Removing a toilet to tile under it - without breaking the toilet

[dominoman]

I would like to attempt my first tiling job by laying a new Victorian mosaic pattern on the floor of this toilet.

From everything I've read, to do a really nice job I need to remove the toilet. Problem is it looks like it is cemented in. Is there any way I can remove this without breaking the toilet up? It's an old toilet and I wouldn't like to damage it if I can help it?

Sorry about the poor pictures, but you can just about see the concrete under the toilet.

 

[Madrab]

If it's down onto a cement floor you will be lucky to get that up without breaking it I'm afraid.

Never say never of course, you may be lucky and the mortar may not be strong, hard to the concrete or over the complete base of the toilet and a bolster may loosen it. If it's strong then unfortunately it aint coming up without damage. Trouble is no matter what you will probably have mortar on the base of the toilet anyway and it may not sit flat on the tile.

Is it a risk you want to take? If not then it looks like you'll need to tile up to the bowl.

 

[dominoman]

OK. Thanks. That was my fear.

I wish I had never started this now - but I've bought all the tiles and grout and equipment so I have to finish the job, and I want to do it well.

 

[Madrab]

If it's mosaic then it's not the end of the world, just means you need to get tile nibblers and trim them to be uniform all the way round the bowl.

Not ideal I know.

 

[dominoman]

Yes. Will try that. The mosaics are small and on a hessian type of backing so if I break one it should be fairly easy to switch it.

Only problem is they are porcelain which I heard is harder to cut than ceramic. Will a tile nibbler still work?

 

[Phill Peck]

Buy a new toilet and finish the job properly.

 

[dominoman]

Buy a new toilet and finish the job properly.

I'm in two minds. This is an outside toilet so we only use it for BBQs etc.

On the one hand I want to do a good job, especially as it is my first attempt at tiling. But on the other hand I am really reluctant to replace a sturdy old good quality toilet along with all the extra work and expense involved.

If I cut the tiles the mosaic very carefully and then lay on thick bead of silicone won't it look the same as if I'd removed the bowl?

 

[Rampage77]

It will sods law that if you tile up to it the toilet will then at some point break and need replacing. I would personally get a cheap toilet pan and replace it after floor tiled. Won't be expensive, just more time needed.

 

[dominoman]

If I do that won't I also need a new toilet cistern? Or can I just pick up a new pan and fit that to the existing cistern?

Sorry if it's a dumb question. I've not tried this before.

 

[longdogs]

How small are the tiles? If they are the tiny ones it's always a bit of a struggle to cut them as they tend to break in straight lines rather than curves. If they are bigger, you would be able to cut them carefully with an electric tile saw (although they still might chip a bit.

The cement will not just be on the base of the toilet but will be about two - three inches high inside, so it's unlikely you could remove without breaking it. Then of course to re-fit it you would ideally have to remove the cement from the inside.

Of course you could try and remove it and see what happens, but bear in mind you might need to buy a new one.

If you do tile around it, keep some spare tiles in case you have to replace the toilet in the future.

 

[Phill Peck]

You will need to replace both but b&q have very cheap ones. Not stylish but in your situation perfectly adequate

 

[dominoman]

Difficult choice.

I replace a solid high quality toilet with a cheapo one to get a perfect tile finish

or I keep the better toilet and accept that the finish might not be perfect. Plus save £150.

Will sleep on it.

What would you do?

 

[Madrab]

D, if the finish is uber important then you need to do it right.

That's lifting the toilet, making good the floor, then starting with a flat surface and replacing the toilet if you break the old one.

Don't forget with mosaic tiles to then installing a toilet on top of it then you need to make sure the finished tiled surface is nice and super level. One tile too high can throw the toilet right off.