WOBBLY TOILET: what does it mean & how would I fix it?

Question

The toilet in a house I am buying is unstable & wobbles / rocks around. How bad is this? What does it indicate? How would I go about fixing it?

thanks a bunch!

great idea! can i do that if it's "as is" and i've already made an offer? I know the subfloor probably isn't the issue, everythings pretty solid otherwise.

Answer 1

Could be one or more of a few things.
Easy things to check and repair:

There are 2 bolts that hold it to the floor, make sure they are snug, but be careful do not tighten them too much as you can crack the toilet

Could be in need of a new Wax Ring. There is really no checking of this, (other than just checking for water leaking from the bottom of the toilet) just replace it as you will ruin the existing one by pulling the bowel up. This is the ring that seals the bottom of the toilet to the pipe to keep water going down the pipe and not on the floor, and also to help keep sewer gasses from escaping. They are simple to replace and I personally prefer some of the newer ones that use a synthetic wax/rubber seal as they are easier for a novice to repair and less chance of screwing it up when installing it. You have to make sure you scrape off the old one well before installing the new one.

Easy things to check and very hard to repair:

Could be a rotted floor under the toilet. When checking the wax ring you should check the floor to see if it is wet or rotten. I would stick a screw driver into the floor around the pipe when the bowl is removed. If it is soft it is time for a remodel. Here you will likely have to bring in a professional. You will have to cut out the bad flooring to the floor joists and replace a patch (the bigger the better to keep the seams away from the torque of the toilet. If you think of it the toilet is a large lever that twists against the floor. It generates a great deal of stress on the floor.

The lessen here is to maintain the toilet as it has water and leverage working to do a lot of damage if not taken care of when things go wrong.

Answer 2

It could be the fact when the toilet was installed it did not sit flush to the floor and is up a tad higher - actually sitting on the sewage pipe.

On the other hand, it could be the floor underneath is rotten away in some parts, causing the toilet to only be supported by the sewage pipe.


It could be the bolts are not tightened all the way - but I'd doubt that, someone would have done that long ago I would think.

Since the toilet is not supported by the sewage pipe or the wax ring between the sewage piple and toilet, it is " very" unlikely a bad wax ring will cause this. In fact, every wax ring I ever replaced only cause the toilet to leak, and had nothing to do with its stability.

I would check that out more carefully first, or add an " addendium" to your initial offer, to have this fixed as a condition of that offer being accepted.


BTW : I have seen where the wax ring did go bad and began to leak. However, the homeowner did not repair this and the leaking water did cause the surrounding floor to rot, and the toilet began to wobble. This is most likely the case, just so you know, if it turns out to be a bad wax ring, do not think replacing that will solve the wobble - only stop the leak from further damage to the floor. But the existing floor will still need repair if it is rotted from water damage.

Answer 3

Wobbly Toilet

Answer 4

It could just be loose bolts or something. However, the worst case scenario is that the floor under it could be in need of serious work. Does the floor seem "soft" or "cushiony" around the toilet when you walk on it? It could indicate rotten flooring around the toilet. Have a good, reputable inspector go over the house thoroughly before you buy it, and put a contingency into the offer that it be properly fixed prior to closing. We ran into a problem with having to have an entire bathroom floor replaced, and we had had the house inspected. There had been no sign of anything wrong when we looked at the house. We eventually came across evidence of a major water leak from a frozen pipe that had occurred years earlier (the house was used as a summer cottage) and had a contractor take a look at the flooring to make sure it was sound for our own peace of mind. The previous owner had hidden the leak from us - he duct taped the split pipe and put new wall board over the area so that the inspector wouldn't find it. The contractor said that the sub flooring was in such bad shape that we were lucky we didn't fall through.

Answer 5

Turn the water off to the toilet, scoop out the water, unhook the water line, loosen the nuts that fasten the toilet to the floor. Oh, don't forget to flush the toilet to empty the tank and remove the tank lid. Tilt the toilet to the side and peel it free from the old wax ring. Scrape off the old one from both surfaces and seat the new one in the hole in the floor. Examine the bolts that held it down and the nuts that held it in place if they need to be replaced then you will need to make a trip to the hardware store and get replacements. That is another dimension of repair but if the hardware in the floor is intact then simply replace the toilet on the wax ring, tighten the bolts, only a few turns each side, (you don't want to crack the base of the toilet) until the wax ring is squished into place and the toilet is settled firmly in place. It's a good idea to sit on it about half- way through to settle it all the way and tightenit the rest of the way.

Answer 6

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RE:
WOBBLY TOILET: what does it mean & how would I fix it?
The toilet in a house I am buying is unstable & wobbles / rocks around. How bad is this? What does it indicate? How would I go about fixing it?

thanks a bunch!

Answer 7

If all the other suggestions above do not help, it might be that your floor is not even. Check with a spirit level and if necessary use wooden or metal shims (I know water and wood or metal do not mix, but this is under the toilet, not in it). Cheers.

Answer 8

Please be aware that we had this problem in our "new" house, and within a short time, we had to tear up some flooring and subflooring because of seepage that was not readily apparent on the surface. Water seeping into subflooring plywood around a wax ring or shim that's bad can cause rot and mold problems. It cannot be ignored indefinitely.

Answer 9

You need plastic toilet shims installed. Get them at Home Centers or hardwares. Slide the shims under the toilet while watching a level placed across the bowl. When the bowl is level, mark the shims, remove one at a time, and cut on the mark. Reinstall and do all the shims. Make sure there are no leaks by flushing the toilet. Then you can caulk around the bottom of the bowl to hide the shims.

Answer 10

It could be something as simple as a worn wax ring or loose bolts - both easy to fix. It could also be a problem with the sub-floor - not so easy to fix. Your home inspector should be able to give you a better idea. I would definitely ask that it be fixed before you close.