# Toilet shims which ones do you prefer?



## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I've used soft rubber shims for a while and they work well and easy to cut. Anyone use the hard plastic ones, what are they like in comparison?

I'm about to order a 200$ jar as they aren't sold locally except those who come in a 4 pack at 155% the price of bulk pack.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I don't like those hard plastic ones. They are much thicker at their thinnest point and more difficult to cut cleanly.


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

I always use the white rubber ones.
They’re easy to cut and cheap.

I always laugh when I remove a toilet, and see a stack of coins used to level/shim..


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## breplum (Mar 21, 2009)

I only use the hard translucent ones. Have gone through hundreds. we buy the big jars.
we use a 1-1/2” wide wood chisel to cut them off after tightening the WC down.
The broken piece flys off and we’ve never had an issue with floor damage...just smack your hammer on the chisel deftly. 
Then clear silicone caulk.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I use both, but I prefer the soft rubber ones. Like all have said, easy to cut.


While we are on this topic, do you guys grout or caulk W/C's? I used to be lazy and caulked. But one time some heavy customers sat on a W/C that I had set. I caulked it and the bowl shifted a bit under the strain and some of the caulk oozed out of the side.


It was a rare callback. So from then on it is only grout. I know the NY city plumbers lather plaster of paris all around the closet flange and then set the bowl. Pulling those up off of the floor sometimes breaks the china bowl.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Tommy plumber said:


> I use both, but I prefer the soft rubber ones. Like all have said, easy to cut.
> 
> 
> While we are on this topic, do you guys grout or caulk W/C's? I used to be lazy and caulked. But one time some heavy customers sat on a W/C that I had set. I caulked it and the bowl shifted a bit under the strain and some of the caulk oozed out of the side.
> ...


I asked my supply house which ones they had, one guy had no clue then an office guy came out, plumbers don't ask for those and all you need to do is silicone the bowl.... I thought his comment said so idiotic. I replied most plumbers in town have no knowledge outside their tiny tiny bubble, and it's not new construction I do service and still it's not enough if the floor isn't perfect, you going to tell the guy to wait 24 hours to go take a crap?. His response was it's new construction you don't shim.

I said fine amazon is going to get my 200$ to order a jar of them. In my head I was like go back to your office you fool. Seriously that place isn't made for service plumbers they only have new construction stuff. HD is my backup for the rest.


To answer you Tommy the only time I shim is when it wobbles and the only time I silicone is when shims aren't enough or toilets that are anchored on the side with european style mounts.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> I've used soft rubber shims for a while and they work well and easy to cut. Anyone use the hard plastic ones, what are they like in comparison?
> 
> I'm about to order a 200$ jar as they aren't sold locally except those who come in a 4 pack at 155% the price of bulk pack.





A 200$ jar? Hopefully that is canadian. That is either a huge jar or you are grossly overpaying.


https://www.amazon.com/Wobble-Wedges-Furniture-Plumbing-Installation/dp/B00LVQGGKA/


I have used the hard toilet wedges and I don't like them. If the toilet skirts were a little thicker they would be great but often the hard wedges pinch out even with caulking. They also slide very easily on tile. I find they are like tightening wheel lug nuts but worse. By the time you get a couple tight the others are loose again. The hard wedges have zero give so if you have more than three points of contact it's near impossible to get them all tight on a hard floor like tile or concrete. I am sure wood is different but almost all bathrooms are tile.



With the soft wedges I tighten the joni bolts most of the way, wedge them under, then tighten the bolts more. Works great. Use a sharp razor to cut them off, slicing in such a direction that they would get wedged in more so they don't pull out. If you have a sharp blade them pulling out isn't an issue.


With the soft wedges you can cut them off at such an angle that even with clear caulk you won't see them when looking down from above.


All this aside the best method I have ever used was hydraulic cement using it like grout around the base of the toilet. It was a really wonky tile floor. If they could make a cement with superfine grit in a caulk tube it would be perfect.









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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> A 200$ jar? Hopefully that is canadian. That is either a huge jar or you are grossly overpaying.
> 
> 
> .



I'm about to buy a big jar of 300 pieces so I can save money buying in bulk. It's not quite 200$ but with taxes you know.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Cedar shims work quite well.. usually use softer rubbery white ones they come in a bag of 200 I think it's like 10 bucks


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## V.A Hydro-ooter (Oct 14, 2018)

I use cedar shims and the hard plastic shims. It just depends on what I have available. I'm not afraid of the cedar rotting, if everything is sealed there should not be water contacting it.
I use caulk around the base since that's what I was taught. Always making sure to leave a small gap at the rear of course. I just tell the customer not to use the toilet until the next day. I haven't had a callback for caulk yet.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Venomthirst said:


> Cedar shims work quite well.. usually use softer rubbery white ones they come in a bag of 200 I think it's like 10 bucks


Take me to your dealer!!!

https://www.amazon.ca/Wobble-Wedge-...obble+wedges+soft+white&qid=1573165510&sr=8-2


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Take me to your dealer!!!
> 
> https://www.amazon.ca/Wobble-Wedge-...obble+wedges+soft+white&qid=1573165510&sr=8-2





https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Purpose-Shims-Soft-Protect-Household-Furniture/dp/B00A6VJLVC/


There is no way that 61$ USD equals 152$ CAD. Try ordering from the link I posted from the us site.



Actually, get the clear ones; https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075THK423/










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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Purpose-Shims-Soft-Protect-Household-Furniture/dp/B00A6VJLVC/
> 
> 
> There is no way that 61$ USD equals 152$ CAD. Try ordering from the link I posted from the us site.
> ...


I posted them from the Canadian amazon, you posted from the US amazon. You see how crazy expensive it is for me FOR EVERYTHING!

We have 2 bum holes because we get screwed so much(I used politically correct words...)

It looks like I can import them from the US and it would be $78.18 but It doesn't say if its in US dollars or CAD which would be a total of about 100$CAD with the exchange.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Actually, get the clear ones; [url]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075THK423/
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Did you try the clear ones? They don't have the same dimensions, the clear ones are longer.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

I use the hard plastic ones. The rubber ones seem like they would have a little flex and I want the toilet to sit rock solid. I put my fingers between the front of the toilet and the floor and push down with my other hand on the front of the bowl. If there is any flex I push a shim in, mark it and pull it back out. I then cut it with dikes, slide it back in, tap it with a screwdriver so it’s deeper than the caulk line. Then I do the same with the sides of the toilet. Finally I caulk the base with tub and tile anti-microbial Qwik seal.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I push the soft ones with a large screw driver and drive until they can't.


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

I want to live in a world where the bathroom floor is always perfectly flat. Shims, though very useful, are an imperfect solution to a plumber's headache.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

Tango said:


> I'm about to buy a big jar of 300 pieces so I can save money buying in bulk. It's not quite 200$ but with taxes you know.


How many toilets are you setting as a one man shop? 300 shims would last years for me. I’m so cheap I save the ones I only cut the front off to use the rest of it for bigger gaps on other toilets.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Debo22 said:


> How many toilets are you setting as a one man shop? 300 shims would last years for me. I’m so cheap I save the ones I only cut the front off to use the rest of it for bigger gaps on other toilets.


Hard to say how many I used but I've surely bought over 30 packs of 4 in 2.5 years. A guesstimate of 120? So 30 x 3.17$ = 95.10$

For a wobbly toilets maybe 3-5. I save the large pieces sometimes. I'm not cheap on using them, the customer gets billed plus mark-up.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

The bag was huge.. I I dont know exactly how many were in there probably a 100 I think they were actually 30 bucks tango.. I will ask for you tomorrow... the plumbing supply is literally behind my house

I use tons of them though sometimes 1 sometimes 10 if flange is way to high I'll silicone and stack them together and build a platform out of them.. lol

Last week I had to pull and reset 15 toilets 10 in women's 5 in mens.. pain in the rear... older than the hills ... 

Old crane flush valves rear spud canadian potters limited probably 60 years old


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Did you try the clear ones? They don't have the same dimensions, the clear ones are longer.





Do you mean the clear hard plastic ones? That link is the clear soft ones.


These shims come in three colors and hard or soft meaning you have six different choices. The only hard ones I have used were clear and yes I think they were slightly longer. The only soft ones I have used were white, rebagged as sioux chief or this one time we bought a jar.


I texted a boss asking to buy that jar of 300 clear soft off amazon, I expect them to say yes. Has to be way cheaper than bags of ten and they would blend in better since almost all of us almost exclusively use clear caulk. The white shims can sometimes show through.

















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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> I posted them from the Canadian amazon, you posted from the US amazon. You see how crazy expensive it is for me FOR EVERYTHING!
> 
> We have 2 bum holes because we get screwed so much(I used politically correct words...)
> 
> It looks like I can import them from the US and it would be $78.18 but It doesn't say if its in US dollars or CAD which would be a total of about 100$CAD with the exchange.





Either way cheaper bruh even if they slap some import fees right?














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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

Tommy plumber said:


> While we are on this topic, do you guys grout or caulk W/C's? I used to be lazy and caulked. But one time some heavy customers sat on a W/C that I had set. I caulked it and the bowl shifted a bit under the strain and some of the caulk oozed out of the .


I always use clear silicone, in the squeeze tube. I tell the client to wait til the silicone is set, to use said toilet, if they can. If it was a super heavy client, they would def have to wait for the silicone to set. 

In the rare case that the floor is too uneven to shim, I’ll use grout..


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

Debo22 said:


> Tango said:
> 
> 
> > I'm about to buy a big jar of 300 pieces so I can save money buying in bulk. It's not quite 200$ but with taxes you know.
> ...


Hahaha, i do the same, and sometimes cut the white shims down the middle... those cut off bits always come in handy.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Either way cheaper bruh even if they slap some import fees right?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes about 75$ less. True the white shims show through clear silicone and I hate using white silicone.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Tango said:


> skoronesa said:
> 
> 
> > Either way cheaper bruh even if they slap some import fees right?
> ...


I prefer translucent silicone myself hides the white shim


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Venomthirst said:


> I prefer translucent silicone myself hides the white shim



:vs_laugh::biggrin::vs_laugh::biggrin:



Do you mean opaque? I say clear silicone, but the stuff I use is frosted when it's thick.














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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Venomthirst said:


> I prefer translucent silicone myself hides the white shim





skoronesa said:


> :vs_laugh::biggrin::vs_laugh::biggrin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was thinking it didn't make sense too. :smile:

Where do you get opaque clear silicone? :vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## The Dane (Feb 19, 2015)

Debo22 said:


> How many toilets are you setting as a one man shop? 300 shims would last years for me. I’m so cheap I save the ones I only cut the front off to use the rest of it for bigger gaps on other toilets.


Your not cheap, you are environmentally friendly. You should use it in your adds 

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

No I mean translucent lol


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Venomthirst said:


> No I mean translucent lol


Hahaha that's a good one, I bet customers complained or they got sued it wasn't completely "clear" so to shut everyone up they changed the wording. :vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

No man it's good stuff they offer clear, white, Translucent(opaque), Bone, hi temp black and red.. 

The clear is crystal clear I ran a huge bead at my brother's place like 3/4" thick because his flange is mega high broken... stacked like 3 cedar chimes on the thick side and put the clear on because that's what I had.. and its crystal...

Translucent hides the little imperfections perfectly the clear it shows everything like if there was another layer of laminate on top... white has to be perfect or it looks like garbage


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I just placed an order of 300 clear "table" shims and they are the same dimension to those I'm using. I'm supposed to save 67$ even with duty fees, exchange rate and shipping. :biggrin:


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Tango said:


> I just placed an order of 300 clear "table" shims and they are the same dimension to those I'm using. I'm supposed to save 67$ even with duty fees, exchange rate and shipping. <img src="http://www.plumbingzone.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png" border="0" alt="" title="Biggrin" class="inlineimg" />


Awesome... shims are a necessity... my boss does quite a bit of volume I said you should call the manufacturer of some things and get multiple cases and get a break he did and was like... I got them for about 35% less than we were paying...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> I just placed an order of 300 clear "table" shims and they are the same dimension to those I'm using. I'm supposed to save 67$ even with duty fees, exchange rate and shipping. :biggrin:



save $67????? dam here the 300 are less than that...


https://www.amazon.com/Wobble-Wedge...ds=clear+"table"+shims&qid=1573268705&sr=8-16


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> save $67????? dam here the 300 are less than that...
> 
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Wobble-Wedge...ds=clear+"table"+shims&qid=1573268705&sr=8-16


Bah....:crying: The price was 107$ on amazon US compared to 175$ if I bought them from amaz canada.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> Bah....:crying: The price was 107$ on amazon US compared to 175$ if I bought them from amaz canada.



the ones I listed were only $58.00


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> the ones I listed were only $58.00


The ones I ordered (clear soft ones Skoro suggested) 

61$ +shipping+exchange rate+duty fees+taxes=107$


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> The ones I ordered (clear soft ones Skoro suggested)
> 
> 61$ +shipping+exchange rate+duty fees+taxes=107$





I gotta send you a 5 gallon pail of vaseline for the reaming you get in that country....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> I gotta send you a 5 gallon pail of vaseline for the reaming you get in that country....


There's the exchange rate on the vaseline you know... Probably a fossil fuel tax on top because it's made from oil...:sad2:

Tell you what I only go to McDonalds now when they have coupons...

Imagine the price tag of a used 2006 corvette I want to buy compared to half what you guys pay.

When I went to the US this summer, we ate at a mom/pop mexican restaurant and if I remember it was less than 11$ I felt like a millionaire.... until I had to pay the bill of the exchange rate on my credit card at the end of the month.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Bah....:crying: The price was 107$ on amazon US compared to 175$ if I bought them from amaz canada.





Those are the hard ones not the soft ones in his link.










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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> I gotta send you a 5 gallon pail of vaseline for the reaming you get in that country....


The only way NOT to pay duty fees and taxes is if you send it as a "gift to a friend". The border officer are either going laugh their faces off, you know Vaseline & friend or put me on some type of sexual offender's list.... :vs_laugh:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> The only way NOT to pay duty fees and taxes is if you send it as a "gift to a friend". The border officer are either going laugh their faces off, you know Vaseline & friend or put me on some type of sexual offender's list.... :vs_laugh:


lmao....you may have your prime minister show up for some action...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Just got the shims today, they are more plastic than compared to the white rubber ones I'm used to.

I'll be good for a couple weeks! :wink:


.


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

Tango said:


> Just got the shims today, they are more plastic than compared to the white rubber ones I'm used to.
> 
> I'll be good for a couple weeks! <img src="http://www.plumbingzone.com/images/smilies/wink.png" border="0" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" />
> 
> ...


Arnt the white rubber ones like $.25 each that the supplier?


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Logtec said:


> Arnt the white rubber ones like $.25 each that the supplier?


Read post #6 To add to this I refuse to go to wolseley unless I can't get stuff anywhere else. They sell higher than HD and serve the DIY first who aren't going to buy anything after 45 minutes asking how to hack it up.

They freaking sell the same water heater 100$ more than where I go. F them.

https://www.plumbingzone.com/f7/toilet-shims-ones-do-you-prefer-85164/#post1218462


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## VictorPlumber (Feb 26, 2019)

Venomthirst said:


> No man it's good stuff they offer clear, white, Translucent(opaque), Bone, hi temp black and red..
> 
> The clear is crystal clear I ran a huge bead at my brother's place like 3/4" thick because his flange is mega high broken... stacked like 3 cedar chimes on the thick side and put the clear on because that's what I had.. and its crystal...
> 
> Translucent hides the little imperfections perfectly the clear it shows everything like if there was another layer of laminate on top... white has to be perfect or it looks like garbage


I checked HomeDepot - they have 2 types of translucent silicone:

1) Silicone - Translucent Clear
2) Silicone - Translucent White

So which one is better to hide imperfections

Thanks


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

VictorPlumber said:


> I checked HomeDepot - they have 2 types of translucent silicone:
> 
> 1) Silicone - Translucent Clear
> 2) Silicone - Translucent White
> ...


 what do you mean by translucent?? translucent means clear... either clear or white silicone...
clear you see through or white you dont.....so white will cover any gaps and clear you will see....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

VictorPlumber said:


> I checked HomeDepot - they have 2 types of translucent silicone:
> 
> 1) Silicone - Translucent Clear
> 2) Silicone - Translucent White
> ...





ShtRnsdownhill said:


> what do you mean by translucent?? translucent means clear... either clear or white silicone...
> clear you see through or white you dont.....so white will cover any gaps and clear you will see....




I've seen those silicones too (Mono), the HD clerk told me the translucent one is white from the tube but when it dries it become clear.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

No the definition of translucent is to allow light through, but not allow all details to show...

Clear translucent I guess.. I use clear and translucent... if they have white floor white silicone.. 

I dont use anything from home depot unless I have to it's all over priced and it's not the same quality in my opinion..

I use masters brand silicone.. clear, white, translucent... hi temp black for gas appliance flues and ductwork... all of above can be found at 

nobel trade, emco, Mark's supply, bardon, masters hvac supply, mckeoughs supply, Crane supply, Hamilton plumbing supply... and many more...

Mono clear kitchen and bath works well... 

Transparent means clear.. translucent means semi-clear.. to me it just looks much better just hides the stuff a little better when sealing around a vanity or toilet... bathtubs too depending it's either translucent or white


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Nobel trade etobicoke 

726 Kipling Avenue*
Tel: 416-259-7377

Nobel trade mississauga 

5510 Ambler Drive, Unit 3*
Tel: 905-602-7377

If your anywhere else In province

https://noble.ca/en/locations.aspx

You are never more than 20 km from a nobel if you work in golden horse shoe.. they aren't the cheapest but they are usually nice people to deal with except Nash rd Hamilton lol


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

If we have a wobbly toilet or concrete is off,I used to set the toilet and mix up plaster of Paris and push it all around the bowl,dries solid in just a few minutes and you have a nice looks like caulk finish around the bowl,but here lately I have switched from plaster of Paris to using hydraulic cement,it works just as good if not better,if it has to be caulked push cement far enough back to get a bead of acrylic caulk around the bowl:devil3:


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## ken53 (Mar 1, 2011)

sparky said:


> If we have a wobbly toilet or concrete is off,I used to set the toilet and mix up plaster of Paris and push it all around the bowl,dries solid in just a few minutes and you have a nice looks like caulk finish around the bowl,but here lately I have switched from plaster of Paris to using hydraulic cement,it works just as good if not better,if it has to be caulked push cement far enough back to get a bead of acrylic caulk around the bowl:devil3:


I hope you get to pull that toilet some:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:day.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

ken53 said:


> I hope you get to pull that toilet some:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:day.


They pull right up,no trouble at all,try it next time,you might get a hard on for it lololololol,but seriously they do pull right up,nothing there to hold it down,all force is going downward,now you will have to take a puddy knife and scrape up the plaster or cement,but takes all of 5 minutes and I promise you that toilet will not rock or come loose:vs_cool:


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

sparky said:


> If we have a wobbly toilet or concrete is off,I used to set the toilet and mix up plaster of Paris and push it all around the bowl,dries solid in just a few minutes and you have a nice looks like caulk finish around the bowl,but here lately I have switched from plaster of Paris to using hydraulic cement,it works just as good if not better,if it has to be caulked push cement far enough back to get a bead of acrylic caulk around the bowl:devil3:


In this particular case I didn't want to drive and get some cement and try it out the first time so I decided to remove the old flange and put another. took me 2 hours of fooling around because the first flange I put in didn't fit over the lip of the toilet and it sat off the floor again!

Next time I'll flip the bowl and dry fit a flange. All that extra work angered me.


.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

ken53 said:


> I hope you get to pull that toilet some:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:day.



hell if I wana fuk the next guy ill use 5 minute epoxy to hold that bowl down....:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> In this particular case I didn't want to drive and get some cement and try it out the first time so I decided to remove the old flange and put another. took me 2 hours of fooling around because the first flange I put in didn't fit over the lip of the toilet and it sat off the floor again!
> 
> Next time I'll flip the bowl and dry fit a flange. All that extra work angered me.
> 
> ...





thats a perfect example where to use silicone around the base of the bowl to hold it tight to the floor....


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> hell if I wana fuk the next guy ill use 5 minute epoxy to hold that bowl down....:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


You crazy man,how is that screwing the next man,the bowls pull right up,it is evident not many of you have done any commercial work in your lifetime lolololo,admit it your never to old to learn something that works lololol:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> thats a perfect example where to use silicone around the base of the bowl to hold it tight to the floor....


Sillycone will not hold a bowl down to a concrete floor,that thing be rocking and rolling by the time you get in the truck lololololo


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

sparky said:


> You crazy man,how is that screwing the next man,the bowls pull right up,it is evident not many of you have done any commercial work in your lifetime lolololo,admit it your never to old to learn something that works lololol:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


 I have done plenty of commercial work....


the 5 minute epoxy was a joke........I use to use plaster looooong ago, but all plaster does is soak up piss and get soft, so either grout or some sort of sealant is what I use now, the only issue I have with hydraulic cement is it expands when it cures, so if the right situation occurs it can crack the base of a toilet if you have it bolted down tight as the cement expends...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

sparky said:


> Sillycone will not hold a bowl down to a concrete floor,that thing be rocking and rolling by the time you get in the truck lololololo



when was the last time you set a toilet on a raw concrete floor with no tile or paint????? and when was the last time you used silicone on raw concrete to seal a pipe or crack? it dam well sticks.....


the only time I had any issue with anything sticking to a floor was a radiant job where they had self leveling floor, some sort of clay crap that was pumped onto the floor and just leveled out, it dried with a powdery dust ontop and you had to use a special paint/sealant over it if you were going to lay tile or anything that needed to stick to it...
otherwise silicone sticks well to concrete..


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> when was the last time you set a toilet on a raw concrete floor with no tile or paint????? and when was the last time you used silicone on raw concrete to seal a pipe or crack? it dam well sticks.....
> 
> 
> the only time I had any issue with anything sticking to a floor was a radiant job where they had self leveling floor, some sort of clay crap that was pumped onto the floor and just leveled out, it dried with a powdery dust ontop and you had to use a special paint/sealant over it if you were going to lay tile or anything that needed to stick to it...
> otherwise silicone sticks well to concrete..


Just don't hold it down worth a crap,if you have a commercial toilet that 400lb people plop down on or two people will get on it tryin to screw sillycone isn't enough to hold it down,a commercial toilet is used hundreds of times a day,you got to have something that will stay with it,:biggrin:


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> thats a perfect example where to use silicone around the base of the bowl to hold it tight to the floor....


The bowl was 3/8" off the floor when I set it and I wasn't going to attempt putting that much shims, that would of been stupid. Luckily I was able to pull the flange that I had just glued with the hammer and reworked the thing and I put another type.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

sparky said:


> Just don't hold it down worth a crap,if you have a commercial toilet that 400lb people plop down on or two people will get on it tryin to screw sillycone isn't enough to hold it down,a commercial toilet is used hundreds of times a day,you got to have something that will stay with it,:biggrin:


If the concrete is completely new silicone will stick however if any dust gets on that's it it will never stick again.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> The bowl was 3/8" off the floor when I set it and I wasn't going to attempt putting that much shims, that would of been stupid. Luckily I was able to pull the flange that I had just glued with the hammer and reworked the thing and I put another type.





What the hell kind of abs glue are you using that you can set a flange, screw it in, set a toilet, and still pull the flange?














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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

We have 2 kinds of abs glue one comes in a pinky coloured can another comes in blue can..

The pinky can if you slobber it on you got about a minute before it sets.. 

Blue stuff you got maybe 10 seconds before it's done..


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Venomthirst said:


> We have 2 kinds of abs glue one comes in a pinky coloured can another comes in blue can..
> 
> The pinky can if you slobber it on you got about a minute before it sets..
> 
> Blue stuff you got maybe 10 seconds before it's done..


Okay so the stuff I'm thinking about is sluyter

55y is pink medium to fast setting medium bodied

66y is extremely fast setting premium

Oatley is blue stuff

Actual colour of glue is yellow


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> What the hell kind of abs glue are you using that you can set a flange, screw it in, set a toilet, and still pull the flange?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The glue got scared of my wrath that day! Ideal conditions with hammer claws to leverage it out, it stood no chance and I was lucky.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Venomthirst said:


> Okay so the stuff I'm thinking about is sluyter
> 
> 55y is pink medium to fast setting medium bodied
> 
> ...


I buy oatey premium glue, I don't like sluts.

hihihih!

Other than that I haven't tried any others.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Tango said:


> Venomthirst said:
> 
> 
> > Okay so the stuff I'm thinking about is sluyter
> ...


I use everything that's handy all does the same thing in my opinion..

Ol scotsmen curses oatley says you dont have any time to swivel your fittings if you need to I agree.. but to me they are all the same


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> I buy oatey premium glue, I don't like sluts.
> 
> hihihih!
> 
> Other than that I haven't tried any others.





Venomthirst said:


> I use everything that's handy all does the same thing in my opinion..
> 
> Ol scotsmen curses oatley says you dont have any time to swivel your fittings if you need to I agree.. but to me they are all the same




We use hercules(oatey) glue. It's black and it sets up almost immediately. I like to use it as paint. Like for coating the inside and outside bottom of a toolbox to make a nice thick plastic layer. Great for covering rust and preventing it.


One day my basement will be nice and I will coat the whole floor with it.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> We use hercules(oatey) glue. It's black and it sets up almost immediately. I like to use it as paint. Like for coating the inside and outside bottom of a toolbox to make a nice thick plastic layer. Great for covering rust and preventing it.
> 
> 
> ]One day my basement will be nice and I will coat the whole floor with it[/B].


The gasing off will probably make you very sick.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> The gasing off will probably make you very sick.





That is correct tango, huffing glue is generally a bad idea. Would you like a kitty treat?


And next class we'll discuss the dangers of soldering a pipe you are holding.







.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> That is correct tango, huffing glue is generally a bad idea. Would you like a kitty treat?
> 
> 
> And next class we'll discuss the dangers of soldering a pipe you are holding.
> ...


Then why say you want to put it all over? I was talking about gassing off that lasts years like spray on styrofoam, carpet and others.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Then why say you want to put it all over? I was talking about gassing off that lasts years like spray on styrofoam, carpet and others.





Sorry, lolz, I just had to bust your balls. I don't agree that the out gassing will last years. I think that abs glue has a great depth of cure and all of the solvents are very volatile and won't persist.
















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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Sorry, lolz, I just had to bust your balls. I don't agree that the out gassing will last years. I think that abs glue has a great depth of cure and all of the solvents are very volatile and won't persist.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh yes and it's a huge problem (spray styrofoam), entire houses have to be torn down because of the bad mix and people getting sick.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Oh yes and it's a huge problem (spray styrofoam), entire houses have to be torn down because of the bad mix and people getting sick.
> 
> 
> Spray foam insulation nightmare: What can happen if it's not installed correctly (CBC Marketplace) - YouTube







I'm not talking about spray foam, I am talking about abs dissolved in some very light solvents, two very different compounds.














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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Tango said:


> If the concrete is completely new silicone will stick however if any dust gets on that's it it will never stick again.


Sillycone will not properly hold a toilet down it it is out of level and rocking,hell if it goes down level and flat you don't need anything under the bowel,it be easier to get my hydraulic cement up than it would that sillycone


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

sparky said:


> Sillycone will not properly hold a toilet down it it is out of level and rocking,hell if it goes down level and flat you don't need anything under the bowel,it be easier to get my hydraulic cement up than it would that sillycone







I too like hydraulic cement for very uneven floors but darn near all the time I am using silicone. I agree the cement is very easy to remove even though it seems like it wouldn't be. When I tell other plumbers I sometimes use cement for toilet skirts they cringe because it sounds really bad even though it's pretty nice. The silicone is pretty easy to remove and it works really well and is very fast to apply. I only use clear silicone anyway so even if I don't get it all off from last time it's fine. Give it ten years and it comes off just fine.
















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## PondthePlumber (Sep 2, 2018)

I prefer soft shims to hard ones. Though I will use hard shims if nothing else is available. If the floors are so bad that 2 shims and some DAP can't get the toilet to sit level without rocking I move to Plan B. That is mortaring the darn thing down. Only time I've had toilets that bad was at a school. Some sort of coated concrete floor. It was bad enough that there were waves in the floor. But a scoop of mortar got them sitting level and solid.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

This tile guy had a great idea to keep the toilet from moving


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