ChrisTyrrell
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Hi all.
I just finished installing a new Kohler toilet on top of a new PVC flange using a FluidMaster No-Seep No.3 wax ring. The flange rests on a square piece of plywood of the same thickness as the floor tile. After flushing, I noticed from the basement that water leaked and dripped.
Back upstairs, I see that the grout around the back of the toilet base is wet, none of the fittings are leaking, and the tank bolts are leak free.
Ok, back down the stairs, I see that the water is NOT on the underside of the flange or the running down the soil tube to the closet bend. Instead, it has apparently escaped through or around the wax ring, over the flange and the back of the square of wood to which the flange is attached, then found its way past the tile to the subfloor, where it found a seam and dripped down a floor joist.
This indicates that the flange, soil tube, and adapter are OK (see an earlier question posted by me), so unless the toilet itself is cracked, there must be a problem with the wax ring.
I think if the toilet were cracked, it'd be leaking right now, not just when it is flushed.
So...back to the wax ring. How can this thing leak? This particular ring, a FluidMaster NoSeep No. 3, has a little black funnel built into it, which would seem to guarantee that the water is going to go where it should. I it put on, set the stool in place, and sat on it to settle everthing into place. The stool rocks ever so slightly, but I attribute that to my amateur tile installation, not my amateur plumbing.
So what next? Obviously, I need to remove the toilet and reinstall with a new wax ring. Should I use a different type of ring? What can I do to prevent this from happening again? I saw somewhere else on the net the recommendation that strips of something (latex?) be attached to the bottom of the stool around the perimeter as shims, because of the rocking and sliding that can occur on tile floors. Sounds good. Is it latex? Should I expect to find such a product at Home Depot/Lowe's? Or what would you do?
Thanks folks!
Chris
Des Moines
I just finished installing a new Kohler toilet on top of a new PVC flange using a FluidMaster No-Seep No.3 wax ring. The flange rests on a square piece of plywood of the same thickness as the floor tile. After flushing, I noticed from the basement that water leaked and dripped.
Back upstairs, I see that the grout around the back of the toilet base is wet, none of the fittings are leaking, and the tank bolts are leak free.
Ok, back down the stairs, I see that the water is NOT on the underside of the flange or the running down the soil tube to the closet bend. Instead, it has apparently escaped through or around the wax ring, over the flange and the back of the square of wood to which the flange is attached, then found its way past the tile to the subfloor, where it found a seam and dripped down a floor joist.
This indicates that the flange, soil tube, and adapter are OK (see an earlier question posted by me), so unless the toilet itself is cracked, there must be a problem with the wax ring.
I think if the toilet were cracked, it'd be leaking right now, not just when it is flushed.
So...back to the wax ring. How can this thing leak? This particular ring, a FluidMaster NoSeep No. 3, has a little black funnel built into it, which would seem to guarantee that the water is going to go where it should. I it put on, set the stool in place, and sat on it to settle everthing into place. The stool rocks ever so slightly, but I attribute that to my amateur tile installation, not my amateur plumbing.
So what next? Obviously, I need to remove the toilet and reinstall with a new wax ring. Should I use a different type of ring? What can I do to prevent this from happening again? I saw somewhere else on the net the recommendation that strips of something (latex?) be attached to the bottom of the stool around the perimeter as shims, because of the rocking and sliding that can occur on tile floors. Sounds good. Is it latex? Should I expect to find such a product at Home Depot/Lowe's? Or what would you do?
Thanks folks!
Chris
Des Moines