Background:
I just purchased a home and the toilet started leaking a little out the base. It's an old house but the bath was remodeled--new tile, toilet, etc.
The toilet is a Gerber pressure-assist floor-mount with a rear outlet. I took it off the base, stripping off the caulk, and found a wax ring. It was definitely leaking at the outlet, I was surprised that it would do that just a few months after its installation. I was also surprised to find the back bolts pretty loose but didn't think about it at the moment. I just finished replacing the wax ring with a neoprene ring and--hurray--no leak.
The problem:
I've discovered that the toilet is only really contacting the floor at the floor bolts. It's lifting up in the rear AND in the front. The floor seems to be pretty level, so far as I and a cheap level can make out.
Is this common/designed for the toilet to lift up off the floor in the front and the rear? If I tighten the bolts in the back much beyond finger tight I start to hear creaking and fear that I will break the flange off the wall, but maybe that is ill-founded. But when you also factor in that the toilet lifts up off the floor in the rear 2 inches (by maybe 1/16" or 1/32") and the front 12 inches (by maybe 1/8"), it seems better if I leave the wall bolts a little looser, but then I fear that the toilet will start to develop a leak.
So my questions:
How tight should the wall-facing bolts be?
Is it normal for the toilet to lift up in the front and rear and/or where should I shim? I don't want the porcelain to crack when weight is placed on it!
Thanks!
I just purchased a home and the toilet started leaking a little out the base. It's an old house but the bath was remodeled--new tile, toilet, etc.
The toilet is a Gerber pressure-assist floor-mount with a rear outlet. I took it off the base, stripping off the caulk, and found a wax ring. It was definitely leaking at the outlet, I was surprised that it would do that just a few months after its installation. I was also surprised to find the back bolts pretty loose but didn't think about it at the moment. I just finished replacing the wax ring with a neoprene ring and--hurray--no leak.
The problem:
I've discovered that the toilet is only really contacting the floor at the floor bolts. It's lifting up in the rear AND in the front. The floor seems to be pretty level, so far as I and a cheap level can make out.
Is this common/designed for the toilet to lift up off the floor in the front and the rear? If I tighten the bolts in the back much beyond finger tight I start to hear creaking and fear that I will break the flange off the wall, but maybe that is ill-founded. But when you also factor in that the toilet lifts up off the floor in the rear 2 inches (by maybe 1/16" or 1/32") and the front 12 inches (by maybe 1/8"), it seems better if I leave the wall bolts a little looser, but then I fear that the toilet will start to develop a leak.
So my questions:
How tight should the wall-facing bolts be?
Is it normal for the toilet to lift up in the front and rear and/or where should I shim? I don't want the porcelain to crack when weight is placed on it!
Thanks!