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New toilet wont go all the way down into place

10K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  AllanJ 
#1 ·
Im installing a toilet in my basement floor,which is concrete.I have it all ready in place but it wont completely touch the concrete,is this normal so when i do install tile it can go underneath the toilet.I have the wax ring in place and i pushed it down as hard as i could but it will not touch the floor.The nuts are screwed in also

thx
 
#5 ·
Install the tile or other finished flooring before installing the toilet.

Sometimes the flange does not fit inside the toilet lower footing. A PVC flange can be trimmed away provided the part where the bolt is fitted through is not compromised.

If the toilet has to be removed, the wax ring already used has to be fluffed back into its original shape before you try again, or (for example if it is too dirty) discarded and replaced.
 
#7 ·
Is the flange flush/sitting on the floor or up off the floor (with space under it)? Trying to install flooring around an existing toilet is a real pain. Install the floor first. I have never seen a wax seal so hard that it cannot be compressed. Sounds more like a flange positioning problem.
 
#9 ·
I have used the seals with plastic horns for years, and never had a problem, as long as the drain pipe was 3" or 4". I did find one that was 2-1/2" and the horn would not go down into the pipe. Only one I have ever seen. I have used Kno-leak and Kant-leak brand.
 
#11 ·
Ron, please don't put the tile floor in with the toilet installed. It's so much better to install the toilet after the floor. If you need to temporarily install the toilet before the floor then shim it so it doesn't rock. I've seen others suggest cutting some pressure treated plywood to match the shape of the toilet base to simulate the height of the tile.

Tiling will be much easier with the toilet removed and will look much better. It will only cost you 2 bucks or less for a new wax ring. The few minutes to pull and reinstall the toilet will save the time you'd spend cutting tile to fit around the toilet base. And then if you ever have to replace the toilet you won't need to worry about whether the base is the same shape (it won't be).

Oh and yes level the toilet.
 
#12 ·
If the toilet rocks back and forth after you installed it, then you've broken the wax seal. The toilet may or may not leak at floor level right away but it really should be taken up, re-prepped so as to not rock when test fitted in place without the wax seal and without caulk, and then re-installed with new wax seal.
 
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