for a stage.
** No hay auto! When carrying heavy loads a good distance on foot I work it like this: carry the timber balanced on one shoulder - until the pain gets so bad you feel just a little bit nauseous... stop, swap shoulders... rinse and repeat 'til you get home... simple and stupid, but it works and you still have the use of your arms when you're done! 

View attachment coachscrew.jpg


View attachment Image036.jpg


View attachment Image035.jpg


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## stan_der_man (Oct 12, 2009)

katorade said:


> Okay, I want one of those stools.
> ...
> I have been keeping an eye out for something exactly like that. I am still <300 lbs., so I'm not as worried about a stool being able to support me, but I really, really like the 5 wheels and lower center of gravity because I'm terrified of falling or toppling over, especially if I was alone, because I'm at a greater risk for injury and I'd have a ridiculous time trying to get myself back up.



At < 300 lbs or even around that range you could get a "mechanics stool" like this, which is rated for 350 lbs:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...=netconcepts&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=shop+stools






It has 5 wheels, and they are big diameter casters so they should roll nicely on tile, even tile with grooves worse case scenario. The cost is only about $160 plus shipping. I imagine Northern Tool & Equip. ships to the UK, and with the exchange rate in your favor at the moment, it's not a bad price. I've usually found items from Northern Tool to be good quality.

Here is a less expensive one at $30 which is rated for 300 lbs, but my feeling is that you will get what you pay for... Also, the casters are much smaller, I'd only use this stool on smooth concrete.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...=netconcepts&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=shop+stools



joswitch said:


> I haven't read the rest of the thread, so I don't know if anybody has mentioned this idea yet:
> 
> Building a cheap, very strong bed base.
> Basically build a raised floor*, using planed, finished timber - 2" x 6" - to make a rectangular frame with an additional long length running down the centre. That "spine" supports your "slats" in the middle so the longest unsupported span they have is a bit less than 2feet long. (I built a standard 4foot wide by 6' 6" long base for my matress). Secure the frame with coach bolts (3.5" long! these bad boys are hella strong! also you can easily undo with a spanner / wrench to transport the bed base in bits and reassembel!). Use washers to keep the heads from chewing the wood!
> ...



Thanks for the info Jos! That's the beauty of building things oneself. It really isn't that expensive and usually is a heck of a lot sturdier than store bought furniture.


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## rainyday (Oct 12, 2009)

Joswitch's post about a bed frame reminded me of a temporary bed frame that works even for heavier weights. I needed a frame for a twin mattress, but only for a few months, so I laid out upside-down plastic milk crates--just the kind you get at Bed Bath & Beyond or wherever--and put the twin mattress on top of that. I believe it took 12 of them, though I think fewer would have worked if used in conjunction with a sheet of plywood. I'm well into the supersize range and it held me just fine. When I no longer needed the frame, the crates just got used for storage in the garage.

It would also work for making an easily assembled camping cot as long as you had room in your vehicle for the crates.

I forget where I originally got the idea. I think I may have read it here on Dim a long while back.


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## stan_der_man (Oct 28, 2009)

rainyday said:


> Joswitch's post about a bed frame reminded me of a temporary bed frame that works even for heavier weights.
> ...



There are many inexpensive and sturdy materials that can be used as supports for beds. According to this interior design blog, pallet beds are even fashionable! 







I finally got around to making a shim for our toilet. I was too cheap to purchase the shims you mentioned Rainy, instead I took a scrap of clear plastic (acrylic) that I had in the shop and cut it to fit under the front of our toilet that doesn't sit level on our tile.

These first two images are of the sheet of paper I slid into the gap under our toilet to make a template for the plastic shim.











This image shows the clear plastic shim I cut out from the template.






On my first attempt to slip the shim under the toilet, I discovered that the piece of plastic was too thick to be completely slid under the toilet so I had to cut it shorter.






Here is the clear plastic shim after I cut it shorter. I also discovered that the toilet was not evenly spaced underneath.











The gap under the toilet was higher to the left side of the toilet, when viewed from the front. Because of this, the shim slid further under the toilet on the left side. I may go back and cut another shim to make it appear more even in the front, but at least for now the toilet is sitting firm


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## rainyday (Oct 28, 2009)

Very inventive, Stan. How did you cut the corners on the plexiglass? I know how to score and snap straight lines, but I'm curious about the corners. Did you cut them with a saw?


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## stan_der_man (Oct 30, 2009)

rainyday said:


> Very inventive, Stan. How did you cut the corners on the plexiglass? I know how to score and snap straight lines, but I'm curious about the corners. Did you cut them with a saw?



Acrylic plastic is fairly soft and easy to cut. I used a thin blade hack saw to cut the curved edges and then filed them smooth (sand paper would also work). The straight edges can be cut with a standard (thick blade) hack saw. You can do the cutting on the edge of a table but putting the acrylic in a vice (with paper towels in between to keep the vice from damaging the acrylic...) holds it in place much better.


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## BeaBea (Nov 1, 2009)

Can I just say I LOVE THIS THREAD!!! You lovely, thoughtful, inventive men are the very essence of everything that I think a true FA should be. I have no DIY expertise at all so all I can bring to this tread is my admiration :wubu: :wubu: :wubu:

Tracey xx


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## stan_der_man (Nov 19, 2009)

BeaBea said:


> Can I just say I LOVE THIS THREAD!!! You lovely, thoughtful, inventive men are the very essence of everything that I think a true FA should be. I have no DIY expertise at all so all I can bring to this tread is my admiration :wubu: :wubu: :wubu:
> 
> Tracey xx



Thanks for the words of support Tracey!  I think the essence of any successful community is working together and sharing information, I'm glad this thread is doing that.

Just a random find I got from BullseyeB while camping... Ramps! In the case of this thread, here is a direct link to a place where ramps of varying size and capacity are sold... at what appear to be good prices. These ramps can be used with mobility scooters or as substitutes for fold-out stairs that can be rough on knees no matter what size a person is.

Discount Ramps:
http://www.discountramps.com/

This page in particular... fold-up mobility ramps:
http://www.discountramps.com/wheelchair-ramps.htm


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## SocialbFly (Nov 19, 2009)

Stan did you check out what Bio did to reinforce the sleeping area where i slept?? he took a large sheet of plywood and cut it to size to support the other wood that was also there (take that as you will,lol) it made it seem much more solid, and i for one, never heard a creak or a groan...maybe Bubbles snoring but that was it....


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## B00TS (Nov 27, 2009)

Just a quick note to those suffering from leaky toilets...

Over here in the UK you can get flexible plastic fittings to connect the toilet bowl to the waste pipe. Some are even a couple of feet long to cope with difficult installation positions/angles etc. 

Are these available everywhere??

Replacing a rigid wax arrangement with a push fit rubber seal or a fully flexible connector should cure pretty much all leaks due to slight movement under load.

Don't get me wrong, all toilet bowls should be made as secure as the underlying floor allows for safety reasons and any wooden floor that has been wet for a period of time should be considered structurally suspect.

We had lousy chipboard floor panels in our last house and the bowl moved slightly with just my 50lb daughter sitting on it! The flexible coupling cured the leaking problem permanently.


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## stan_der_man (Dec 4, 2009)

SocialbFly said:


> Stan did you check out what Bio did to reinforce the sleeping area where i slept?? he took a large sheet of plywood and cut it to size to support the other wood that was also there (take that as you will,lol) it made it seem much more solid, and i for one, never heard a creak or a groan...maybe Bubbles snoring but that was it....



I didn't get that close of a look at exactly how Bio set up the bed in the trailer, but I imagine the additional layer of plywood easily made the difference. The plywood that the trailer beds are made of aren't that sturdy, especially if they are pasteboard. Real, multi-layered plywood is quite sturdy.



B00TS said:


> Just a quick note to those suffering from leaky toilets...
> 
> Over here in the UK you can get flexible plastic fittings to connect the toilet bowl to the waste pipe. Some are even a couple of feet long to cope with difficult installation positions/angles etc.
> ...



Sounds interesting! I would imagine these flexible plastic fittings are designed for the purpose of mounting a toilet on a wooden floor? (As in with a house that has a raised foundation or on a second story...) Many American houses are built on cement slabs, flat on the ground, especially in the drier climes of the west where solid wax fittings are norm as far as I know. I haven't personally seen such a fitting here in the U.S. but that would be something worth looking into.


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## stan_der_man (Mar 14, 2010)

Ok... I know this sounds like an oxymoron... but here goes:

_Sturdy plastic chairs._

Yes, we actually found some at an Ikea store. They held Mtnmaiden comfortably and don't have arms on them. I'm guessing they are rated to at least 300 lbs, possibly more.


*Ikea article number:
80067789*

They come in white, green and red.


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## SocialbFly (Mar 22, 2010)

i love this thread, thank you so much for keeping it active Stan...


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## Ho Ho Tai (Nov 1, 2010)

stan_der_man said:


> This is a subject SocialBFly and I discussed a while back which I thought would be a good topic of discussion for all large sized folks and the people who admire them...
> 
> How to reinforce and fabricate household items, furniture, beds, or anything else that needed to support the weight of a heavy person, or be enlarged to comfortably fit a large sized person. This is the thread to ask questions or give tips on things that you have modified, reinforced or built from scratch!
> 
> .



I believe that this thread is appropriate for items designed for the use of large folks. Mrs Ho Ho spotted this one in the newspaper. I took a look at it. Without actually endorsing it, it seems to me to be a reasonable website.

BrylaneHome - plus-size living


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