How to fix a rocking toilet?
Question:I have finished installing a ceramic tiles in my bathroom. Now, I have a problem with the toilet being rocking (not leveled down even after tightening all screws). The flange is still good. Is it because of the new floor's height? How can I fix it without breaking the tiles around the base of the toilet so it can be at the same height like before? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Answers:
Go to a Home Center or large hardware and purchase plastic toilet shims. Using a level across the top of the bowl, slide the shims in until it is level. Mark, remove and cut the shims to the proper length. Slide them back in until firm. You can caulk around the base to cover the shims but I recommend leaving the backside open for leak detection in the future. If you completely enclose the base and have a leak, you will not know until the floors start showing deterioration.
use caulk
You can stop the rocking by forcing washers where the toilet meets the floor. Find the gaps & force as many washers as need to stop the rocking, then cover with the plumbers putty you placed around the base. Don't forget to push the washers all the way in, but not too far, so they can be covered by the putty.
Did you replace the wax ring? That may help.
It sounds like it's not sitting level, but that doesn't mean you have to take up the tile. You have another alternative--go to the hardware store and get some shims (thin pieces of wood that taper slightly). Drive these under the side of the toilet that is lower, starting with the thinnest end of the shims, until they won't go any further. Then when you've put several in along that edge of the toilet, cut off the parts of the shims that are still sticking out (an X-acto knife would be good for this). You should have enough bracing under the toilet at that point that it won't rock anymore.
If you have done the new bolt and wax ring thing, do the following. Use the floor grout you used in the tiles, force the grout under the toilet and do NOT use for 2 days. This will stop the rocking. Works every time.
Believe it or not..I've seen plumbers use pennys to level out the toilet. Slide them under the toilet to fill the gap made by the rocking stool. This will keep it from "woobling" and is inexpensive!!
If your wax ring is still intact, you may use wooden or plastic "shims" to level your toilet. If you are smelling "sewer gas", your wax ring may have lost its seal. If not, go to a hardware store and purchase some shims. Both toilets in my 30-year-old house rock and have shims under them.
well, I am suprised at a lot of these answers. Grout? what happens when you need to remove the toilet. Grout will bond to the floor and toilet and it will need to be chipped away unless you let it dry before installing the toilet. Even then I think mortar would be a better foundation
Wax ring?? this will not stabilize the toilet. In fact, if you have installed your toilet on a new wax ring and it wobbles...you might have deformed your new wax ring to the point that it could leak. The idea with wax rings is they are supposed to compress and fill gaps. Once you lift the bowl, the wax will not expand to refill this new gap. Once the wax is deformed, it has to be replaced.
Wood shims? not a good idea for a high moisture environment like under a toilet.
The only answer that makes good sense and will give you the best chance of not cracking your bowl is the plastic ship. This is exactly what the plastic shims are made for.
The other option is to trace a line on the floor with a pencil, remove the toilet. Now build a flat surface around the flange with mortar and let it dry. It would be hard to believe that you installed a tile floor on a properly prepared surface and had major deviations...so chances are the mortar bed would be very thin..but it would provide a solid base for your toilet mounting.
If you use shims, it would be wise to go around the area where the floor meets the toilet with some silicone caulk. With a gap around that area, you have a nice spot for urine to ferment and smell. Seal the gap with caulk. If you have to remove the toilet in the future, simply cut the caulk with a knife.
DJH, Right on the money.Saved me the time of writing it out!
So many answers are *almost* correct -- sensible man's is closest...
Toilets often need to be shimmed when set on tile, or a natural stone surface. Often the high point of the floor is not at the toilet flange, some plastic flanges buckle or warp, or any number of other causes can make a toilet need a shim. It could be the porcelain on the bottom of the toilet is imperfect also. It does not mean the tile was installed improperly by the original poster.
A nylon washer, plastic "toilet shim" or any other non-wooden or absorbent material will work as a shim. Level the toilet (eyeballing is usually close enough) and place/cut the shims as needed. Use a silicone caulk to fill the gap and/or help hold the shim in place. If you do caulk (it is optional, I usually do not do it, but some like it for appearance) remember to LEAVE A GAP in the caulk, typically at the rear of the toilet, so that water leaks will be visible if they occur in the future. Never grout or completely seal underneath a toilet or the water from leakage or condensation will be trapped and cause the floor to rot, in the case of wooden sub-floors.
Home Depot or Lowe's now carry "composite" shims made of a recycled plastic/sawdust combination, that snap cut easily. These replace the old-fashioned cedar or pine shims and would make an ideal shim for a toilet, as the shims are about 2-inches wide and provide a flat surface. Pennies or small coins and such would be slippery and provide too small a surface for a stable long-term shim. This would fall under the category of "jerry-rigging"...
Get a twenty pound sledge hammer...
Beat the h*ll out of the toilet.
Beat the h*ll out of the sink.
Beat the h*ll out the shower..
Call a plumber.
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