How To Set A Toilet On An Uneven Surface

How to Level a Toilet Using Toilet Shims

Toilet shims are thin plastic or rubber tabs that are used to level a toilet. You can also use homemade wooden shims or stainless steel coins. If a toilet is installed on an uneven floor or if the toilet flange is too high off the floor, the toilet will need to be shimmed.

If you notice that your toilet is wobbling/rocking, you will need to shim it. A wobbly toilet possess great danger to the user especially if they are elderly or disabled.

Apart from that, a rocking/wobbly toilet will with time unseat the toilet wax ring. The wax ring is the toilet seal sandwiched between the bottom of the toilet and the toilet flange. It provides an air and water-tight seal to contain the sewer gases and flush water.

If the integrity of the seal is compromised in this case by the wobbly toilet, flush water which will have traces of urine and feces will start leaking from the base of your toilet. Sewer gases will also reign supreme in the bathroom.

It is therefore crucial that you learn how to shim a toilet and always do it as soon as it starts to wobble or when installing a toilet in an uneven surface. It is however not all wobbly toilets that need to be shimmed.

Sometimes the toilet bolts become loose and therefore the toilets starts to rock about. Check this detail out before going ahead to shim the toilet. Use an adjustable wrench to tighten the toilet bolts but not too much that you crack the toilet bowl.

How to Shim a Toilet

Shimming a toilet will depend on whether you are shimming a toilet that is already installed and that is rocking, or are shimming a new toilet that you are installing. It could also be that you are installing a toilet on a toilet flange that is higher than the recommended height from the floor (1/4 inch)

How to Shim a Wobbly/Rocking Toilet

Before going ahead to shim the toilet, check the base of the toilet to make sure the toilet is not leaking. If you notice a little bit of water collecting round the base of the toilet it means your toilet wax ring is not sealing and will need to be replaced before shimming the toilet.

If the toilet is just wobbly and not leaking, go ahead and shim it. The best toilet shims are the ones with a ribbed design which enables them to be double-stacked if need be.

If you have a spirit level place it on the bowl to know which side of the floor the toilet is slanting. If you don't have the spirit there is no need to worry. Hold the toilet bowl with both hands and rock it a little to see which side has a gap. This is better done when you are in a kneeling or squatting position.

Start sliding the shims, making sure you are putting them at the front and also at the back to distribute the toilet pressure evenly. As you add the shims, keep trying to see if the toilet is stabilizing by rocking it about or by sitting on it.

Some people normally tap the ends of the shims with a hammer to drive them in more. This is not advisable because you can end up unseating the wax ring which will result into a toilet leak.

A good trick to use is to loosen the toilet bolts which will help you insert the shims then tighten the toilet after the shims are in place. When you are satisfied that the toilet is solid on the floor, use a sharp knife to cut off the protruding ends of the shims.

How to Shim a New Toilet/ Wobbly Leaking Toilet

If a toilet has been wobbling for a long time without being shimmed, it is bound to start leaking. The way forward is to remove the toilet, replace the wax ring and then reinstall the toilet. This is also how you would shim a new toilet that you are installing for the first time.

Step 1: Turn off water to the toilet

Look for a shut off valve on the left-hand side of the toilet and turn it clockwise.
Flush the toilet and hold the lever down to get out as much water as possible.
Remove the toilet tank lid and place it away in a safe place.
Use a sponge to remove the little amount of water left at the bottom of the toilet tank.
Disconnect the water supply line from the toilet tank. The water supply line is the braided line that runs from the shut off valve to the toilet tank. Loosen it with your hand before attempting to loosen with a wrench if it is too tight.
Use the sponge to also remove the water at the bottom of the toilet bowl. Once the bowl and tank are dry it is time to remove the toilet.

Step 2: Remove the Toilet

Look for a bolt on each side of the toilet. Sometimes the bolts are covered with plastic caps. Pry the caps off.
Use an adjustable spanner to loosen the bolts and if they a rusty cut them off with a miniature hacksaw.
Hold the toilet by the bowl, rock it about to break the wax seal then lift it off and lay it on its side on some newspapers.
Plug off the drainpipe with a rag to prevent sewer gases from coming up to your bathroom.
Remove the old wax ring and trash it. Wax rings cannot be reused.
Using a putty knife, scrape off old wax from the toilet outlet as well as on top of the toilet flange.
Inspect the condition of the toilet flange to see if it warrants a replacement. Replacing a toilet flange with the toilet already removed is an easy task.

Step 3: Install the Toilet without the Wax Ring

It is easier to first map out the areas where you need to shim the toilet without the wax ring. This is because without the wax ring the toilet is less rigid.

If you had cut off the toilet bolts, slot in new ones in the toilet flange and install the toilet but don't tighten it.
Start looking for gaps from underneath the toilet and slide in the toilet shims. Once the toilet is solid on the floor, mark the areas where you have installed the shims.
Remove the toilet and lay it on its side.

Step 4: Replace the Wax ring

Whether installing a wax ring on a new toilet or replacing a wax ring on an old toilet, this is how to proceed:

Gently slide the wax ring into the toilet outlet being careful not to deform it. An easier way of doing it is by putting it in warm water for few minutes or out in the sun for a little while. This makes it easier to slide in.
An alternative for using toilet wax rings is rubber gasket seats which work the same way as wax rings but uses rubber seals instead of wax seals and are less messy.

Step 5: Install the Toilet and Shim it

Remove the rag from the drainpipe.
Lift the toilet above the flange to align it with the toilet bolts and put it down gently.
Slide in the shims on the previously marked spots, pushing them in gently with your hand.
Put in a washer and a nut on each bolt and tighten. Tighten the bolts alternatingly to keep the toilet level. Remember the bowl is made of ceramic so don't tighten too much lest you crack it.
Seat on the toilet and ensure it comfortable and sturdy.
Cut the shims ends with a knife cleanly at an angle so that the shims edges are not visible.

Step 6: Connect Back Toilet Water Supply

Connect the water supply line to the toilet tank and turn on the toilet shut off valve by turning it counterclockwise.
Flush the toilet a couple of times and check the base of the toilet to ensure there are no leaks.
Put the toilet tank lid back on.

And that is how to shim a toilet. As we have seen, it is always advisable to shim the toilet way in advance before it starts leaking. Even if your toilet is not rocking but still installed in in uneven floor, you will be not comfortable at all at the throne.

Should you caulk around the Toilet?

One of the biggest debates around toilets is whether you should caulk around the toilet to the floor or you shouldn't. Personally I say you should caulk it.

The main reason caulking around a toilet is opposed by many people is that if the toilet is caulked and then it happened to be leaking, you would then have no way of knowing, which would lead your subfloor to rot if it is wooden.

There is however a way around it and the benefits of caulking around the toilet outweigh those of not caulking. Apart from for aesthetic purposes, a caulked toilet is easy to clean and also keeps smells at bar.

A shimmed toilet that is not caulked will a have a gap between it and the floor. Cleaning that place will always be a daunting task. If you also have a small boy who has not mastered aiming at the bowl yet, he will spill urine on the floor which will flow and dry from beneath the bowl resulting into a pungent smell. Roaches can as well find a place to hide. More about that on this post

How to Caulk a Toilet

The best way to caulk a toilet such that it looks decent and you are also able to detect a leaking toilet is to caulk round the toilet and only leave a small gap at the back of the toilet. That way you will be able to see water around the base of the toilet if the toilet starts leaking.