Toilet Shims

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diydad

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Hey there. So just installed a commode and it appears to be really unlevel. eighth of an inch front to back and a quarter inch left to right(some Brazilian made vintage stuff my wife loved...Celite I think) Anyways, I bought some plastic shims at HD and they work but even after the toilet is bolted down, it wants to shift because the plastic shims have no grip....the toilet is mounted on to hardwood flooring...do they make a shim that is more of a rubber material to hold better against the hardwood...
thanks
j
 

Verdeboy

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Is your toilet flange protruding above the finished floor?
Are you sure it's your floor that's not uneven? If it is, you can try using a floor leveler.

You can also try pounding in a couple of standard wood shims. They may grip better, and are wider, Once shimmed, you'll need to caulk the base of the toilet for added support and to hide the shims.
 

Gary Swart

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I'm guessing you used a wax ring with a plastic funnel or horn. If you did, that is almost certainly the cause of your problem. Replace it with a standard wax ring. Those "horny" things cause problems and solve nothing except in rare cases. While the toilet is up, check the flange to be sure is is solidly screwed through both the finished floor and the sub floor in several places. I prefer #12 stainless steel screws. Use your body weight to push the toilet's horn into the wax ring until the skirt of the toilet is in contact with the floor all around. Do not try to pull the toilet down with the flange bolts. They are not intended for that purpose, they just hold the toilet from tipping and moving. Once the toilet is firmly set into the wax ring and the flange bolts are snugged (not tightened" the toilet should not rock. It is possible that the vintage foreign thing was poorly cast and will not set level. I had one like that once.:(
 

Terry

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Some of the hard ware stores sell plastic door shims.

They are about six inches long with a very gradual taper.
You can score them with a knife, and snap them off where you need to.
I don't use wood shims.

I never use shims from the plumbing department.
Those are about 1" long, with a very steep angle on them.
Just a waste of time and money.

wedge-it-terrylove.jpg


These rubber ones work well.

 
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Dunbar Plumbing

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The last few toilets I've set, I've had to shim and grout the bases because the floors were so unlevel.


I know with the grout that it provides a very solid base to the toilet and will eliminate any uneven stress points on the base if only a few shims are used.


Of course, grout being used only on concrete floors.
 

Verdeboy

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The drawback of using grout is that the next guy who has to pull that toilet will be cursing you up and down. ;)
 

diydad

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Thanks everyone. To answer a few questions. The wax ring installed has no plastic flange in it...just a plain wax ring. Yes the flange is mounted to the finished floor with #12 stainless screws(checked interference with a spare flange I had, there is roughly 5/8" inch aound the horn and the flange is barely 7/16")...the toilet sits absolutely rock solid on the hardwood, no rocking or movement at all...I will double check the floor but I am almost certain it is within a sixteenth or so....my gut feeling is that the casting on Celite commode is off...I had it leveled initially but the wife walked in and said what is that gap for...this was before any caulking of course...so pulled the shims and bolted down...she seems to feel that the it is not that noticeable...I think it is but she rules for now...
will chek the floor and report back
j
 

diydad

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As i suspected the floor is absolutely level. Front to back and left to right. The Celite commode has a set of ridges on the bottom from the mold. The right side(the side that is high) is higher than the outside edge(the part that is visible) That is what is causing the toilet to be unlevel. Can it be ground down or are shims and caulking the only way to handle this. And I will note again that there is no interference caused by the top-mounted flange.
Generally, are the bottoms of manufactured commodes supposed to be fairly level? The ridge is nearly visible on this one. Seems like the mfg would double check the squareness before shipping...
thanks
j
 

diydad

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Update: Contacted Cheviot(importer for the Celite) and they confirmed that the bowls on these can and have been unlevel. Suggested a light sand on protuding ridges and if that doesn't fix it, replacement will be shipped out
So, now what to use on a porcalin ridge to reduce it's height???
thanks
j
 

Terry

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Are the bottoms of manufactured commodes supposed to be fairly level? The ridge is nearly visible on this one. Seems like the mfg would double check the squareness before shipping...

Well, that's debatable.

Some brands throw just about anything in the box, and let the plumber or the homeowner figure it out as to whether it's good enough.

I've seen some American Standard and Kohler so bad that I just took them back right away. Most of their stuff you can shim and caulk so it works.

The bowls on the Crane Rexmont wall hung bowls were always curved. They look real funny with a seat on them. It's like they set the bowl on a sawbench and it sagged as it dried.

All this stuff is made from clay, and clay is wet, and clay sags.

Some manufacturers like TOTO use drier clay, so there is less of the warped and sagging that other have, and they throw out the bad stuff before we get a chance to see it. It saves a lot of time and shipping that way.
 
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