On 8/5/2013 12:03 PM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 05 Aug 2013 02:25:20 -0400, micky
wrote:

I remember reading a recommendation that when caulking the base of a
toilet, to leave an inch in the back uncaulked, so that leaking would
show up on the floor, to be fixed.

Some toilets have a "notch" in the back just for this purpose; in case
the bowl develops and internal crack and the leak becomes known to the
owner. The notch is shaped like a half-moon.

Never caulk that section.

Toilet tanks may also have them on the back of the tank. If the flush
valve breaks or constantly fills, water will drain out on the back of
the tank.

I prefer to caulk the bottom of the toilet. Others may not.


My bowl, an American Standard, does not have such a notch. However, the
bowl straddles two tiles, and the grout line is about 1/16" below the
face of the tiles, so condensation from the tank could drip onto the
floor and get below the bowl via that gap. But I never saw condensation.
When I removed the toilet, I removed the tank separately from the bowl,
so I certainly would have felt condensation on the tank.