WC pan to floor, washer?

[ash_scotland88]

I've refitted our WC after flooring went down, all good no leaks but I feel like some bolt accessories where missing.

 

Should some sort of washer be fitted between the wc pan and bolt/screw connecting it to the floor? Or is the metal on porcelain ok? I've re-used what the plumber put in place.

[Redbeard]

I have seen 'upside-down top-hat' plastic washers used, but equally I have just had steel screws. Not had a pan break yet...

[torre]

I think it's good to have something between the screw and the pan that will break or deform before the porcelain will crack and also to spread the stress over a bigger area than the screw edge touching the pan. 

Pan fixing kits may have a plastic washer with a cap but a rubber washer with a blob of silicone would do

[Nickfromwales]

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, Redbeard said:

Not had a pan break yet.

But it easily could with a heavy, out of balance thud. The proper fixings aren't expensive at all, allow you to tighten it fully and I'd think add some hygiene advantage too.

 

That inner washer will expand to bear evenly on the porcelain and spread load, then the cap is tidy and will clean.

[Redbeard]

5 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

4 hours ago, Redbeard said:

Not had a pan break yet.

But it easily could with a heavy, out of balance thud. The proper fixings aren't expensive at all, allow you to tighten it fully and I'd think add some hygiene advantage too.

 

I am wholly in agreement with you. I was not suggesting that screws-only is good practice; simply that it doesn't always go wrong - immediately. The plastic 'hats' (less 'top-hat' than  the description I gave) are the right thing.

[Nickfromwales]

4 hours ago, Redbeard said:

I am wholly in agreement with you. I was not suggesting that screws-only is good practice; simply that it doesn't always go wrong - immediately. The plastic 'hats' (less 'top-hat' than  the description I gave) are the right thing.

For completeness, the old school fix down with bare BFO brass screws was successful and reliable, only, because the pans were always set down onto a bed of mortar to absorb undulations or imperfections in the cast of the porcelain. 
 

Doing that with the junk that’s puked out of factories nowadays is a suicide mission. 
 

Furthermore, I haven’t screwed a pan down for prob over 2 decades. I just bed them down, like the old boys did, but with clear CT1. If there are fsome zing holes, I buy the kit I linked to above, grind the heads off the bolts, and silicone the remainder of the kit in as decorative plugs.

[saveasteading]

11 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

only, because the pans were always set down onto a bed of mortar

I vaguely remember the screw being set into linseed putty which did the load spreading job.

[Nickfromwales]

38 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

I vaguely remember the screw being set into linseed putty which did the load spreading job.

Yup. Proper old school stuff.