WC removal and refit

[John]

I am about to relay a bathroom floor after having a new suite fitted. I will be using Cushionflor over exterior ply.

I was able to slide the ply under the WC - (I had to cut to allow for the bracket of the floor) however, I will not be able to slide the cushionflor under the WC so I intend removing it to do the task. This will give a neater job and give me more room to work.

Question: When re-fitting, what is the best way of dealing with the screws that anchor the cistern to the wall. I am concerned that having the WC screwed to the floor via its bracket - and the cistern attached to the WC by its wing nuts (Lecico make) - then the cistern screwed to the wall will create a potential for something breaking if the wooden floor moves a little. I was thinking of not screwing the cistern back to the wall and injecting some Foam Fill behind it to give some support.

Any views?

[Andy Hall]

If you fix the cistern to the wall using the special plastic fittings that you can get in B&Q etc. then you won't have a problem. The cistern will be free enough to move.

[John Rumm]

The last cistern I fitted (close coupled type) had no fixing holes at all. The result was a bit wobbly. In the end I siliconed the cistern to the wall. This firmed up the whole assembly no end, but still allowed a little movement of the cistern should it be required. Nothing has broken so far!

[John]

Thanks - I ended up doing the job before I could read your replies.

I used tap washers each side of the cistern wall and then injected some silicone down the gap as well. nothing tightened too much I hope. The WC is attached to the floor using two bolts that screw into the side of a flattened screw that has a suitable hole tapped through the side of it.

I am quite pleased with the neatness of the job. I have applied a thin bead of silicone around where the WC meets the floor.

[Grunff]

I've done this on around half a dozen installations, and I think it's by far the best way to go. The most common cause of cistern-bowl leaks is having a fixed cistern and a toilet bowl which moves too much. Silicone allows for enough movement while eliminating wobble.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yup. Along with CAR BODY FILLER, silicone and expanding foam are three of DIYs great inventions.

[John Rumm]

Go write a bloody wiki entry for it, get it out of your system! ;-)

(I would have to agree on silicone mind!)

[Huge]

And gaffer tape.

Cue Pythonesque " ... *four* of DIYs great inventions ... "

[Andy Hall]

The cushions.......

[Steve]

Building adhesives like Pink Grip etc. for number 5... even fixed shoes with it.

:-)

Steve.