Toilet is leaking again, probably by plumber's mistake?

Question

live in an upstair condo(A201), and this incident involves ceiling & wall repair in downstair unit(A101).

The first incident happend less than 3 months ago, which was 4 months after I bought this condo. At that time, the plumber who was called in by an insurance company, reported this as an improper installation. The previous owner installed toilet AFTER she installed bathroom tiles and ON the tiles, so eventually the insurance company refused my claim. I had another plumber fix it, but he didn't remove the tiles, saying if he leveled the flange on the same height of the tiles, he didn't need to remove the tiles. So, he installed flange and wax gasket without removing the tiles. Needless to say, I also had to pay for the damage for A101.

It had been OK until leak happended again 3 days ago, wetting ceilings and wall in A101. I called the plumber who fixed it, but he refused to offer warranty for his work, saying the problem might be a different one. I opened the ceiling in A101, and found the water is leaking somewhere near the flange he fixed.

The plumber is trying to avoid my calls, saying if it's been around 3 months, he doesn't have any responsibility for it, WITHOUT even inspecting the toilet. Someone suggested me to report to CSLB(Contractors State License Board), but I'd like to find out if this could be the plumber's fault. I'm desperately seeking your opinions on this. Please save my Christmas! Thanks in advance!

Dear klbytheba, Thanks for your answer. There has been no abuse or special circumstance in using the toilet. My wife is 100lbs, and I'm 140lbs. Almost no one has used the toilet. The only problem I found was that 2 bolts on each side of the toilet bottom are a little loose, but the toilet itself is stable and not moving.

The plumber replaced theflange with a brand new one. I'm sorry, but I'm really not technical on this field, so what I saw was that he installed a new black rubber(or plastic?) flange, then put a wax gasket on it. And the water leak was very strong, almost like splashing on the flange part if I look up from downstair unit.

Answer 1

OK you mite not like my answer ,but it will explain what happened to your toilet, when the first person , installed the tiles, they just placed the toilet over the tiles, with a wax ring ,and no flange, simple mistake for a home owner,

but not good, flanges support the toilet ,and offer a buffer zone , between the toilet,and the wax ring , which should have been a thick wax ring ,including the rubber in-cert, however when plumber # 2 turn ups he does just that , which he was correct in doing , no need to uninstall the tile, they dont affect the toilet, just the height of the toilet , hence the flange ,and new wax ring, some toilets leak for little or no reason, heat , drying out ,of the wax ring, or just plain simple, movement of the person sitting down ,
one more point , i do believe he did a good job, and he cant guartee some thing, that has three major factor involved, and the possible damage he cant ,predict, or be held liable for,
if you need to blame any one , sue the last owner, she did a crappy job , and you ended up with the bill, after all your insurance guy informed you of the crappy job. right?
but after all i ve said i guartee all my work , in the event , this happens, it dont cover damage , but the replacement of the items, in your case , a new wax ring , $2.99

Answer 2

The bolts being a little loose a short time after installation is fairly normal, as the toilet 'seats' into the wax ring. (The wax ring will compress a bit more, over the initial period of time...and you dont want the bolts too tight, or they can break your toilet base).

The plumber replaced the existing flange? How did he do this? Did he remove the old flange, and glue a new one on? Or did he use a "flange extender"? A flange extender simply has a gasket around it, and it fits down into the original. If the gasket didnt fit tightly, its possible there could be some back-up that could get past it.

If youve not had any leaks upstairs, on your floor, then the problem is not with the flange/toilet connection, its farther down, such as with the flange/drain connection. If this is the case, then yes, the plumber is liable, because that connection wouldnt receive any stress from using the toilet anyway, (assuming the new flange did not stick way up past the level of the tile).

I'd advise two things... call your local building codes office, and ask them what is typically called for in your situation. You need to know that... and if necessary, ask them to come out and inspect the problem.

Second thing... since the plumber that did the repair 'appears' to be ducking your calls, put everything in writing, and send it registered, or signature required upon receipt... you'll need that should it be necessary to take him to court. (Keep a copy)

Good Luck

Answer 3

get a double reinforced wax ring.It containes much more wax than convential rings that way it will seal better as far as the flange.And you can use longer bolts to fasten it down to the floor you just need to get through the tiles to the sub flooring. Hope that helps.Do you know what work was done to it when the plumber serviced it ?If you try replaceing the ring with a double reenforced you might have a claim to it being his fault, not sure but im sure the cost of repairs is not cheap for the other apartment.And also does the toilet wobble at all?Also if you do replace the wax ring take a look at the elbow he connected the flange to,are they both galvanized metal or PVC(plastic).Good Luck

Answer 4

How is it leaking? Is water continuously working into the bowl? if so, it extremely is a uncomplicated adjustment on the fill-valve or ballcock. in spite of the fact that if it extremely is broken, it extremely is going to ought to get replaced and this suggests eliminating the tank and setting up a clean one with tank gasket. this could be time eating and in all hazard fee greater suitable than setting up a clean American ordinary Cadet bathroom. make confident what's broken till now hiring somebody to repair it.

Answer 5

Hear your side of this sounds like he is negligent in his installation however I can't help but wonder what extenuating circumstances there might be. Was the fixture subject to some sort of abuse or extraordinary stress forcing it loose ?

Answer 6

he should have used a # 3 gasket, one with a plastic funnel in it,