Toilet Installation & a Broken Mounting Plate

Put a repair strap over the toilet flange already mounted to the floor, lining up the repair strap and flange’s bolt slots. Mark on the bathroom floor where the repair strap’s screw holes sit, and then remove the strap from the flange.

Drill into the bathroom floor where you marked the repair strap’s screw holes, stopping once you feel the drill’s bit penetrate the sub floor. Replace the repair strap in the same position as before over the flange, and then drive screws through the pilot holes you drilled, stopping once the screw heads sit flush against the repair strap.

Insert the closet bolt heads into their slots and slide a washer over each of the closet bolts. Press the rounded side of a wax ring onto the bottom of the toilet, around the drain opening. Lower the toilet over the mount on the floor, threading the closet bolts through the holes in the toilet’s base.

Sit on the toilet bowl, without rocking or twisting the toilet, so the wax ring flattens enough that the toilet’s base touches the finished bathroom floor on all sides. Tighten the nuts onto the closet bolts so the toilet stays stationary.

Trim the closet bolts with a close-quarters hacksaw so about three threads appear above the nuts. Thread the plastic nut on the end of the toilet water supply line to the connection on the bottom of the toilet’s tank, tightening the connection with a pair of pliers. Thread the metal connection on the water supply line to the water supply valve’s opening, and then tighten the connection with an adjustable wrench. Turn the handle on the water supply valve counterclockwise, filling the toilet’s tank with water.