My new toilet job leaks

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paperbag3

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I'm brand new to the board - and I'm a DIY guy ... I generally just do very small jobs for friends and family. I have some building maint. experience but am not a plumber (persay).

My Mom's toilet was "leaking from the base" so I thought immediately: new wax ring. She has some type of low gpf Kohler that when I put the #3 ring (with rubber insert) on, - it seemed there was quite a gap between the porcelain outlet edge and the wax - about 1/2 inch I'd say. Could this be why she's calling me now saying "there's water coming from the bottom again". But not when you just leave it standing there ... when you're sitting on it?

Idk - figured I'd ask. Now I have to see if she's right about where it's coming from b/c I'd thought that job was a layup and done right.

The other thing is... the flange and tile are level with eachother so I used the smaller ring - though I had a #10... anyone think I should just pull it (if it's still leaking from the bottom) and use the bigger ring? Does the ring normally fit snug around the toilet outlet?:confused:
 

Terry

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If you didn't feel the wax compressing when you pushed the bowl down, then there was not enough wax.
Unless the flange is "above" the floor, I use two wax rings.
 

Jadnashua

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Also, on some flanges, the horn just doesn't fit properly and can create more leaks than it fixes. You're better off withtout it.
 

paperbag3

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So I'm going to use a bigger wax ring now - and I got a flange piece that will fit over the original flange - it's basically just an extender piece.

Do you just take the screws out of the flange and then screw the new flange extender over it? Do you do any caulking in between the new pieces or just screw the extension down? Also - can I just say 'f - it' and use the #10 off the bat? I really don't want to have to do this again.

Strangely - I'm in the orange store (right? I think that's the board's name for it ;)) almost all the wax rings have the rubber boot. I think the only # 10's they had were with the boot.

btw - this is an artists' rendition (haha) of that gap that I was talking about ... seemed to me a good fit around the outlet of the bowl underneath is better design... is this just how it goes when you design "one size fits all" wax rings?
toiletart.bmp
 

Gary Swart

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I suspect your problem is one or both of two things. It's the horn on the wax ring or the flange is setting below the top of the finished floor resulting in not enough wax ring to seal. If the flange is on top of the finished floor, then one wax ring with the horn should end the problem. If the flange is recessed, then you might first try using just a single ring without the horn. If that fails then two rings should probably fix the problem. Those horned rings cause problems more often than not.
 
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