I'm new to this forum and just bought a 40 year old home. Replacing the toilets in my house with a couple of Kohlers I picked up from Home Depot and I'm done placing the bowl on the floor and tightening the floor to bowl base bolts. I have a Sawzall to cut the bolts but I'm finding that it sometimes loosens the nut on the bolt due to a lot of friction causing me to re-tighten and re-start cutting, which is making the whole thing jagged!

Am I doing this wrong? It seemed like it would be a 1 minute thing. Don't want to keep swapping out bolts or cutting all day

Any help would be appreciated!

hold the nut while sawing with a mini-hacksaw.

Or use the bolts that have a thin spot that makes them easy to break off. That's assuming that your flanges are set to the proper height, otherwise the thin spot on the bolt will be to low to break off.

I sometimes like to use the nylon bolts and just use a dykes side cutter to cut them off. otherwise with the steel ones grab with a vise grips and use a mini hacksaw. There is a brand called "Johni bolts" by Oatey and Johni-quick bolts (that have a little plastic part to hold the bolt while you place the stool) that are scored already and will easily snap off.

the problem here is that the once high quality kohler company has cheapened their product line so they can sell to the big box stores.
the bolts they supply with their toilet are plated steel. they are way more difficult to cut than a solid brass bolt is. not to mention that kohlers engineers are well aware of the lifespan of steel bolts vs brass bolts. in a few years the toilet will become loose from the floor because the steel bolts and nuts will rust. this will happen sooner or later depending on how much moisture is in the area. brass will last indefinately whill steel is a ticking timebomb.
end of rant...

Picks up Rant and runs it in...."This is why I buy Toto"

I guess another question would be, "what difference is it it the cut is "raggedy"?

the jagged edges just seemed wrong, i figured the cut would be smooth, quick and flat. Also, wasn't sure if the caps would fit if not flat, but it seems like it's a matter of height, not flatness. Plus I'm OCD

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate everyone's help on this thread. I'll look for those bolts w/ the score in them, seems the best way to make this less painless in the future

My sister has a young child and a cat that likes to remove the plastic egg shaped covers over the toilet flange bolts and batter them around the room, sometimes they are lost for days. One day she was cleaning the bathroom and got a nasty cut from the exposed jagged bolt when she wiped down the lower part of the bowl. Some of those plastic covers are very easy to get dislodged, the bolts should not be jagged, a professional installation job includes good safety practices.



Edited 1 times.

One problem with a raggedy cut is that the next time the toilet has to be removed, the nut might not thread off easily off the end of the bolt. If the bolt head spins under the toilet flange it can be aggravating.

I always cut the bolts to length before final installation of the toilet. As a matter of fact I keep a supply of bolts of various lengths in my toolbox. These bolts are cut on a chopsaw and the cut ends dressed on a bench grinder so that the nuts thread on and off easily.

since the bottom of the bolt is not secured very well, a raggedy cut will make it difficult to remove in the future.
although i have to admit the majority of my cuts are raggedy..

I use double nutting so the bottom of the bolt is NOT "loose", thus no problem when I have to remove the nut.