3" push in closet flange

[BradMM]

I read on previous threads that you shouldn't use the push in type on 3" drains because it can cause backups. My drain opening is now down to 2 1/2" but the damn thing was so hard to install, I hate to have to start over. I had to use a 2x4 and a 2 lb hammer to get it in the drain.

My problem now is that I've installed two toilets in 1o days and they both have rocked. I just screwed up with the first toilet I bought right before guests were coming for Christmas and didn't have time to take it back so I just installed it. It was a round bowl and I wanted elongated. Anyway, the first time I used that plastic & rubber gizmo that came with the toilet and goes into the drain and I thought that was why it was rocking. Second time, I only used the wax ring but the toilet still rocked front to back. So, now I'm thinking the flange wasn't flush with the floor. I didn't pull everything apart to see, I just shimmed it.

How long might this arrangement last? I plan to move out and least the house in a year and then the repairs could be done by a REAL plumber and I'd write it off as a business expense.

 

[Reach4]

My problem now is that I've installed two toilets in 1o days and they both have rocked.

Are you bragging?

Second time, I only used the wax ring but the toilet still rocked front to back.

If you smell sewer gas, I guess it did not make it.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[BradMM]

No, not bragging, this has been the down side of an otherwise pleasant holiday.
No smell but it ain't right.

 

[Reach4]

No, not bragging, this has been the down side of an otherwise pleasant holiday.
No smell but it ain't right.

Sorry... I was commenting on "it rocks" as being a complement. Hence the rolling eyes emoticon. That phrase long predates "sick" as a complement.

For a toilet as with a vacuum cleaner, "it sucks" can be a complement.

Seriously, though, I was a bit skeptical about the first sentence on #1. I really would not expect a clogging problem with a PushTite flange. And I was weirded out by the rest of that paragraph. I thought there was a very good chance that you were joking about pounding with a 2-pound hammer. Since you had seemed content, I was not going to bring it up. Now it seems you were serious.

I really did wonder about the point of the post in general. I don't have an answer for "How long might this arrangement last?".

 

[Jadnashua]

It is not uncommon to need some shims to keep a toilet from rocking. Personally, rather than going out to buy some plastic ones, I often just use some coins...different denominations are different thicknesses, and I often have them in my pockets.

If you haven't read the sticky at the top of this section, read it. Once you push the toilet down onto the wax, if it rocks, you've compromised the wax ring and it is no longer properly sealed. You have to set the toilet down dry, determine where you need shims, then install the wax and set it down again.

 

[Terry]

I would find a flatter closet flange for that if you can. I like the bowl touching the floor.
I sometimes shim the back of the bowl if the floor is out of level, but the entire bowl?

 

[Jadnashua]

If it's rocking on the flange, you should fix that...if it is rocking on the floor, shims are called for.