Plumbing question – Broken WC flange
Yeah, I know this is not a question anyone wants to answer on a Monday but what can you do?
My folks have a slab on grade home and the old cast iron toilet flange is cracked. Have it apart and am wondering how to get a new flange (or repair kit) on there? The have new flanges at the big boxessupply store but how do you attach it to the existing flange AND then doesn’t it make the whole bowl sit too high and would either rock or crak when you tighten down the bolts?
This is why I’m not a plumber but hey, its may parents so I have to help them out…
Replies
There are available replacement flanges that should work in most cases. First you break away the old flange and clean/smooth out the end of the pipe. Then you slide the neck of the replacement flange inside the old pipe and fasten the flange down. There's an adjustable gasket on the neck of the replacement that assures a tight fit.
These replacement flanges are available for 3" and 4" CI. I've not seen them at big box stores, but a local HW store carries them. Pretty sure they're Oakey items.
Of course there are also various partial repair options that involve sliding banana-shaped pieces of metal under the remaining parts of the old flange, etc. Sometimes you can get these to work, usually not.
Another option is to drill into the concrete (if solid) where the bolts go and set in siamese screws (use lead shields, so they can be replaced if rusty). This requires getting the position pretty exact, though.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-oatey-and-reg-closet-flange-repair-kit-43652--pi-1277121.html
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Cool! Thanks Dan, thats what I need. Didn't know they made one for cast iron.
The added replacement flange height will not be an issue as long as the original was not extra high to begin with.
Even if you cannot get a flange that will slip into the existing pipe, a simple flange ring will do to anchor the toilet and the wax or O-ring ring will direct the water down the pipe.
JT
Thanks guys. I'll give a look tomorrow and see what I come up with.
Mike
DanH has it about right. I would also run over to the following forum site and ask the same question. Most of the guy/gals here generalists regarding construction, the guys/gals at this web page are just more narrow in topic and more focused on plumbing. They really like to cut giant holes in floor and ceiling joists to make their pipes fit and don't, generally, give a hoot about anything else. The result may not be structurally sound but it does flush nice.
http://www.plbg.com/forum/list.php?1
Yeah, if they can cut out a joist or two that's a bonus.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
plbg.com cracks me up
I used to post there quite a bit, got tired of looking up threads cause they have no mesage sent to you if someone replies.
A lady came in there & asked help about a clogged toilet--- saw about 6 replies that the sky is falling & the end of the world is comming --- better call a plumber.
I disagreed said it was pretty diy friendly & a bunch of guys blasted me for authorizing a HO to do plumbers work.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
hvac-talk is like that too. changing a bad circuit breaker is a dangerous hazardous job that will either kill you or burn your house down and can ONLY BE DONE BY AN HVAC PRO.
what ever that means- maybe a guy with letters on his truck I guess.
Glad a plumber pointed that out and not me. ;-)
I get so tired of that kind of stuff. Just gets to me for some reason.
My latest tirade is why is it so damn tuff to get a boiler. Like a boiler is a nuclear reactor or something.
I'm all for permits and inspection, but if a DIY can get that far, they should be able to buy whatever they want. If the real motive of the trade was to protect the public, they'd require showing a permit to buy the boiler, but no more than that.
If the DIY gets it in and it passes inspection, all is well with the world.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Here in Wa state per L & I law a HO can do 100% of their own construction.
So I was going to build a house that was going to be on septic.
I went down to inquire about a permit for the septic, they wanted to see my license---- me being the smart azz showed them my drivers license.
They said no- show me your septic license--- I said my what?
I figured I'd trump em & showed my plumbers license.
They said no we need to see your septic license, I said WTF is a septic license.
They said a license granting you permission to install a septic system.
I asked what a plumbers license has jurisdiction over --- they said everything in the Uniform plumbing code.
I showed them septic systems & requirements in the UPC.
They said A EH ER uh well you need to have a septic license to get a permit to put in septic systems.
I love dealing with a permit office that does not understand the law or common sense.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Here's a good example of just that - The 16' joist running from left to right was directly under the tub drain - it was simply cut. The blocking is spreading, the floor has sunk and broken the tile. The end of the tub is really being supported by the galv waste pipe sitting on the ground - the cast iron horizontal actually runs uphill!
All will have to be replaced.
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Forrest
I've seen it many times. Your example looks like it would be an easy fix, you already have double joist on one side, if you could double the other side you could then install double header with hangers and reroute a couple of pipes. Your problem would be over. You also have lots of room under your floor and that's great but it also appears that you may have a leak or something else going on that doesn't look right. You might want to have, dare I say it, a qualified plumber take a look see. Don't get the same outfit that did the little cut job on your floor though. It should have been done that way originally rather then cutting a bunch of joists just to get pipes in. A little law suit against the plumber or plumbing company would solve, at least partially, some of your problems. All the best!
It's a client's house; built about 1952. Here's the other issue! The toilet waste seems to have been leaking for years - see the 2x4 fix - I think here, too, the only thing holding things up is the CI waste sitting on the ground.
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I have proposed a new master bath and closet, taking some room from their capacious master bedroom, and they have tentatively agreed. Their SIL has propped up the toilet until I can gut it all.
Forrest
Oh, that does look ugly! Don't these people ever go into their crawl to have a look around to see what's going on?
With waste pipes especially I think many HOs just don't want to know what's going on. So long as it isn't leaking where they can see it then they figure it's OK (or at least can be ignored longer than the leaky roof, etc).
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison