Plumbing Help - Leaking Toilet

[FamilyMan]

Hoping for some help from the crowd.

Have a leaking toilet - water dripping into laundry room below, enough to make a small puddle on top of the dryer that is directly below the toilet. Fortunately the ceiling is unfinished in the laundry room so no damage there.

I figured it was a bad wax seal. Removed the toilet and cleaned/scraped everything. Replaced the shut-off valve because it would not shut off all the way. The toilet flange was in poor shape, but not totally shot. The flange was, however, recessed about 3/8-inch below the floor so I purchased two PVC flange spacers and, using a little epoxy between them, stacked them onto the existing flange and screwed the whole thing to the floor. Added wax ring (one, "extra thick" with the black plastic ring attached) and reinstalled the toilet and..... the leak persists.

Open to any ideas you may have and/or recommendation for a plumber in Missoula who would fix for less than a couple hundred dollars.

Thanks!

 

[rjthehunter]

Is the water coming from below the toilet, or is it below the waterline? I'm assuming it is water and not a leak from the sanitary sewer line?

I'd guess it's the water line connecting to the toilet by the shutoff. That seems to be the most common leaking place I've seen, whether it be toilets or sinks. You'd see a puddle under the line though. Any wet sheetrock near the toilet?

 

[FamilyMan]

Floor around the toilet was totally dry. Only discovered the leak because of the drip in the laundry room below.

When I removed the toilet the flooring immediately adjacent to toilet flange was swollen from water being absorbed into plywood flooring.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Floor around the toilet was totally dry. Only discovered the leak because of the drip in the laundry room below.

When I removed the toilet the flooring immediately adjacent to toilet flange was swollen from water being absorbed into plywood flooring.

If it's the flange area it should only leak when flushed. Could still be the wax ring, they are kinda tricky to get on right. I've used some of the no-wax rings with decent results so far but most plumbers will say they see more problems with those than the traditional wax rings. You were wise with the thick ring as that's what plumbers have told me to use. Going to be over $100/hour if you call a legit plumber, likely minimum 1 hour charge. Only other thing I can think to check is to make sure no cracks in porcelain but if you can't see it from above that seems unlikely.

Last thought, you did remove the black plastic piece before re-installing yes? Not trying to insult you but isn't clear from your post. The black plastic is just there for handling and keeping from making a mess and then once you get it on the toilet you remove that and set it on the flange.

 

[thomas89]

Hmm. Not a fan of more parts than necessary, especially plumbing, especially toilets. I’d get rid of those shims and if your flange was questionable fix it now anyways. Extra thick wax rings always, a little extra wax won’t hurt anything. Gotta make sure that toilet hasn’t slipped at all when making that final move to seat it.

I once had to rip out a new installed toilet and double check everything, turns out the wife didn’t close the shower curtain all the way and water leaked all over the floor. She forgot to mention she mopped up some of the water but didn’t notice it had made it all the way to the toilet. mint.

 

[FamilyMan]

If it's the flange area it should only leak when flushed. Could still be the wax ring, they are kinda tricky to get on right. I've used some of the no-wax rings with decent results so far but most plumbers will say they see more problems with those than the traditional wax rings. You were wise with the thick ring as that's what plumbers have told me to use. Going to be over $100/hour if you call a legit plumber, likely minimum 1 hour charge. Only other thing I can think to check is to make sure no cracks in porcelain but if you can't see it from above that seems unlikely.

Last thought, you did remove the black plastic piece before re-installing yes? Not trying to insult you but isn't clear from your post. The black plastic is just there for handling and keeping from making a mess and then once you get it on the toilet you remove that and set it on the flange.

It only leaks when flushed. Guess I forgot to mention that.

I removed the ring around the wax, but not the tapered ring that fits within the drain pipe.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

It only leaks when flushed. Guess I forgot to mention that.

I removed the ring around the wax, but not the tapered ring that fits within the drain pipe.
View attachment 378166

Looks correct to me. I got nothing else, might be worth trying a new wax ring since they are pretty cheap, like mentioned above can be finicky. Also make sure very clean everywhere if removing the old one.

 

[MtsPSU]

Hoping for some help from the crowd.

Have a leaking toilet - water dripping into laundry room below, enough to make a small puddle on top of the dryer that is directly below the toilet. Fortunately the ceiling is unfinished in the laundry room so no damage there.

I figured it was a bad wax seal. Removed the toilet and cleaned/scraped everything. Replaced the shut-off valve because it would not shut off all the way. The toilet flange was in poor shape, but not totally shot. The flange was, however, recessed about 3/8-inch below the floor so I purchased two PVC flange spacers and, using a little epoxy between them, stacked them onto the existing flange and screwed the whole thing to the floor. Added wax ring (one, "extra thick" with the black plastic ring attached) and reinstalled the toilet and..... the leak persists.

Open to any ideas you may have and/or recommendation for a plumber in Missoula who would fix for less than a couple hundred dollars.

Thanks!

Check the connection between the tank and the base/bowl since they can leak over time.

 

[Mussgrass]

Any chance it could be condensation from somewhere?

 

[kansasdad]

Are you seeing active leaking when flushed after the new ring was installed? If its not "active", perhaps the water you are seeing on the dryer is passively dripping from where the sub floor get saturated.


PS: I HATE PLUMBING PROBLEMS (capital letters intentional!)

 

[FamilyMan]

Check the connection between the tank and the base/bowl since they can leak over time.
Will do, but wouldn't that leak water onto the bathroom floor? My only visible leak is into the laundry room below.

Any chance it could be condensation from somewhere?
Pretty dry climate here - not much in the way of condensation.

Are you seeing active leaking when flushed after the new ring was installed? If its not "active", perhaps the water you are seeing on the dryer is passively dripping from where the sub floor get saturated.
Yes. Active leaking right after a flush - although all you can see is it dripping off the low point of the drain pipe and not where it originates.

Appreciate the help. Keep up the thinking - we'll get this figured out yet!!

 

[kansasdad]

Are you seeing active leaking when flushed after the new ring was installed? If its not "active", perhaps the water you are seeing on the dryer is passively dripping from where the sub floor get saturated.
Yes. Active leaking right after a flush - although all you can see is it dripping off the low point of the drain pipe and not where it originates.

So if you pull the toilet and pour water down the drain, you will have proven the problem isn't the toilet but lower.

My money is on the flange spacers and epoxy failing to seal

 

[Tradewind]

You have probably checked this. But make sure the toilet sits flush to the floor surface
and doesn't rock.. I have had to shim a few, putting pennies where there is uneven floor
surface then cover them with seal

 

[warmer]

The local plumber is planning an adventure hunt this fall. Call him, get it fixed properly and support another hunters habit.

 

[wytex]

Stack 2 wax rings on top of each other and really sit down hard to seat the toilet, heaviest plumber always does that on house calls we were told.

 

[FamilyMan]

Stack 2 wax rings on top of each other and really sit down hard to seat the toilet, heaviest plumber always does that on house calls we were told.

That seems to have fixed it. I took the toilet back off and the wax ring I had installed didn't appear to be very deformed (from pushing the toilet down on it). This led me to believe that the "gap" wasn't being properly filled with a single extra-thick wax ring. So, I took that one off and put on a new extra-thick ring plus one regular thickness and now no more leak. The double stack ring appears to be what I needed.

Thanks everyone for the pointers.

Mark