How high should wax ring hold toilet???

Hey Folks, When setting a toilet using a wax ring, carefully and as level as possible, approximately how high off the finished floor should the toilet be under it's own weight-before beginning to push down on the toilet??? in other words, how high off the finished floor should the wax ring hold the toilet???
Thanks alot..
Steve

Toilets will vary from one to another. As long as the wax compersses it should be O.K.

Please, I need numbers........., 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", all of these are ok???????, I'm trying to find out here rather then through a failed installation.
Thanks so much,
Steve

No particular distance. I simply hold the toilet up and align it over the bolts and more or less feel that it is fitting as I lower it onto the flange. If both bolts are in the flange properly and come thru the holes then it is reasonably well centered. A little wiggling and the toilet will contact the floor as you get it to sit almost completely down. As you tighten the bolts it will pull the toilet on down the last iddy biddy bit. You will have it tight enough when you can not move it with a moderate amount of pushing and pulling... You should be able to sit on it and move around as you normally would with absolutely no movement. Over tightening can break the flange or the base of the toilet. It has been a long time...but I've done both.

If the installation is following industry standard.........


most wax rings are 1"

most flanges are 3/8" of an inch thick, ON TOP THE FINISHED FLOOR

Normally the inset of a toilet base is around 1/2" to 3/4"

take those numbers and somewhere in the midst of all of that the wax ring should be depressing about a 1/2 to 3/4" inches before the toilet bottoms out on the floor.

A good installation normally has a finished 3/8" to 1/2" of wax between flange and toilet with the excess wax spreading outward and heavily packed tight around that flange.

wax ring

As long as the toilet contacts the wax ring before it reaches the floor, it will provide a seal. Obviosly the best seal is when the flange is on top of the floor so that the ring is under miaximum compression when you set the toilet. The wax ring does not have any "rebound" capacity, however, so once the toilet presses it down, if the toilet rises because of wiggle or any thing else, the ring will compress to the lowest point and leave a gap when the toilet reverts to a higher position.

as long as the top of the toilet flange is level with or on top of the finished floor a single standard wax ring will work fine. If the top surface of the flange is below the finished floor you need to either (1) use two waxes (2) use a thicker than normal wax (they sell them with 50% thicker wax) (3) use toilet spacers to bring the flange level with the floor.

foam alternative to wax rings, could be better in these situations.

round about now someone should mention the newer product, made of foam, that is able bounce back (doesn't have "memory") so it solves this problem with wax rings. It prevents leaks due to movement that a wax ring cannot handle. Jadnashua (Jim) has often written about them.

david

I always set the toilet before wax ring. If the toilet wiggles than use shims... If the flange is flush with the floor or up, use one wax ring. if it's below use two.... how far I compresss?.....

Using that basic rule I don't have leaks.....


good luck


dances-with-pumps