Tilted toilet.. to replace or not replace.. that is the Question!!

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pestario76

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Ok..
Ok.. so I have this half bathroom (the dreadful color is unimportant!!) when you sit on the extrememly Cold toilet seat..(also not important!!, sorry) the toilet shifts and its not the seat its the entire toilet.. its tilted? or uneven? not a HUGE tilt persay.. but its definitally noticable. The tank sounds like it starts to refill when this happens .. for like a moment...then it stops. My question is.. is this fixable.. without replacing the floor? the floor doesnt appear saggy or sunk in.. or uneven.. I wasnt sure if there was something missing on the base of the toilet itself that I could replace or will I have to call a plumber? I am a very quick study and good with my hands.. ( the son my father never had!! jk) Also, if this is something that is fairly easily fixed.. what tools will I need to buy, borrow, or rent? I would Love to NOT call a plumber as I am fairly broke.. :)
 

Jadnashua

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It's not that hard to remove and then replace a toilet IF you can lift it (they're sort of heavy). Problem is, since the toilet was not shimmed so it was stable, the thing has been leaking into the floor, and your floor may need to be replaced. If you're lucky, this hasn't been going on too long, and if you reset the toilet so it doesn't leak and rock, the floor will dry out and still be sound. If it's been awhile, it will never be right until the floor is replaced.
 

pestario76

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It's not that hard to remove and then replace a toilet IF you can lift it (they're sort of heavy). Problem is, since the toilet was not shimmed so it was stable, the thing has been leaking into the floor, and your floor may need to be replaced. If you're lucky, this hasn't been going on too long, and if you reset the toilet so it doesn't leak and rock, the floor will dry out and still be sound. If it's been awhile, it will never be right until the floor is replaced.

ok.. YES I would get help lifting.. LOL.. (hopefully!) So I guess the next question is... how do I know if the floor needs replaced or if its just the toilet? And .. LOL.. do you have any suggestions for lighting a fire under my landlords butt if the floor does need replaced? i have phoned.. and sent letters.. no reply as of yet..( I hate to nag.. makes me nervous)
 

alannaimee

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Just a DIYer here, but a few things come to mind. Unlevel tile floor, loose flange bolts. I had one with the same prob, my tile floor is unlevel. The toilet is easy to remove to investigate.
TURN OFF THE WATER at the valve near the back (to the right).
Flush the toilet to drain the tank, then soak up the rest with towels or use a shop vac if you have one.
Loosen the nuts on the flange bolts (one on either side). Disconnect the water line at the tank (have the towel ready some water seems to always come out of mine).
The toilet will then lift off the flange (its heavy and don't forget the tank cover that is not connected).

You should be able to clean off the old wax ring and check it all out. The flange (a piece that has slots for the bolts to hold the toilet down and connects to the soil pipe) shouldn't be broken or cracked. The subfloor should be sound, no sign of leaking.

If all that looks good, I'm out of suggestions. Once the toilet is pulled, you probably should cap the drain stack (I usually use a plastic bag just to keep the gases/ smell to a minimum although you can be rready to go back together in 30 mins or so). You'll also need a wax ring to reinstall the toilet ($1 or so at the boxes)

The pros should be along shortly.

Good luck,
Alan
 

Gary Swart

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You mentioned a "landlord". This obviously indicates you are renting. This problem is the landlord's. He is required to maintain the plumbing and electrical. It is very rare that a renter is permitted to repair these problems. I'm not sure to whom you can report this if he balks at immediately getting this dealt with, but there are ways to force him if necessary.
 

Medusa569

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ok.. YES I would get help lifting.. LOL.. (hopefully!) So I guess the next question is... how do I know if the floor needs replaced or if its just the toilet? And .. LOL.. do you have any suggestions for lighting a fire under my landlords butt if the floor does need replaced? i have phoned.. and sent letters.. no reply as of yet..( I hate to nag.. makes me nervous)


when it comes to landlords and they are unresponsive file a complaint with the local rental oversight department. Sadly a lot of landlords need a litigious or municipal threat to get the job done.
 

Medusa569

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ok.. YES I would get help lifting.. LOL.. (hopefully!) So I guess the next question is... how do I know if the floor needs replaced or if its just the toilet? And .. LOL.. do you have any suggestions for lighting a fire under my landlords butt if the floor does need replaced? i have phoned.. and sent letters.. no reply as of yet..( I hate to nag.. makes me nervous)

You CAN get away with an uneven floor ( and it's not yours) . My friend has s condo that surprisingly has uneven tile floor so when the toilet was pulled it was very noticeable when trying to reseat a new gasket . I went with the ( god bless em ) more current flexible double funnel type gasket which doesn't seem to require an even floor and then tried to level to level it as much as I could with many shims. After caulking it would take a keen eye to notice the floor slope. IMO they should make this type of longer funnel type design for the toilet to bowl gaskets...current ones they have don't always cut it.too short in the tail end. For a renter you don't WANT to try and fix it as it opens up a whole liability issue you could do well without.
 

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