Should Tile Go Under the Toilet or Around It?

Tile goes under the toilet, not around it. The toilet comes off the floor first, the tile runs straight across the whole area including the spot where the toilet base sits, and then the toilet goes back on top of the finished tile. That is the order plumbers and tile setters use, and it is the only order that keeps the flange height correct and the wax seal tight.

A lot of homeowners ask this because they are trying to save time or avoid removing the toilet during a bathroom remodel. It seems easier to leave the toilet in place and just cut tile pieces to fit around the base. It is not easier in the long run, and it causes real problems that show up months later as a wobbly toilet, a slow leak, or grout that cracks and stains.

Why tiling under the toilet is the correct method

Three things depend on tile going under the toilet, not around it.

• Flange height. The closet flange, the pipe fitting the toilet bolts down to, needs to sit at or slightly above the finished floor surface. If you tile around an existing toilet and never touch the flange, that is fine height-wise, but if you ever remove the toilet later and add tile, the flange ends up buried too low for the wax ring to seal properly.
• A flat, continuous seating surface. The toilet base needs to sit flush and level on one flat surface. A patchwork of tile pieces cut around a curved base creates high spots, gaps, and uneven grout lines under the porcelain, which rocks the toilet slightly every time someone sits down.
• Water control. Tile that stops short of the toilet base leaves exposed subfloor or thinset in the gap. Condensation, mopping water, and small splashes from cleaning get into that gap and sit against wood subfloor, which leads to soft spots and mold over time.

Tiling straight through, with the toilet removed, solves all three problems in one pass.

The correct sequence, step by step

1. Shut off the water supply and disconnect the supply line at the toilet.
2. Remove the toilet completely, including the old wax ring and bolts.
3. Stuff a rag in the drain pipe to block sewer gas while work continues.
4. Install backer board or underlayment as needed for the tile type.
5. Lay tile across the entire floor, including the area under where the toilet will sit. No cutout, no gap.
6. Let thinset and grout cure fully per the manufacturer's instructions before setting anything on top.
7. Install a new closet flange if the old one is now sitting too low relative to the new tile surface, using a flange extender kit if needed rather than stacking multiple wax rings.
8. Set a new wax ring or a wax-free rubber gasket seal, then reset the toilet, tighten the closet bolts evenly, and reconnect the water supply.

This is also exactly the process covered in our guide on toilet reinstall after floor work, which walks through flange height checks and bolt tightening in more detail once the new tile has cured.

What happens if you cut tile around the toilet instead

Some installers do cut a rough opening in the tile and slide it around the toilet base without removing the toilet. This is sometimes done to avoid the cost and hassle of a full toilet removal, especially on a small repair job. It is not the standard approach for a full floor retile, and it comes with tradeoffs worth knowing.

The cut edge around the base is never as clean as tile that runs straight through, because a curved cut in ceramic or porcelain tile is hard to make accurately with a wet saw. The gap between the cut tile and the toilet base usually needs caulk to hide it, and that caulk joint fails faster than grout does. Moisture that gets past the caulk sits directly against subfloor that was never sealed by tile in the first place, since the cutout area itself has no tile underneath it, just the subfloor or old flooring.

There is also no way to check or adjust the flange height with the toilet still in place, so if the old flange was already borderline low, cutting around the toilet locks in that problem instead of fixing it.

Choosing tile for a bathroom floor

Since the toilet has to come off anyway for a proper retile, this is also the point to decide on tile material. Porcelain and ceramic are the most common choices for bathroom floors because they hold up to constant moisture and are easy to clean. Natural stone tile looks good but needs periodic sealing to resist water absorption around the toilet base, where splashing is more frequent than anywhere else in the room. Our bathroom floor material guide compares slip resistance, water absorption rates, and grout maintenance across the common options, which matters more in the toilet zone than anywhere else on the floor.

Flange extenders and low-flange fixes

Adding tile plus backer board typically raises the finished floor height by a quarter inch to half an inch or more, depending on the tile and underlayment thickness. That change alone can drop the flange below the new floor surface. Manufacturers make flange extender rings specifically for this situation, and they stack on top of the existing flange to restore the correct height. Stacking two or three wax rings instead of using a proper extender is a common shortcut that often leads to a poor seal, because wax rings are not designed to compress evenly in a tall stack.

When a full bathroom remodel makes more sense

If the tile is being replaced because the whole bathroom is being redone, it is worth deciding on the toilet at the same time rather than reinstalling the old one. A new toilet gives you a fresh wax seal, current bolts, and a chance to pick a bowl height and flush type that fits the household better. Our best toilet for a bathroom remodel guide covers what to look for when the floor is already open and the toilet is already off.

Frequently asked questions

Related Guides

• Toilet Reinstall After Floor Work
• Bathroom Floor Material Guide
• Best Toilet for a Bathroom Remodel