Yeah, those wax-free seals are hit or miss in my experience too. I stick with the old-school wax rings—messier, but they just seem more forgiving if your flange isn’t 100% perfect. Love the reclaimed wood idea. Takes more effort, but nothing beats that patina and solid feel underfoot.
I hear you on the wax rings—they’re cheap, and if you mess up, it’s not a huge deal to swap one out. I’ve tried those wax-free ones too, but they just don’t seem to handle uneven floors as well. Reclaimed wood is a solid choice if you can find it at a good price. It’s a bit more work, but the character you get is worth it. Sometimes saving money means putting in a little extra elbow grease, but that’s half the fun, right?
Sometimes saving money means putting in a little extra elbow grease, but that’s half the fun, right?
Honestly, I’m still deciding if “fun” is the word I’d use for mopping up toilet water at 1am, but yeah, there’s something satisfying about fixing it yourself. Wax rings are weirdly forgiving—I totally botched my first try and just slapped in another one. As for reclaimed wood, I love the look but man, finding enough that isn’t warped or full of nails is a whole quest. Worth it, though.
I hear you on the wax rings—they’re forgiving, but only up to a point. If the flange is uneven or the floor’s not level, you can end up with leaks no matter how many times you reseat it. Ever tried one of those rubber gasket alternatives? I’ve had mixed results, but they’re less messy for sure. On reclaimed wood, I’ve found that running boards through a planer helps, but sometimes you just have to accept a little character... or spend hours pulling out ancient nails.
Rubber gaskets are cleaner, but I’ve actually had more luck sticking with the old-school wax, especially on uneven flanges. The rubber ones seem to need everything perfectly lined up or they just don’t seal right—at least in my experience. Sometimes a double wax ring does the trick if the floor’s off. As for reclaimed wood, yeah, planers help, but I’ve found a metal detector saves a lot of blades when you’re dealing with those hidden nails... learned that one the hard way.