Leveling a toilet: Is this method ok?

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Joerg

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Hello Folks,

Since I am not so fond of shims being the only pieces to hold a heavy toilet in place (a really heavy Yorkville is coming) I searched everywhere and found an instruction to shim, lay down expoxy mortar, place wax paper over it, set the toilet, cut around the toilet and clean up. Here it is:
http://www.onthehouse.com/qa/1874

What does the professional community here think about that?

Background: I am replacing a wall hung with a rear discharge. The floor must have been tiled with the toilet in and they obviously couldn't reach the back tiles well. So they are all ramping up, big time, by at least 1/3". Now the choice is: Float that mud bed like described above or rip it all out and re-tile. At any rate I want to make sure that the toilet can be taken out in case of a hard plug without destroying it. These things cost a whopping $500 plus tax.

Regards, Joerg.
 

Joerg

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Any hints? Still hoping but in an hour or so I'll have to swing the jack hammer and bust out the tiles. Wife wants to get it over with (so do I...) and the Yorkville is supposed to arrive on March 9.

Regards, Joerg.
 

Terry

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I read the instructions at the onthehouse link and got a good laugh.

Whoever wrote that was thinking way too hard.

Don't mix wood and water?
What about all the wood floors in bathrooms?
Has the writer never seen a wood floor before?
 
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Joerg

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Hello Terry,

True. But a wood floor in a bathroom might not always be so practical. Friends have that and a few weeks ago one of the turn-off valves began to leak. They were not home for a while and when they came back all this expensive (and brand new) flooring had buckled. Looks terrible now.

Anyway, back to the hammer. Got half the tiles busted out already. This one is a bear to do and my forearms feel like logs already. Oh well. If I get it done there is a nice ale waiting in the fridge.

Regards, Joerg.
 

Terry

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You really make my point though.

Water is not supposed to be on the floor of the bathroom.

There is no good reason for water to be under the toilet, unless there is a leak.
And that's not a good reason.

And if there is a leak, you better pull it up and change that.

I used composite, cedar and rubber shims. Lately some nice rubber shims.

wedge-it-terrylove.jpg
 
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Joerg

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Hello Terry,

Well, I'll probably do the same, use wood shims when the new toilet comes. I tore out the old uneven tiles yesterday, what a pain. But even the new porcelain tile won't be 100% level, they always bow a wee bit from the curing process.

Sure, leaks aren't supposed to happen. But they do. The way the old wall-hung toilet said "good-bye" was by transforming the bathroom into Lake Tahoe. The tank burst without anyone being inside the house and there was no earthquake. One of our guests during a dinner in our backyard 'had to go'. She came right back and said there was water flowing down the hallway. The tank had sprung a whopping gash of more than 10", out of the blue. That is one reason why I do not like toilets with tanks but with the wimpy plumbing diameters here in the west we don't have a choice. Flush valves wouldn't work well. I am just thankful that it happened that night and not the day after where we were at ministry training for three hours.

We don't have kids but I remember a family that had a home-made flood in their bathroom. Their son reluctantly 'agreed' to take a bath and then decided to stage a medieval sea battle in the bath tub. The British against the Vikings or something like that. Much of the wood in that bathroom was toast, it would not straighten out anymore. Even docking his allowance for a year wouldn't have made a dent.

Regards, Joerg.
 

Terry

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I'm seeing a lot of toilets in the 30 plus year range that are cracking.

It is good that you were home.

Your tub incident reminds me of my youth.
I left the water on upstairs, and then went downstairs to the table.

After a bit, water was flowing from the ceiling.
Hey! I was just a kid!
 

Bammina

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epoxy putty?

I saw some epoxy putty at a local hardware center that might work for something like that... in supplement to wood shims and the caulk.

It is green on the outside, and when it is mixed, causes a catalytic reaction and dries white (sorta like that "quickplumbfix" stuff, except white). It is extremely light, is tested to be stronger tham metal, and supposedly won't harm ceramic. Maybe push in a rope between the shims, and put caulk around it.
May be crazy, but may be worth checking out at least.

Can't remember the dang name, but the packaging was a cardboard hang card with a picture of a molecule on it. Its about 3$ a unit.
 
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