Situation: Need to reinstall a toilet. Put on new closet bolts to the toilet flange on the drain, go to tighten bolts and the head of the closet bolt comes up thru the flange slot because the outter edge of the flange slot is bent. I’m not overly tightening the bolts any more than you’d want to tighten them to hold the bowl down. I tried bending the outer edge of the flange ring back down but it’s so weak (not rusty, just somehow a weaker steel I guess) that modestly tightening the bolt causes the screw head to pop up from the slot it’s in preventing me from tightening the one side of the bowl down to the floor. Any ideas how to fix it? This is a CI drain and this particular CI Closet Bend appears to have the flange integral to the Closet Bend as I do not see any joints that one could take it apart and install a newer flange. And besides, I have a new tile floor down on this job, I don’t wanna go messing with the floor or doing anthing with potential to harm the floor.
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Replies
Try this....remove toilet bowel and wax ring and clean the flange. Now reinstall your johnny bolt to the toilet flange...BUT, do not use the plastic "keepers" to hold the johnny bolt in place...INSTEAD, install a regular brass nut and tigten this down over top of johnny bolt. Do this to both johnny bolts.( buy an extra pack of johnny bolts and just use the nuts for this purpose)
Now the bolt is firmly in place . The pressure from the top nut should keep the weakened flange from buckling. If you have to, place a brass washer down first before installing nut so as to keep even pressure over the affected flange area.
Now reinstall new wax ring and install toilet. This first set of brass nuts that you initially tightened down over the toilet flange will in no way interfere with the toilet; which is not yet installed. After placing the toilet onto the johnny bolts, use the additional set of brass nuts to tighten down the toilet.
For the record, I ALWAYS use a double set of nuts and install all toilets in this manner. Have never had a problem with this method. Buy the longer sized johnny bolts for easy toilet alignment and then cut off the excess bolt with a hack saw blade.
If by chance the cast iron flange breaks, or you feel it is about to break, you can go to a regular plumbing/hardware store and get a flange repair piece. They make such a repair piece just for cast iron flanges. The repair piece is screwed down over top of the broken- out area of said flange and afterwards is ready for service .
LOL
Davo
Awesome, thanks for the advise. Never thought of the double bolt system, seems logical to me instead ofusing those plastic washers to hold the bolt also.
Couple of ideas. Davos is one.
go to the local Home imporvement center and get the spacer ring, usually 1/2" thick PVC, and install. It has a set of new slots. I would take and drill through the cast iron ring to allow a couple of screws to be installed through the ring, through the old flange and into the sub floor to hold the spacer ring in place. Don't forget to put a layer of silicone between the spacer ring and the old flange.
You can also buy a bolt set that has a wood screw end on it to allow it to be driven into the sub floor and still have the bolt threads on the top for the toilet. We go through this daily and fortunately there are a lot of products available so don't worry there is a solution out there it just finding the one that works in this situation. DanT
How about just leaving off the toilet bolts. Well, I guess it's needed for cosmetics, but if you put down a thick bead of silicone caulk in the right place, the toilet should stay where it's supposed to without depending on the bolts at all. Just tighten the toilet bolt enough so that the cap will stay put.
-Don
I actually use those fernco waxless seals and they stick fast to the toilet horn and protrude down into the drain, so that means the toilet ain't going anywhere, it'll just rock some, which is what I was trying to fix, the rocking and as such wasn't tightening the bolts all that tight when they slipped thru the flange.
If the toilet is not set on dead level floor you're not going to stop rocking with the john bolts.
As sugested in prevous posts repair the flange,and secure the bolts ,then put a layer of plumbers putty or plaster of paris about 1/2" thick on the perimeter of the toilet base and set it down ,press to the floor and tighted the bolts hand tight plus 3/4 to 1 turn.
go up to the next size flange bolt..
put a repair cap over yur old flange...
fasten straight to the floor.........
now get back there and get 'er done...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
now get back there and get 'er done...
You ever seen that comedian, Larry the Cable Guy, who says that all the time?
For Christmas my wife got me the Redneck Comedy Tour dvd. Great skit. They are hilarious. Buy the way the bosch saw is great. Thanks.
nope...
it coulda been fixed 12 times by now...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
IMERC has it right and all the others will work. I'll add that I use the nylon bolts because they don't rust and they break before the china does when a ham fisted new guy over tightens the nut. They make small plastic wedges for leveling the rocking toilets too. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on the repair
If you look around you can find some special washers that are kind of banana-shaped. They spread the force out on the flange so you have less of a problem in a situation like this. The only trick is working the bolt with washer into the wide part of the flange slot -- takes some "english".I do wish, though, that mfgrs would come up with a better approach. One scheme I think would be good is a molded plastic base shaped to fit under the specific toilet in question. You screw that to the floor, get it leveled and shimmed, and then set the toilet on top. The base could have a built-in horn and O-ring style seal to connect to the drain, and another gasket on top for the bowl, so that no wax ring would be needed.There could be captive nuts in the base so that screws could be used from the top to do the final fastening of the bowl (though likely not even that would be necessary).At the very least, any plumber who uses a non-reenforced plastic flange should be taken out and beaten senseless with a plumber's helper.
the flange is already stretched...
that's not a forever plan...
5/16" flange bolts and a repair flair is probably a best bet....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!