For today’s clusterberkeley I left the wife alone to run to the hardware store. She of course needed to use the bathroom and no one was there to put her commode in place and help her from the wheelchair to the toilet which led to her falling from one to the other. Getting her up I noticed the toilet rocks a bit if you lean on it. It’s not leaking, and the bolts seem tight. The basement is unfinished so I was able to look up and see everything is still sealed.
What is the best way to fix this without investing too much time or money I don’t currently have?
Pop the covers off the bolts at the base and see if they are snug?
Fun. I'm no expert, but I have spent a lot of time in close proximity to many commodes. I've even pulled one or two at those times it seemed necessary, like when I did the tile floor in my first house's ground floor bathroom.
If everything else is good--floor is solid, flange is good, bolts are tight, then you can simply shim the thing and finish with caulk.
Here's a discussion:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/interior-projects/how-to/a18145/how-to-stop-your-toilet-from-rocking/
Part time plumber here. Basically what 1988RedT2 said ^.
Check that the bolts are indeed tight, but first check that the bolts are seated in the flange properly and that the flange isn't broken. If everything checks out then just shim it steady. Easy peasy, $65 please 
Dont crank the bolts down on an unshimmed toilet or you will get to replace the flange too.
I had a few go-arounds with the all plastic flanges and learning to shim and then I switched my toilet to a stainless flange and shimmed it better. Much better!
just make sure to check the subfloor. I had hidden floor rot isssues on one home due to a leaking donut gasket that didn't present itself outward. That one required a whole lotta surgery to fix.
Stop a rocking toilet? Get Poison to stop trying to play a concert in your bathroom.
What's that saying?
"If the toilet is a rock'en, don't come a knock'en" or something like that.
Shim it, but do not caulk it. Caulking around the base of a toilet is a good way to end up with rotten disgusting subfloor when it leaks and you don't notice it because the caulk holds the leak in and directs it down through the floor.
dculberson said:
Shim it, but do not caulk it. Caulking around the base of a toilet is a good way to end up with rotten disgusting subfloor when it leaks and you don't notice it because the caulk holds the leak in and directs it down through the floor.
Yah, I don't caulk mine either. I just said that 'cause the article did.
Also, a cautionary note: If you tighten the bolts too much you can break the commode! Brother-in-law (who IS a plumber) did that to one of ours and had to buy us a new one. So get 'em good and snug but don't crank down on them with a big wrench.
NOHOME
UltimaDork
6/7/18 4:45 p.m.
See if the flange is actually anchored to the surrounding floor. I just went though this. Cement floor and the person who installed did not lag-bolt ( or tapcon) the flange to the concrete.
Pete
SVreX
MegaDork
6/7/18 4:50 p.m.
Caulking is a bad idea (it disguises a leak, and promotes rot), but I am not really a fan of shimming either.
If the bolts are tight, you are sealed to the plumbing flange. If the toilet is rocking, then the plumbing flange is not well secured to the framing. 99 times out of 100 there is no framing to secure to.
When you shim, you are just wedging the porcelain against the weak plywood. You are actually holding the plywood in place by wedging it to a piece of porcelain bolted to your loose plumbing.
I will admit it does work, but there is a better way if you have access to below.
The flange should be screwed to SOLID WOOD FRAMING, not plywood. You can do this by adding 2x material under the plywood decking around the pipe, then remove the toilet, screw down the flange to the solid wood blocking you added, and reinstall the toilet.
When new, I do it a little differently. I box in the area with a header, creating a hole about 2' square where the toilet will be sitting. Then I nail ledger strips around the perimeter 1 1/2" below the top of the framing. I fill the entire area solid with 2x6's laying flat, and lay the plywood over the whole affair. This forces the plumber to drill THROUGH the 2x6's AND the plywood decking (total 2 1/4" thick) to install his pipe. He can then screw down the flange to the solid blocking below, and the toilet is then sitting on a subfloor that is 2 1/4" thick, plus the finished floor thickness.
In 41 years in construction, I have NEVER had a callback for a wobbly toilet.
Everything this man has said in the post above is 100% true.
Even if the bolts are tight, it rocks because the base (floor) is not square and flat; a high point is under the immovable porcelain toilet. If you have an hour, turn off the water to the tank, scoop out the water in the bowl and loosen the two bolts. Lift the toilet off the floor and ensure the plumbing underneath is not taller than the floor. It will cost you one wax seal to find out. Is the floor rotted?
I've spent the last two weeks redoing the upstairs bathroom, TODAY I installed a corner toilet on the newly laid tiled grouted floor. Want pictures? 
I got a pretty good look underneath and it doesn’t look to bad so I’m going to try shimming it for now. There’s a floor in my future so I will box it in then like Paul said. Right now I just want to keep it from getting worse. It looks like it temporarily handicap accessible has made it a bit more stressed than normal.
SVreX
MegaDork
6/7/18 7:11 p.m.
In reply to Wally :
Make sure she's got good handrails.
In reply to SVreX :
She’s got a commode/handrail thing that goes over that does a pretty good job of steadying her. Depending on how the next couple weeks go she may need something more permanent and then I’ll be figuring out how we want to redo the whole room.
We had that issue when we first moved into my house. Turned out to be when they replaced the plumbing the wood they used to cover the hole was 1/2 inch below the original so the toilet actually just rocked on the pipe/flange. Now that floor is built out of 2x6 and good to go.
Did this problem start after discovering that you can look up pornography on your smartphone?
If so not taking your phone into the bathroom with you will help in preventing it from reoccurring.
I am not a carpenter but I recognize good advice when I see it. Mr SVREX has impressed me as a straight shooter with his advice . I also worked as a painter many years ago and our company business cards stated " putty and paint make the carpenter what he ain't". Follow the good advice and don't do as we did far too often for my conscience.
You can buy plastic wedges in the toilet repair section at the big box stores. Shim the toilet with those, and then cut flush with a very sharp razor knife. Do not caulk the toilet to the floor. Not only is it against code, but often you can pull up the tile when you pull the toilet. If the wedges want to wiggle out, put a little silicone caulk around them to hold them in place. Do not overtighten johni bolts. Toilet can break, and or the flange can break. Tile guys tend to get sloppy around the toilets, when thats the place they should be taking the most care to make sure the tiles are all uniformly flat. I've replaced toilets that have shattered under the weight of a large human because the tile edge provides a pin point pressure point.
SVreX
MegaDork
6/8/18 7:37 a.m.
To be clear, wedging is often the best option, because good blocking can only be done if the underside can be accessed. If you don't want to tear out the ceiling below, wedges are the answer.
But in this case, the underside is completely accessible. I'd take the time to fix it right (especially if it is becoming a handicapped use toilet).
In reply to captdownshift :
And if you're going to watch pron in the bathroom on your smartphone, make damn sure it isn't connected to a Bluetooth speaker on full blast while your wife and small children are eating breakfast in the kitchen. Ask my buddy about that one sometime 
