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The toilet flange anchors to the subfloor, usually with wood screws or cement screws, but most of it should sit above floor level at full height. When a flange is flush with the subfloor or below it, it can lead to the creation of leak paths.

Toilet seats have two mounting brackets on the back that accept mounting bolts. The bolts drop through the brackets, through two small holes on the top of your toilet, and then receive nuts to hold them in place on the bottom of the toilet. If you can’t see the bolt heads, you might need to pry up the mounting bracket cover, which is a plastic piece that hides and protects the bolts.

To test for toilet leaks, use water coloring in the water tank and see if the water slips into the bowl from the tank. This test will indicate if there’s a problem with the flapper or refill tube. You can also put water coloring in the bowl of the toilet to see if there is a leak there. If there is, you should see the colored water on the outside of the toilet bowl or on the floor. 

You generally cannot replace a 10-inch rough-in toilet with a 12-inch model without making significant plumbing updates. A 12-inch rough-in toilet will not fit a 10-inch rough-in space because the floor drain is in the wrong position. To accommodate the larger toilet, you would need to move the drainpipe, which could cost between $0.75 and $30 per linear foot, plus labor. In most cases, it is more cost-effective and simpler to purchase a new 10-inch rough-in toilet. However, it is possible to install a 10-inch rough-in toilet in a 12-inch space by using a longer connector.