What do you think is the margin of error for a toilet flange? I mean how far above or below the finished floor is workable without any extra effort to create a proper seal?
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My personal observation (based on an admittedly small number of samples) has been that the highest the flange should be is to be effectively sitting on top of the finished floor. This makes it 1/4-3/8" proud of the floor. And the lowest the flange should be (without some sort of extra-thick was ring or flange extender) is flush with the finished floor.
Too high and the wax ring gets squashed flat and won't seal properly. Too low and the wax ring doesn't get compressed enough.
The seal is made by the wax ring. If the wax ring, when set onto the toilet extends a little further below the bottom of the toilet than the distance of the flange below the floor, no problem.
A half inch or even 3/4" below floor level will usually be no problem for a thick wax ring - the kind that claims 40% more wax.
There are also flange extenders to build up the flange.
http://www.ehow.com/about_4840829_toilet-flange-extenders.html