I have a toilet set on tile. When you sit on it it moves forward a tad, when you get off it rocks back to its resting posistion. I also notice when it sees a lot of activity, a small amount of water comes out of the front section where the base meets the tile.I have checked the nuts and they are tight. I assume the tile is not level and this is the problem? Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks.
Install a new wax ring. In one case of mine I had to double the wax ring and add two vinyl wedges to stop the "rocking" and get a good seal.
-- Oren
"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."
The toilet should be supported by a ring of plaster of Paris under it. So, insert some wedges and get the position where you want it. Mix up the plaster and pack it under the thrown. It will become rock hard shortly. Note the wax ring has nothing to do with support -- it simply seals so sewer gas doesn't escape.
If you have a wood subfloor, you should treat the water leak with great urgency. I'd wager that a little bit of water is leaking out with each flush (after a 'lot of activity' enough leaked water has built up to leak out from under the toilet). Since you have tile, you will most likely find a rough cutout around the flange (the toilet's drain hole in the floor) where some subfloor is exposed, which will inevitably suffer from water damage.
Tile sometimes causes sealing problems because of it's thickness and standard wax rings aren't always enough to bridge the gap between the flange and the toilet base. Use an extra thick ring, or in an extreme case (thick tile like travertine on top of 1/2" concrete backerboard on top of wood subfloor) you may have to stack rings.
Gads!
Water comes out?
Change your bees wax ring. Those rings are supposed to last 10 years, but I'd put it on your maintenance schedule for review every 5 years or so.
Leakage is gross and can result in dry rot.
That's the first time in my life I've ever heard anyone say that a wax ring has an expected lifetime that short when installed under a toilet that's properly seated.
What kind of failure mode occurs?
Can you offer a cite, perhaps from a wax ring supplier, which states that?
Jeff
First, the wax ring is shot and needs to be replaced and any water damage evaluated.
I heard a pro plumber recommend using pennies to shim toilets on uneven tile floors (uneven tile, not uneven floor, which is a bigger problem).
-rev
snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:
Jeff Wisnia wrote in news:3ZKdna77zOVVS6rYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@conversent.net:
Ring should not fail if properly seated. Water flowing down is not under pressure.
likely a broken cracked flange or bolt:(
FIX IMMEDIATELY!
My mom didnt and had to replace entire bathroom floor including all new tile. the water leak gets into the plywood delaminates and rots floor. can cost thousands to fix if let go.
pull toilet, new wax ring check bolts and flange, repair floor if needed.
YOU NEED TO FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY!
It is in an upstairs condo. Tile on top of lightweight concrete. I will have to pull it asap. Thanks for your help.
Joe wrote:
Well one thing you can do is ask chicks to come over to your place. Tell them your toilet ROCKS! When you say it, hold your hand up with the forefinger and pinky sticking up like the devil's horns sign. Chicks will dig it.
This would be roughly analogous to leveling the foundation of your house with PlayDo.
I would never do that. What do you do when you have to pull the toilet for some reason (repair, reflooring, etc)?
A bead of caulk around the whole underside of the toilet should be plenty to keep it from rocking (once you replace the wax ring, as everyone else indicated). I like to leave a gap at the back so that if there is a leak in the future, you'll have some indication. If the floor is so unlevel that caulk won't make up the gap, then I'd seriously be cursing whoever laid the floor...
-Tim
Did you read the rest of the post??
-Tim
Oh pshaw, on Thu 19 Oct 2006 10:38:02a, Oren meant to say...
Add to that, forcing a bead of silastic or vinyl caulk between the perimeter of the base and the tile floor.
Yes, but I was responding to his part of the post. Installing a new wax ring is irrelevant and beside the point at best.
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