What do you do when your toilet has leaked below the floor? What if the subfloor is damaged?

A toilet that moves is a toilet that leaks. If a toilet shifts from side to side or rocks back and forth, it is probably leaking at the flange connection, even if you can’t see the leak yet.

Simply resetting the toilet with new wax and bolts can solve a rocking toilet problem. But if you find damage to the wood subfloor or structure below the toilet, it is best to replace the flooring and sub flooring as much as necessary.

How much subfloor needs to be replaced? As much as necessary to create a solid floor. If the subfloor feels spongy or flexes at all, then resetting the toilet on it will not solve the problem. So cutting out damaged subfloor and damaged structure is the only way to ensure the toilet will not move and leak again.

In this video, Plumber-Tom demonstrates the removal of damaged subfloor and rebuilding of structure so that the toilet can be reset on a solid floor that will not leak.