all_thumbs_andy
Jan 8, 2010, 01:58 PM
Hello all. I'm new to the forum so I hope I'm submitting this is the right area.
I've been through heck the last few days because of an upstairs toilet. The people who lived in the house before me were apparently lazy bums and did all repairs in a half-buttocks manner. The toilet that's been driving me crazy has pretty much been leaking since I bought the house. The leak got worse recently when an obese relative caused the bowl to kind of come out of the floor a bit. Since then, a puddle forms every time the toilet is flushed. I decided to remove the bowl and replace the wax ring, thinking that was the real problem. I drained the water closet (tank) and bowl and unscrewed the bolts that hold the bowl to the floor. I set the bowl a side and looked at the flange in the floor and the remaining wax ring on the bottom of the bowl. It was a freaking mess (I don't like working with poopy). The PVC flange was broken on one side and the wax ring had two large cracks in it.
The subfloor and plywood underneath the linoleum was rotten near the toilet. I thought "Hey Andy, you should redo the floor while you've got the crapper out." I actually had no problems with the new floor or the linoleum tiles. They went in without problems and looked great. But, the existing flange was now about a half an inch below the new floor, not to mention it was still broken. After reading a few plumbing repair articles on the web I bought a flange extender/repair kit and new wax ring. They went in without any issue. I reseated the toilet and hooked the water supply up to test my repair. The floor flooded worse than ever! I was more than angry. I'll save the details but the short story is that my flange repair was fine. The leaking was actually coming from the gasket that was supposed seal the tank to the bowl.
Again, I read articles on the web and bought a complete toilet tank repair kit. I replaced all of the junk in the tank and put the tank back on the bowl. I tightened the bolts up and reconnected the water supply. Still leaking! I'm lost. I followed the directions that came with the repair kit. The tank does not appear to have any cracks. The leak is coming from the spongy gasket the seals the tank to the bowl. The tank doesn't sit level on the bowl (the side of the tank closest to the wall is lower). I tightened the two bolts in the front to make it level but that just seemed to make it worse. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can tightening the bolts too much cause the tank to leak?
I apologize for the long-winded question but I wanted to make sure I included as much history as possible.
I've been through heck the last few days because of an upstairs toilet. The people who lived in the house before me were apparently lazy bums and did all repairs in a half-buttocks manner. The toilet that's been driving me crazy has pretty much been leaking since I bought the house. The leak got worse recently when an obese relative caused the bowl to kind of come out of the floor a bit. Since then, a puddle forms every time the toilet is flushed. I decided to remove the bowl and replace the wax ring, thinking that was the real problem. I drained the water closet (tank) and bowl and unscrewed the bolts that hold the bowl to the floor. I set the bowl a side and looked at the flange in the floor and the remaining wax ring on the bottom of the bowl. It was a freaking mess (I don't like working with poopy). The PVC flange was broken on one side and the wax ring had two large cracks in it.
The subfloor and plywood underneath the linoleum was rotten near the toilet. I thought "Hey Andy, you should redo the floor while you've got the crapper out." I actually had no problems with the new floor or the linoleum tiles. They went in without problems and looked great. But, the existing flange was now about a half an inch below the new floor, not to mention it was still broken. After reading a few plumbing repair articles on the web I bought a flange extender/repair kit and new wax ring. They went in without any issue. I reseated the toilet and hooked the water supply up to test my repair. The floor flooded worse than ever! I was more than angry. I'll save the details but the short story is that my flange repair was fine. The leaking was actually coming from the gasket that was supposed seal the tank to the bowl.
Again, I read articles on the web and bought a complete toilet tank repair kit. I replaced all of the junk in the tank and put the tank back on the bowl. I tightened the bolts up and reconnected the water supply. Still leaking! I'm lost. I followed the directions that came with the repair kit. The tank does not appear to have any cracks. The leak is coming from the spongy gasket the seals the tank to the bowl. The tank doesn't sit level on the bowl (the side of the tank closest to the wall is lower). I tightened the two bolts in the front to make it level but that just seemed to make it worse. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can tightening the bolts too much cause the tank to leak?
I apologize for the long-winded question but I wanted to make sure I included as much history as possible.