[apelectric]

Bought a house recently. 1st floor half bath smelt bad no matter what we did, with all this time off due to covid decided to redo it. Toliet had been leaking, floor rotted and black mold everywhere. So, now I notice the 2nd floor full bath toliet wobbles a bit. No noticable leaks, no smell, no water. Tried tightening the toliet flange bolts, still wobbling.

Should I shim the toliet to stop the wobble or do I risk breaking the seal with the wax ring and having another mold and water damage issue down the line?

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[apelectric]

Slipped some shims in. Stopped wobbling, just curious if I should be worried about the flange and ring failing

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[HotRodx10]

Slipped some shims in. Stopped wobbling, just curious if I should be worried about the flange and ring failing

Short answer - Yes. The sufloor under the closet flange has failed. The toilet is now being at least partially supported by the drain pipe. This is a much bigger problem in the making. Time to replace the subfloor under and around the closet flange, unless you have access to the floor from underneath, in which case you could install 2x4 blocking around the closet flange from underneath, and save yourself tearing up the flooring around the toilet.

 

[apelectric]

Short answer - Yes. The sufloor under the closet flange has failed. The toilet is now being at least partially supported by the drain pipe. This is a much bigger problem in the making. Time to replace the subfloor under and around the closet flange, unless you have access to the floor from underneath, in which case you could install 2x4 blocking around the closet flange from underneath, and save yourself tearing up the flooring around the toilet.

No access from below unless we cut the plaster. Bathroom is tiled.

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[HotRodx10]

Well, it's your call, but if it was me, I wouldn't gamble with having the drain line break. I would (and have) bite the bullet and take out the section of the floor and subfloor around the closet flange, back to the center of the adjacent floor joists, install cleats (boards screwed into the joists with the top 3 1/2" below the top of the joist for the 2x4 blocking to sit on) and blocking around the closet flange to support the flange and subfloor, replace the section of subfloor (in 2 pieces is usually easier), and repair or replace the flooring. I recommend screwing a board under the joints in the subfloor (screw through the existing subfloor into a 1x4 or 2x4 placed flat 1 3/4" under the edge of the subfloor) in order to maintain continuity across the joint.

 

[AllanJ]

The upstairs toilet, which has been wobbling for awhile, needs a new wax ring underneath.

The bottom of the toilet must not touch the floor flange. A few thicknesses of corrugated cardbosard (such as from v aAmazon prime box), may help determine the clearance which is best a little more than 3/16 inches.

Test fit the toilet without a wax ring to be sure that you fixed the wobbling.

 

[Old Thomas]

I would pull the toilet out. Then you can see what is going on. If all is well, place the toilet without a wax ring. Shim it to level and steady, mark the shim locations. Take it out, glue the shims to the floor and put the toilet back with its wax ring.

 

[Ghostmaker]

Pull the toilet Fix the floor from above if you need to but check first and see if anyone bothered fastening the flange to the floor.

 

[apelectric]

Alright thanks guys. Once I'm done with the first floor bath I'll go on to this toliet on the 2nd floor.

I'll pull the toliet get an idea of the situation and hopefully just work from above. If the subfloor is rotted, I cant repair the flange from above, or I see some obvious leakage I'll cut it open from the first floor and work it from there.

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[TarheelTerp]

No access from below...

Would you rather deal with this ERROR at your convenience
or at 2AM with waste water cascading through the house?