I had some help replacing a toilet since I had never done it before- When he was tightening the mounting bolts to the floor, I heard a sound that sounded an awfully lot like a crack. It occured on both bolt sides. He said he thought it was just the wax ring setting.
The toilet has been in use for several weeks with no visible problems or no visible exterior cracks. I have a basement under the toiler and there are no visible leaks of any kind.

I am writing for concern and piece of mind - Is there a possibility that something did crack and if so what would be the visible problems beyond obvious water leakage that I should look for? What normally breaks and is it normally visible. I hate to pull the toilet up only to find no problems.

Thanks

 

He could have cracked the toilet flange, the part you slid the bolts into that is attached to the floor. If it is PVC it should crack before the toilet.

 

Thanks - It is / was PVC - I guess that means I need to pull the toilet back up and replace the flange.
Does the flange section normally thread on?
Is it difficult to replace?

J

 

PVC flanges are glued on. To replace it would be a real pain. If the flange is cracked it is proabably cracked along the outter edge where the bolts go. It shouldn't cause any leaking. Is the toilet seated well and secure? Drain the water out of it and try to lift it up a little and see if the bolts are holding it down. If it does come up then you have a problem.

 

If the bolt slot(s) are broken out and will not hold the toilet down, you can purchase a repair flange. Most are called Super Rings/flanges. They need to be screwed down through the broken flange and secured to the floor. Normally, there are 4 holes to secure the original flange. Remove the screws and install the repair flange and screw the whole thing to the floor.