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Easy Solo Toilet Installation

Use scrap wood and position both the bolts and wax seal correctly when installing a toilet alone.

By Charles Miller Issue 274 - April/May 2018

When you’re installing a toilet alone, it can be difficult to get the closet bolts lined up without trashing the wax ring. So I stack up thin pieces of scrap wood on the floor so they’re high enough to clear the top of the bolts. Then I set the toilet down on the scrap wood and line up the bolts. A pair of drinking straws cut at slightly different lengths and slipped over the bolts (not pictured) makes this process easier.

Once the bolt holes and bolts are aligned, I remove the wood, one piece at a time (alternating sides), making sure the wax ring is centered on the toilet flange. Once the scrap wood is removed, I can confidently tighten the closet bolts, knowing that both the bolts and wax seal are correctly positioned.

— Ken Pizzuco, West Chester, Ohio

Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller

From Fine Homebuilding #274

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Previous: Should You Seal the Joint Where a Toilet Meets the Floor? Next: Installing a Wall-Hung Toilet

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View Comments

  1. User avater
    huskiedad | Mar 15, 2018 07:40am | #1

    I like to push down or sit on toilet to compress a warmed-up wax ring. And, don't forget to remove those drinking straws!

  2. Steveeeej21 | Apr 09, 2018 12:30pm | #2

    One of the greatest things you can do for your fellow man is to run a nut down the hold down bolt fastening it to the flange. The bolt won't move when you place the WC on it and the next guy to remove the toilet will worship you. Nothing is harder than trying to understand screw a hold down nut when the bolt is turning. This little truck will eliminate that problem and make you a hero to the guy that has to remove the toilet down the road. Done this to hundreds of toilets and made hundreds of guys grateful. Simple but effective!!!!!!

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