If I want to lay linoleum in my bathroom do I need to remove the toilet or
can I cut to fit around toilet and then use caulk around the toilet to
seal it? Also, If I do have to remove the toilet to lay the linoleum
properly, how do I do that?

tofutti wrote:
If I want to lay linoleum in my bathroom do I need to remove the toilet or
can I cut to fit around toilet and then use caulk around the toilet to
seal it? Also, If I do have to remove the toilet to lay the linoleum
properly, how do I do that?

If you want to do it right you should remove the toilet. Otherwise your
asking for trouble down the road when the caulking fails or let's say
you need a new toilet and its "footprint" is not the same.

Removing the toilet is not too big of a task. You'll need to disconnect
the water line and take loose a couple of nuts near the floor. Make
sure you put a NEW wax ring in when you put the toilet back in.

Good Luck,
-Richard

--
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Richard Thoms
President - Top Service Pros, Inc.
Connecting Homeowners and Local Home Service Professionals
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Just went through this. Here is my top 5 suggestions:

1- Use the "template method".

2- Remove the toilet, and as much other stuff you can (pedestal sink,
small vanities, removable cabinets, etc.) Ideally you have a perfectly
empty room, with nothing in your way, no extra cuts to deal with, etc.
Removing a vanity is not always hard -- mine was held in with just 2
screws, basically, and some easily unscrewed plumming.

3- Remove the toilet.

4- Don't try to work around the toilet.

5- Use one of those fancy rubber wax rings. Yes, plain old wax rings
have been around for a few millenia I am sure, along with the
doubling-up trick when needed, but they are are easy to screw up, and a
leak is a bad thing. The extra $1 or whatever for the fancy modern kind
seems a tad more idiot-proof.

Richard Thoms wrote:

tofutti wrote:
If I want to lay linoleum in my bathroom do I need to remove the toilet
or can I cut to fit around toilet and then use caulk around the toilet to
seal it? Also, If I do have to remove the toilet to lay the linoleum
properly, how do I do that?

If you want to do it right you should remove the toilet. Otherwise your
asking for trouble down the road when the caulking fails or let's say
you need a new toilet and its "footprint" is not the same.

If the OP is *really* lucky and the toilet is coupled to the waste pipe via
a plastic coupler (the sort with rubber sealing rings), he may be able to
unscrew and *carefully* lift the toilet 1/4" and slide the lino under and
the coupler should be forgiving enough to not mind the toilet being 1/8"
higher than it was.

Warning: if the toilet spigot goes straight into a clay or cast iron pipe,
this isn't going to work though (don't try, it may crack, or at best leak),
leaving full removal as the only option.

Even if managing to get the lino under the toilet, I would still seal round
the base/lino with a good quality silicone sealant.

HTH

Tim (in the UK)

your secret weapon for this task: a shop-vac wet vacuum.
remove the toilet to do the floor properly. we use no caulk, only
plumber's putty around the rim when placing the toilet back onto the
floor. so you can easily replace the wax seal again in the future. the
new floor goes all the way to the 3 or 4-inch floor flange.
for toilet answers see:
www.fluidmaster.com

tofutti wrote:
If I want to lay linoleum in my bathroom do I need to remove the toilet or
can I cut to fit around toilet and then use caulk around the toilet to
seal it? Also, If I do have to remove the toilet to lay the linoleum
properly, how do I do that?

All I can say is that when we had our 3/4 bath added and the old full
bath renovated...each by different people within the last 6
months...they very carefully laid the vinyl before placing the toilets
in their full upright and locked position.