Fernco waxless toilet ring attached with silicone caulk?

Users who are viewing this thread

jamminjoe

New Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi Everyone:

I've got three Toto Ultramax toilets that I bought from Terry in the summer of 2007 (These Ultramax toilets have exceeded all my expectations (thanks Terry!) and I need to replace the wax seal on all three due to the poor installations done by my so-called plumbing firm. I've decided on using the Fernco wax free toilet seal (model FTS-3) rather than the Hercules wax seals that were used when they were first installed.

I've reviewed most of the wax & waxless seal posted information on this site looking for some installation info on the Fernco wax free toilet seal and I still haven't come across the specific info that I'm concerned about.

So here are my questions:

1) Once I have pressed the Fernco wax free toilet seal over the horn on the bottom of the toilet do I need to run a bead of silicone caulk around the area where the Fernco and the toilet meet to have a backup/protection for the day (years down the road!?) when the glue on the Fernco fails?

2) My concern is that the glue is just like the smashed wax on a wax seal. If the wax ever separates from the toilet and the the wax seal, then water gets to the floor and the whole seal needs to be replaced. I think that if the glue on Fernco ever fails to stay in contact with the toilet, then the seal will leak and then a new Fernco seal needs to be installed. Am I right about this?

3) Exactly what extra steps (things not explained in the Fernco instructions) should I do now to try to prevent the Fernco from leaking in the future?

I prefer to spend some extra time and effort now than having a re-do to worry about later.

Thank you for your time and attention!
 

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,599
Reaction score
1,037
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
toilets

WHY did the wax seals fail? It is pretty difficult to INSTALL them so poorly that they fail, so you may have a problem with the piping or flange, rather than the wax seals, and if so, using the waxless ones will not correct it.
 

jamminjoe

New Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
The way I see it, the wax ring failed because the guys originally set my two down stairs toilets in the wrong rooms and when they switched them they just reuse the first set of wax rings. I suspected this the day that they were here doing the job, but I had so much more important plumbing problems for them to fix that I didn’t make a big deal about it. And they assured me that they did â€a quality job†at the time.

Recently, when I pulled up the first Ultramax and I found that the two Hercules Johni-ring Plus rings they used were not stacked up straight on each other it was apparent to me that they had not done a quality job at all. Actually, you could say that the bottom ring was not a ring any more, it was more like a horse shoe shape. And it was directing the water to come straight out to the front of the toilet base. Basically, to save themselves 10 minutes and about $4.00 in materials these two guys did a very poor installation job that failed in less than two years. I am most surprised that the wax didn’t fail sooner that this.

Poor installation is what this so-called plumbing company excelled at doing for me. I had more go wrong than right during the first two days they came to wrap-up the details. Switched toilets was the simple stuff that I was able to catch and have them fix on the spot. Sorry about the rant, but they were one of the few subs that acted as if they just couldn’t be bothered to do the job right.

Back on topic. They used two Johni-ring Plus rings because the closet flange is ¾†below the floor. I am now using a Raise-A-Ring Closet Flange Extension Ring to fix this problem myself. By using the Fernco wax free toilet seal (which I have) I figure that I won’t have to worry about these toilets for a good long time.

So, should I run a bead of silicone caulk around the Fernco or not? And if not, why not?

Any specific advise you can give would be greatly appreciated. My wife wants these toilets fixed yesterday.
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
Half of the trim on your car has been held on with adhesives, and you rarely see them flopping in the wind. Plus, some cars are literally glued together. If you don't have faith in it, don't use it. Trying to clean off any silicon if you ever decide to take it off will also be a major pain...leave well enough alone. Just make sure things are clean and dry when you install it.
 
Messages
951
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Location
Midwest
The real problem is the 3/4" below floor level flange face. Putting two oversized wax rings on there was really half-assed work. They should have installed a thick spacer to begin with.

If wax was meant to be stacked as high as they did, the wax seals would come like that.
 

SteveW

DIY Senior Member
Messages
1,282
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Omaha, NE
Joe -
Go to Fernco's web site and read what they say about their product. They specifically say that it's good for flanges which are up to 3/4" below the surface of the finished floor. I recently used two of them in my house for just such a problem and found they worked very well.

No need for silicone. Just make sure the bottom of the toilet, around the horn, is very clean, using whatever solvent you need to get off all the wax residue. The adhesive is very strong and is intended to keep the Fernco seal on the toilet even if you have to pull the toilet up several times.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks