dando wrote:

Robert Allison wrote in
:

dando wrote:

Replacing flooring in my bathroom, so eventually I will have to make
this choice.

As I see it, the pros to caulking are extra assurance of sealing in
sewer gases, and cleanliness around the floor (if junior goes hog
wild with the pee pee for instance, it doesn't find a nice hard to
reach home under the toilet.) Yuck.

Negative is if the toilet leaks under the base, how would you know
it? Yuck.

So could a solution in my case, assuming the floor is level, be to
drill a hole in the subfloor somewhere in the area that will be
covered by the toilet, so that any leak will be noticed dripping into
the brickfloored old cellar? (I could even use a hole with a rubber
stopper that I could remember to check periodically?

What do you think?

More toilet and subfloor questions to follow no doubt.

Thanks all.

Nay, you never know where the leak is going to be around a wax
ring, but you DO want to know that it is leaking IMMEDIATELY! If
you caulk around the toilet base, it could be months before you
notice it. By then, the damage is done.


But did you read this part of my post? (below)

Negative is if the toilet leaks under the base, how would you know
it? Yuck.

So could a solution in my case, assuming the floor is level, be to
drill a hole in the subfloor somewhere in the area that will be
covered by the toilet, so that any leak will be noticed dripping into
the brickfloored old cellar? (I could even use a hole with a rubber
stopper that I could remember to check periodically?

Yes, I did. I do a lot of insurance related work, from water
damage, hail, fires, etc. One of the most common is damage from
caulked toilets that have been leaking for long periods of time.
Most of these had cracks, holes, seams, etc. that water could leak
through and down into areas below. It would seem that liquids would
have dripped down and alerted the homeowners to the problem.
However, many times the leak is small and soaks the subfloor and
surrounding wood, keeping it wet where it can rot away, undetected.

If you wish to try this, go ahead. If you really want to be sure,
then install a moisture alarm under the toilet.

As to how to keep it clean, do it the way that millions of people
througout the US have done for years, use a brush around the base
and some ammonia.

Good luck,
--
Robert Allison
Georgetown, TX