Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing - Advice, Discussion and Tips from ARS®/Rescue Rooter®. Welcome to the ARS/Rescue Rooter Home Connect, your online resource center for information, answers and interactive advice about air conditioning, heating, plumbing and drain maintenance. As part of our commitment to providing exceptional service, we created the ARS/Rescue Rooter Home Connect to be a useful tool with many helpful ways to find what you need.
I have two bathrooms and both toilets are leaking around the bottom. Previously, a plumber has come in to insert wood chips around the bottom. I don't want a quick fix. I know that it needs to be leveled. Can you give me an estimate on how much it would cost to fix both bathrooms?
Leaking toilets in two bathrooms make for a very frustrating situation. My first question: Were the toilets leaking before the plumber shimmed them, or did they start leaking after he shimmed them? If they were leaking before the shims were installed, then the toilets should be removed and all related components (toilet flange, bolts, wax seal, toilet bowl and tank) need to be inspected for defects or cracks in the toilet tank and bowl. If they started leaking after the shims were installed, it’s possible that when the shims were inserted under the toilet to level it, the toilet was raised just enough on one side to disturb or damage the wax seal which will cause the toilet to leak. Wood and concrete floors are not always perfectly flat, so it is not uncommon for shims to be used to level a rocking toilet. (Plastic shims are a better choice; wood will eventually rot.) If shims are required to compensate for an uneven floor, the wax seal must be checked to ensure that one wax seal will still provide a proper seal. If the toilet is raised too much, two seals may be necessary. I would also recommend that you contact a professional plumbing contractor, like the ARS/Rescue Rooter branch in Ft. Walton Beach, FL at (850) 243-1651, for a free estimate.
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