Haha, oatmeal is exactly right—my bathroom floor looked like soggy cereal when I first moved in. Thought I could just tighten things up and call it a day, but nope... ended up pulling the toilet and discovering the flange was rusted beyond recognition. Definitely agree on replacing it outright if it's questionable. I tried one of those flange repair kits first, thinking it'd save me some hassle, but it only bought me a couple months before the leak came back.
One other thing I'd add: double-check the flooring around the toilet carefully. Mine looked okay at first glance, but once I started poking around, I found soft spots extending way further than expected. Ended up cutting out a bigger section of subfloor than planned, but glad I did—better to catch it now than have to redo everything again later.
Good luck with it... plumbing always seems intimidating at first, but once you're elbow-deep in wax rings and rusty bolts, you realize it's mostly just patience and persistence.
"Ended up cutting out a bigger section of subfloor than planned, but glad I did—better to catch it now than have to redo everything again later."
Yeah, good call on checking the subfloor thoroughly. I found some sneaky water damage under mine too... makes you wonder how many surprises our houses hide, right?
Yeah, good call on checking the subfloor thoroughly. I found some sneaky water damage under mine too...
Yeah, it's always something, isn't it? I remember when I redid my bathroom, thought I'd just swap out the toilet and call it a day. Nope... ended up finding rot that went halfway across the room. Makes you wonder how many quick fixes are hiding bigger problems underneath. Did you end up reinforcing the joists too, or was the subfloor enough?
Yeah, subfloor surprises are the worst. Honestly, if the rot was halfway across the room, I'd be skeptical about just patching up the subfloor and calling it good. Joists can look okay at first glance but still have hidden weak spots—seen it plenty of times. Had a job last year where the homeowner insisted the joists were fine... until I stepped on one and nearly went through to the basement. Fun times.
If you're already in there, might as well double-check everything. Better safe than sorry, especially with bathrooms—water damage is sneaky and relentless. Did you notice any sagging or bounce in the floor before you started? Usually a good indicator something deeper's going on.
Yeah, bathrooms are notorious for hiding nasty surprises. Had a similar issue a couple years back—subfloor looked fine until I pulled the toilet and found rot spreading out like spiderwebs. Ended up replacing way more than I planned, but honestly, it was worth the peace of mind. You're already knee-deep in it, might as well dig a bit deeper and make sure everything's solid. Nothing worse than patching it up only to redo it months later... been there, done that. Hang in there, it'll feel good once it's done right.
