Leaky Toilet

[chief38]

Didn't know 'bout the Plaster of Paris thing. Fortunately the toilet sits good and solid.
We're gonna redo our bathroom floor and I might just get a proper flange repair kit when we pull the toilet.

ALWAYS use Plaster of Paris just prior to setting the toilet down. Not only do you get an air tight seal, but more importantly the toilet will NEVER rock, move, or put uneven stress on the Johnny Bolts.

Take the toilet and dry fit it. Trace with a pencil around the perimeter of the bowl so you know exactly where to put plaster. When you have everything in place and are ready to rock, mix up Paster of Paris (you need to work relatively quickly as the plaster dries fast) dab all around the inside of the pencil line and place toilet on top. After tightening the Johnny Bolts, use your finger to remove and smooth out the Plaster that protrudes from the fixture to leave a nice even bead. Not only will you have a perfectly seated toilet that wont rock, move or shift but you will also seal the toilet from water going underneath when you mop the floor. Sounds complicated but in reality it's very easy!

 

[soFlaNative]

I was thinking of incorporating a toilet in to a Lazy Boy chair,
with a built in beer cooler and snack storage. The recent issues
in the NFL has killed this as a viable concept as a money maker.

Drip pan, ice bucket and you're all set.

 

[Drm50]

The last thing I can say on the subject is the pros and cons of
sealing a toilet to the floor with chalk or plaster of Paris. It will
seal toilet from water going under it. The problem with doing this
is it will trap any leakage from toilet under it. This can allow the
leakage to go undetected until you have a major problem. A
small leak can go undetected for a long time. To the point you
have rotted out flooring material to replace. This is especially
true in houses that have toilets over craw spaces or in locations
that you would not see that you had a leak from underneath.
Second floor locations will show up fast when it leaks through
ceiling. I would rather have the leak show up on bathroom floor
than have to repair a ceiling. I manage a lot of rentals, most are
houses built back in 20s & 30s. Toilets are common problem
I average one a month in rentals. I will not put a 50yr old toilet
back in when seal fails. Many times the cast iron flanges are bad.
I find these had been seeping for years, just enough to keep them wet. The leak was not detected until it was bad enough to
put water on the floor. So use your judgement whether you
want to seal the toilet to the floor.

 

[chief38]

The last thing I can say on the subject is the pros and cons of
sealing a toilet to the floor with chalk or plaster of Paris. It will
seal toilet from water going under it. The problem with doing this
is it will trap any leakage from toilet under it. This can allow the
leakage to go undetected until you have a major problem. A
small leak can go undetected for a long time. To the point you
have rotted out flooring material to replace. This is especially
true in houses that have toilets over craw spaces or in locations
that you would not see that you had a leak from underneath.
Second floor locations will show up fast when it leaks through
ceiling. I would rather have the leak show up on bathroom floor
than have to repair a ceiling. I manage a lot of rentals, most are
houses built back in 20s & 30s. Toilets are common problem
I average one a month in rentals. I will not put a 50yr old toilet
back in when seal fails. Many times the cast iron flanges are bad.
I find these had been seeping for years, just enough to keep them wet. The leak was not detected until it was bad enough to
put water on the floor. So use your judgement whether you
want to seal the toilet to the floor.

In theory - - - maybe, but in reality I've had a few leaks in the past and the water leaking quickly makes its way right through the Plaster. Plaster is not hard to penetrate when constantly attacked by water. Believe me, when you have a gas leak it will penetrate right through Plaster as will water in very short order.

The other great thing I like about using Plaster of Paris is that for ANY reason should you choose to remove the toilet (remodeling, new floor, new toilet, etc) all that is necessary is a few slaps from your palm and the Plaster is quickly released (with no harm to fixture) as it is not a strong seal.

I would NEVER use Silicone sealant as it is very strong and would be a royal pain to break that seal.

I've NEVER seen a Professional Plumber install a toilet without using Plaster and if it's good enough for them I guess it's good enough for me too.

 

[snubbyfan]

In theory - - - maybe, but in reality I've had a few leaks in the past and the water leaking quickly makes its way right through the Plaster. Plaster is not hard to penetrate when constantly attacked by water. Believe me, when you have a gas leak it will penetrate right through Plaster as will water in very short order.

The other great thing I like about using Plaster of Paris is that for ANY reason should you choose to remove the toilet (remodeling, new floor, new toilet, etc) all that is necessary is a few slaps from your palm and the Plaster is quickly released (with no harm to fixture) as it is not a strong seal.

I would NEVER use Silicone sealant as it is very strong and would be a royal pain to break that seal.

I've NEVER seen a Professional Plumber install a toilet without using Plaster and if it's good enough for them I guess it's good enough for me too.

Been thinkin' on this. Coulda been that the toilet rocked ever so slightly and this caused the wax ring to fail and leak.
I used to sculpt, make molds, cast foam latex, slush mold latex and expanding polyurethane foam. Making and airbrushing masks.
I think I have some Ultracal 30 mold making plaster, I could use some of that after we put a new floor in our bathroom.

 

[martybee]

We noticed some water on our bathroom floor the other day. At first I thought I splashed some water around while shaving. My wife noticed that it seemed to be coming from under the toilet.
On December of last year we had just gotten a new toilet. Can't be the toilet.
We figured out that the wax ring was leaking.
On Tuesday, after a trip to the YMCA and while we were down out of the mountains and in town, we stopped at Lowe's to pick up a new wax ring.
Instead they had a newfangled silicone seal that's supposed to be far superior to the old fashioned wax ring.
Today we went to install it.

Keeping in mind that because of a peripheral motor nerve condition I have weakness in both of my hands. My right hand being nearly useless. My wife doesn't allow me to help wash the crockery because of this. We figured the toilet's like one big hunk of crockery and my wife'd havta do the lifting.
I'm glad she's a sturdy strong Italian.
I did the unbolting and disconnecting of the water supply and she yanked it up offa the floor.

In our bathroom the toilet's held down to the flange with lag bolts going into the floor rather than having studs coming up from the flange with a coupla nuts holding the toilet down.

We finally got it all lined up and bolted down.

So far the floor's still dry.

There is a town plumber that's very good and gets lotsa work. We thought we'd try to do the job ourselves first and save a few bucks on a service call.

Snubby: I admire your Guts & Grit! Both of you! You keep a chugging!

 

[Franklin]

This thread reminds me why I like my "OUT HOUSE" so much, never replaced a wax ring, and never had a leak!

 

[Bugkiller99]

They sell the "tall boys"
now that will flush a bucket of golf balls. $200 range for good
ones.

What ARE y'all eatin' up there in Ohio?