Wall hung toilet creaking

[Nancy_Wang]

Hello everyone,

I have a very old wall hung toilet (made in 1968!). The tank is cracked. The plumber said this type of tank is no longer available so I have to replace the whole toilet. They replaced it with Gerber Maxwell. However, after a few weeks, there is creaking noise when I sit on the toilet. The noise becomes louder and louder.

The plumber said the noise may be from the carrier inside the wall. They need to cut our the wall to see how to fix it, but they can't patch the wall. Can anyone tell me is it worth doing this? Does anyone know where does this noise come from? How can I fix it? Thank you!

Terry, I know you are an expert of the wall hung toilet. Can you please help me with this question? Thank you!

 

[Terry]

Hi Nancy,
You might want to order these and see if that helps with the bowl. The holes on the new bowl are pretty big, and these fit inside and make a snugger fit.

Zurn Z5610-NUT-EXT-KIT $14.71 Carrier Hardware, 5/8 in. Size, Wall | Zoro.com

You can replace one nut at a time to make it easier. That way you always have three left keeping the bowl in place.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Nancy_Wang]

Thank you Terry.
Do you mean the reason of this creaking noise is the 4 bolts hole in the new toilet (Gerber) is larger than the old toilet made in 1968? But the noise sounds like the cantilever is creaking. I don't know why.

I found a carrier picture you posted before. Do you mean I should replace the 4 things I circled in picture with the nuts in the link you send above?

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

Thank you Terry.
Do you mean the reason of this creaking noise is the 4 bolts hole in the new toilet (Gerber) is larger than the old toilet made in 1968? But the noise sounds like the cantilever is creaking. I don't know why.

I found a carrier picture you posted before. Do you mean I should replace the 4 things I circled in picture with the nuts in the link you send above?


View attachment 76823

No. The toilet needs to rest against nuts and washers that are behind the toilet as pictured. The nuts and washers need to be perfectly level and in plane with the wall but protruding ever so slightly out from the wall so that the toilet doesn't make contact with the finished wall surface. The nuts that Terry shows are installed on the exterior to hold the toilet tight against those washers. The new toilet has a larger hole through the porcelain than the original and those nuts take up some of that space.

Some plumbers don't have enough experience with wall hung toilets to get all the details just right and they really need to be, Just Right in order to function without noise and not break. The backing nuts/washers can be adjusted to make just the right contact between the gasket on the drain barrel and the correct spacing from the wall. Both the drain barrel and backing nuts are needed to be set correctly.

 

[Nancy_Wang]

Thank you very much for your post.

So what I understand is, there is no need to cut out the wall. This creaking noise can be fixed by adjusting the nuts/washers to be perfectly level, is it correct? That's a good news. I will let the plumber know all your useful suggestions.

If anyone else know more about it, please also let me know. I don't know anything about plumbing. Thank you all for your help.

 

[Reach4]

So what I understand is, there is no need to cut out the wall. This creaking noise can be fixed by adjusting the nuts/washers to be perfectly level, is it correct? That's a good news.

I took it as more that it may stop the creaking and definitely worth a try, but not for sure that you will not need to open the wall to remove creaking.

 

[Terry]

The flange on the Gerber bowl is thinner than what you took out, also the holes are larger. I sometimes pick up extra 5/8" washers if I need to snug it tighter to the wall. The old acorn nuts may not thread in far enough.
The package from Zoro has more length so that will thread in further, and they also are a bit wider where they pass through the holes in the bowl. It's worth a try for the little amount of money they sell them for. It's what I used on my last install, and I sure wish I had taken pictures of them installed.

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

My last wall hung toilet that the owners complained about Creaking was caused by the drain barrel not being centered on the toilet/carrier. The drain barrel made contact with the horn of the toilet and made a noise because there was movement due to the toilet not having backing nuts/washers. We aligned the drain barrel and added the proper nut/washer combo and got a rock solid toilet that won't leak or creak.

 

[Chameleon]

I have a similar noise problem, looking for guidance. I recently recently purchased a home built in 1974 that had a wall hung toilet. The previous owner did a lot of remodeling, so I don't know what the original toilet was. The new toilet I now have is an American Standard Glenwall model 2093 elongated.

The toilet works great. However, every time I sit on it, there is creaking. I am a small person, (125#) which I don't think should stress the toilet in any manner.

My question: is this noise merely an annoyance, or is it a harbinger of problems to come that need to be fixed asap?

Floor mount toilets are no-brainers to me, but this wall-hung thing is the undiscovered country. I know nothing, and don't know if I can tackle this myself or if I need to search for a plumber.

Any wisdom from those of you who know would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!