I‘ve finished ceramic tiling my bathroom but not around the toilet hole. How close to it do I have to get? Should I cut one tile in the shape like a ‘U‘ or use 4 small pieces of tile around it. I‘ve use a hand pressure straight cutter for everything and don‘t have a special saw. I can only straight cut or use my nippers.
the tile needs to be cut only as close as the spacing of your ceramic tile and if you are out as much as 1/2 it really doesn't matter because when you finish you should grout against the flange. Follow the the directions of your grout mixture though because you have grouts that are for smaller and only allow you 1/4 the grout will crack otherwise. and have fun it's a blast working on your own home. I never have enough time for mine i am always working on someone Else's been doing construction commercial and residential since 1980 ayfr
You did not mention the size of your tiles. If they are 8 or 12, then you might need to U-notch one or more of them. With smaller tile, you probably only need to remove corners or sides. Tiles should not touch the drain flange that the toilet bolts into. Take a look at the bottom of your toilet - it's way larger than the drain flange. You do need the toilet itself to cover all areas that are without tile, but there is leeway on how close you get to the drain.
Just get as close as you can. The toilet base will be sitting on the tile but you want to make the area around the discharge hole close in case you ever change toilets and the base is smaller than what you currently have. I would also suggest installing a Flange Extender to bring the toilet flange to the height of the tile. These are available at Home Centers.
