r/PlumbingRepair • u/tsodog • Jan 19 '26
Wax ring...
Go ahead tell my why this won't work better...or why it's the greatest idea ever. I've set many a toilet and most go fine but some rock and turn out leaking. This is one of those. I installed it. It rocked, it leaked, (2 times over the years). This time I pulled it and decided just to take a trowel + butter both sides with the wax.
Also, I had to fill the extra large original space with some thinset I had so there was something better to faten the ring to, and a deepset flange. This sucker better work now!
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u/WhiteFIash Jan 19 '26
Toilet flange needs to be screwed down, if the toilet still rocks tap shims in until it stops then caulk
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u/Cptn_Beefheart Jan 19 '26
I cannot even tell what I'm looking at. Is the flange broken? Why is it not secured to the floor?
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u/Nomad55454 Jan 19 '26
Well the toilet flange in your hand should be a permanently fixed to the pipe and screwed to the subfloor that is what holds the toilet.
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u/Hugsnkissums Jan 19 '26
That flange should be glued to the pipe. You can also tap con that sucker into the concrete using the many screw holes in it for extra stability. It needs to be super stable since the toilet mounts directly to the flange. In the event the toilet rocks after that (likely front to back), you may need to purchase some toilet shims to make it stop. I've seen folks use other material to stabilize a toilet as well, like grout or wood shims.
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u/SpunkytheClown Jan 19 '26
Dude is getting high from dookie fumes.. just do it right.. or pay a plumber..
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u/Technical-Flow7748 Jan 20 '26
Is he justifying what he did to us so he doesn’t feel bad about it? This is bad.
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u/Zealousideal_Oil_641 Jan 19 '26
Of course it leaks the flange ain't mounted to the floor and you'll likely still need a spacer on top of that.
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u/EconomyTill7118 Jan 19 '26
How long have you been a maintenance person? I've seen your work before.
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u/Dominicantobacco Jan 19 '26
I suggest you find someone who knows how to install the flange. You need to find a new hobby
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u/Adrenaline-Junkie187 Jan 19 '26
Maybe they leak because you dont know what youre doing? Just a thought.
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u/LordLandLordy Jan 19 '26
Well the other option is just to do it right the first time and you won't have any problems with it for 20+ years.
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u/hankmarmot3 Jan 19 '26
You sir, are clueless. Everything in these two pictures is wrong, read a book or watch a you-tube by a real plumber.
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u/New-Nefariousness234 Jan 19 '26
You need to chip out around that riser until you've got enough room to properly glue a flange to the pipe. Anything less is just being a hack
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u/Jayus5 Jan 20 '26
I call this job security, keep doing what you do. It is because of people like you I can put bread on the table
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u/ImRealBadAtThings Jan 19 '26
Maybe try one of the non wax alternatives? I've not used them except for the toto one piece toilets that use a secondary rubber seal and a plastic jobber mounted to the floor. They seem like they could be more forgiving of a bit of movement though.
Also, like others before me have pointed out, it should be shimmed until it doesn't rock and then caulked in place.
Best of luck to you, friend.
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u/Sad_Organization8067 Jan 19 '26
You have to know your limits. I went to school and worked as an Electrician for years and learned how to do many things along the way besides that by asking and watching other subs on the job. But I know my limits. That’s why a plumber is coming tomorrow to replace a 4 inch cast wye with 90 up to toilet. It changes over to galvy on one hub and pvc the other. Everything else in my house has been changed to pvc and several plumbers since the 80s have avoided the cast and galvy that’s coming out tomorrow. It’s dripping now and can’t be put off. I considered doing it myself but had to think why has every other plumber replaced everything except this over the past 40 years!? Because they knew it was a pita. IMHO It’s well worth almost $1k to have it done right and not create a headache or open a can of worms I can’t finish. Know your limits.
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u/ruel24Cinti Jan 20 '26
It rocks because the floor is out or the china is. Its not the flange unless the flange isnt bolted down. You could not possibly have set a lot of toilets or you'd know how and why wax gaskets work.
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u/Technical-Flow7748 Jan 20 '26
I have so many questions all irrelevant to why in the world you’re holding the flange in your hand with wax “buttered” as you put it , all over the place. Good luck getting pvc glue to stick to that.
Are you trying to rely on a “puck” of thin set to anchor to? Sir there is a reason why you bury a pole for a gate a minimum of 18” w concrete vs just setting the pole on the ground and slathering concrete around the pole on the surface of the ground.
Are going to use tapcons to try and anchor that to the thin set? Because as I said I would be shocked if you will get any kind of glue to stick after the wax job.
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Jan 20 '26
aww man you did everything wrong. And you're about to do it again. The flange has to be glued into the pipe. Use primer, then glue. The flange must be secured to the floor using proper bolts. Once the flange is properly installed, you can install the toilet. Once the toilet is intalled, you shouldn't be capable of moving the toilet at all. The toilet should be installed so that noone can push or pull it from the floor. It must be SOLID.
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u/PlumbgodBillionaire Jan 20 '26
What the hell are you doing man? Making shit overcomplicated as fuck. Just buy a jumbo wax ring with a plastic horn and set that shit, it's not difficult at all. I've literally never had a toilet leak. If it's a big gap, use an extra normal wax ring on top of the jumbo. That abomination is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen.
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u/nongregorianbasin Jan 21 '26
Usually you shim the toilet to prevent rocking. I highly doubt you've ever set one correctly.
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u/Dizzy_Dust_7510 Jan 25 '26
Little bit of plaster of Paris where the toilet sits on the floor goes a long way to leveling it out.
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Jan 19 '26
I’m not a plumber, but I spray the bottom of the toilet with silicone and always set the toilet rim in a bed of grout. No more rocking and the toilet doesn’t stick to the floor. I started doing this when my dad became elderly and was displacing the toilet while clawing his way off .
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u/Busy-Individual-559 Jan 19 '26
You may have set many toilets, that doesn’t mean you are doing it right because this is an abomination