Toilet leaking and floor rotting... How to approach? [PICS]

[a7az]

I just took apart the toilet that came with my 2014 Keystone Montana Mountaineer 295RKD. Every time the toilet flushes a handful of toilet contents runs down the black pipe and soils the area underneath. I don't know where to begin with this repair.

[SKP Kirk]

The first step is to determine how much of the floor has been damaged, the remove and replace the damaged wood. Wood rot, once started will continue if it is not removed. The next step is to watch this video on the repair.

[Ray,IN]

If the floor is not soft when stepping on it and still solid I would first attempt to stabilize it with wood-rot epoxy. It that does not completely make the floor solid, then the work of removing the rotted section and replacing it with new wood becomes the goal.

[fcbbob15]

Replace the floor as needed. It looks like your toilet flange is cracked and needs replaced. Make sure that everything is sealed during assembly.

[IC2]

The flooring material is OSB and once wet, separates and needs replacing.


You will need to open the basement bulkhead. With a Montana, not too difficult as there are only about 8-10 screws including the water convenience center. once in there, you can see what Keystone used for floor supports. It may be aluminum rectangular tubing (probably) or wood. Then carefully start cutting it out with a jigsaw. Once out beyond the damage, you may need to add more supports. Once that's solid, find a piece of exterior plywood, cout to size then reassemble the floor and plumbing.



At this point, my suggestion is to trash that often leaking Thetford toilet and replace it with a Dometic 320 since my guess is that that was your problem (common), not a leaky floor flange.


Not a difficult project, just time consuming plus a few bucks

[Dutch Star Don]

I would first seal up the floor with an epoxy, making it more solid. Once it's dry, cut a solid piece of 3/4 wood 18" x 18". Paint it, cover it in vinyl or do whatever looks good to you and mount it over the opening, creating a new base. Drill out the drain hole and install a new flange with a long neck, into the pipe. Secure the new panel to the old floor and reinstall the toilet.

[IC2]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I would first seal up the floor with an epoxy, making it more solid. Once it's dry, cut a solid piece of 3/4 wood 18" x 18". Paint it, cover it in vinyl or do whatever looks good to you and mount it over the opening, creating a new base. Drill out the drain hole and install a new flange with a long neck, into the pipe. Secure the new panel to the old floor and reinstall the toilet.

Don - you just can't successfully fix water logged OSB.

[Dutch Star Don]

Originally Posted by IC2

Don - you just can't successfully fix water logged OSB.

Wasn't talking about fixing it. Only the area near the hole is damaged. The rest of the area, surrounding the hole, is still in good shape, that's why I said use a large plate, made from wood to cover the hole. Attach the new wood in the four corners where the flooring is still intact. The damaged area is under a square foot, the cover piece would be 6" - 12" larger than the damaged area.

[IC2]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Wasn't talking about fixing it. Only the area near the hole is damaged. The rest of the area, surrounding the hole, is still in good shape, that's why I said use a large plate, made from wood to cover the hole. Attach the new wood in the four corners where the flooring is still intact. The damaged area is under a square foot, the cover piece would be 6" - 12" larger than the damaged area.

My repair process would be to make it look original without the noticeable plywood patch height 'lump'. Your method is fine for many folks. If I was to do your repair method, would probably choose to raise those usually too low RV toilets a couple inches then put some compatible looking peel and stick vinyl tile on that new ledge.



Hope the OP tells us how his repairs are going

[Trapper2022]

If your keeping rig do it right. Remove all rotted wood and replace. If your selling it then epoxy is a short term answer. Clearly the floor is rotted almost to the wall so finding matching floor covering will be an issue. I also agree get a better toilet. Your old one caused the problem. Any water leak needs to be addressed as soon as you see signs of it so you don’t get to this stage. Safe travels

Enjoy the journey

[MO Fred]

Suggest you also replace with China bowl. More durable and won’t leak if installed properly.

[a7az]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I cut out the old stuff and put in new wood, held it up with some small pieces of wood screwed to the floor from underneath, masked off the gaps with tape well (to prevent glue dripping), then glued the wood in with two part epoxy. I made as few cuts to the floor covering as possible and put it back in place after vigorously wiping the underside with bleach to wipe off all mold. I sprayed a mold control solution on the periphery of the cut area before I put everything back.

I threw out all of my toilet bottom gaskets, replaced the ABS toilet ring, and replaced the OEM toilet seal with the Fluidmaster 7530P8 Universal Better Than Wax Toilet Seal, Wax-Free Toilet Bowl Gasket. This toilet gasket has a large lip that protrudes downward, reducing the risk of future leaks.

Finally, I installed and armed a high volume water alarm directly under the toilet in the storage compartment behind the wall where the toilet used to leak every flush.

I speculate that the failure occurred because the previous owner that installed the toilet over tightened the toilet nuts causing the ABS disc to crack. The crack grew over time as the toilet was used and rocked back and forth many times ever so slightly. The crack eventually grew to between 6 and 8 inches long.

[twogypsies]

Good job!!!

[IC2]

Happy to see that you did it the "right way" Well done