# Ever seen a fitting like this?



## swee'pea99 (16 Nov 2020)

Our bog seat's gone wonky, so I was planning to loosen the nuts and put it straight, but grovelling around on the floor I discovered that there aren't any nuts - instead, there's these things:







Oi ain't never seen the like. Anyone come across them? How are you supposed to remove them? Do they just turn (if you apply enough oomf) or what? (I've had a stab, but they're not going to come out just with finger & thumb, and I'm loath to start using tools without knowing what I'm doing, for fear of breaking something.) There is a small metal nut right in the middle, which the bolt goes through, but the plastic gubbins has me baffled. CycleChat folks generally seem to be full of proper knowledge and good ideas, so I thought I'd give it a go. Many thanks for any advice/handy household tips.


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## I like Skol (16 Nov 2020)

Just a guess, but I would expect that to be undone from above. Is the bolt head accessible?


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## classic33 (16 Nov 2020)

Any screwdriver slot on the head?

What they look like before fitting


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## T4tomo (16 Nov 2020)

agree with above, looks like a self tightening sort of assembly underneath, to be tightened from above?


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## Domus (16 Nov 2020)

First thoughts are that it looks upside down to me, it looks as though the two arms should be in contact with the surface of the loo rather than jammed into the hole.


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## I like Skol (16 Nov 2020)

Classic has found it, a simple expanding wedge arrangement as I suspected. A lot like a quill stem from days of old.


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## swee'pea99 (16 Nov 2020)

Fantastic! You guys should charge. 






(Only kidding )


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## bikingdad90 (16 Nov 2020)

Good luck fixing it! Those fixings always fail as they are not very robust and rely on friction/expansion to hold them in place. I’ve replaced the one in my toilet a couple of times and it works for a bit then the seat starts sliding round. Next time it happens I am going to also silicone the fixing in to see it makes a difference.


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## Globalti (16 Nov 2020)

At least the bolt is stainless steel


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## swee'pea99 (16 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> At least the bolt is stainless steel


Absolutely one of my fave bits of DIY - battling to remove rusted-on toilet fittings encrusted with years of dried-up urine...


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## Globalti (16 Nov 2020)

That's why our last house had a home urinal.


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## Archie_tect (16 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> That's why our last house had a home urinal.


Always a pain to have to go outside when it's raining though...


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## Globalti (16 Nov 2020)

I was in the habit of tinkling on my lawn but it started getting a bit patchy.


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## swee'pea99 (16 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> That's why our last house had a home urinal.


I suggested that - you should've heard the girls kick off.


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## Globalti (16 Nov 2020)

You can get some very discrete ones.


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## MichaelW2 (16 Nov 2020)

Those wedge bolts are for blind holes with access only at the top. If you have through holes, use nuts and bolts.


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## I like Skol (16 Nov 2020)

MichaelW2 said:


> Those wedge bolts are for blind holes with access only at the top. If you have through holes, use nuts and bolts.


Don't go 'nuts' when tightening them up though, or you may find yourself in need of some new porcelain!


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## MichaelW2 (16 Nov 2020)

I like Skol said:


> Don't go 'nuts' when tightening them up though, or you may find yourself in need of some new porcelain!


Sometimes you get a rubber cone washer to prevent that.


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## fossyant (16 Nov 2020)

Flipping hate toilet seat fittings with a passion. The one's on our downstairs loo are a cheap generic fitting, and I've only replaced one part of it in 25 years - that's been great. Not the same for the upstair's loo which has had umpteen fancy loo seats, all for the fittings to fail. Current seat has been fine though for over 4 years FINALLY.

Caravan loo has been a pain for a long time - rusted on. One side finally broke this year, and I'll admit, I got 'hulky' with the other side and just wriggled it until the fitting broke and hack sawed off the last bit. New seat installed, and it had a plastic expanding wedge arrangement (similar to OP's) that actually works well.


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