What is the right way to deal with a toilet flange that isn't flush with the floor? We're in the process of putting a bathroom in our basement, and we've installed a flange on the drain pipe,but there's like a 1/4" gap on part of the flange due to the floor not being level. Can I shove some grout or something under the flange to make up the gap?
A normal bees wax seal should take care of that gap with no problem. You can find "#10"seals that are thicker.
jgrewe said:A normal bees wax seal should take care of that gap with no problem. You can find "#10"seals that are thicker.
The gap is between the flange and the floor, not the flange and the toilet. Does that change things?
You can get a spacer at the hardware store- just for these instances.
So the level of the flange is below the floor level, or above?
Pics of the E36 M3 hole?
Just last night I used grout to close the gap between the toilet and floor. I am giving it 48 hours to cure before testing it out. I googled around a bit and learned about the wedges, but they wouldnt really have solved my problem, so I went the grout route. I dont know that it would be easy or possible to remove the toilet without destroying it, but its on the second floor and I was terrified about the wobble undoing the wax ring.
Don't worry about the flange, just worry about making the toilet level. Wax rings cover a trillion sins.
The flange isn't taking any weight, it's just a hole on which the wax gasket sits. It doesn't matter if it's flush (pun intended) to the floor or not.
jgrewe said:So the level of the flange is below the floor level, or above?
Pics of the E36 M3 hole?
OK. As Curtis said the flange doesn't hold anything. The only thing I would worry about is if that flange will bottom out up inside the toilet. If you are putting tile down you will be perfect.
In reply to jgrewe :
Whew, thanks. I thought I really berkeleyed this up. We are putting tile down, so it sounds like we're good!
Yup. If you're concerned about it, just get the high-build (usually large format) mud and you can lay it up to about 3/4" thick. That will let you level that area for the toilet's sake.
And don't get the thick wax ring for that. It will take forever to squish it down. Just the cheap wax ring will do. I also suggest avoiding the all-rubber "upgrade." It isn't an upgrade.
I just put some toilet shims (the plastic two piece wedge ones) under the screw holes and ran the tapcons through them. Then a bunch of shims under the toilet to make up for the current lack of tile. That's the next phase, along with the walls. But at least now we can do our business in two places in the house now!
Hang on...
I disagree that the toilet flange doesn't hold anything. The toilet is attached to the flange, and ONLY to the flange. It's not attached to the floor, just the flange.
I agree that crooked flange is not a problem (because the wax ring makes up for it), but if a flange was not secure, the toilet would not be secure.
And you ain't living until you almost turn over a toilet. Its a memorable experience.
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
Yes, but the toilet needs to be held in place with caulk, not by the flange. If you try to hold the toilet in place with just the flange you risk movement somewhere else in the system. If the flange comes loose from the soil pipe it will cause problems. I've had toilets come loose from the floor and stay attached to the flange only to split a hubless connector downstream.
In reply to jgrewe :
The flange should be well fastened to the floor system. By design, it is what is supposed to hold the toilet. Caulk won't hold unless you are using 5200.
Notice the screws holding the flange to the floor. The bolts then attach the toilet to the flange.
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
Good luck finding a set up like that in the wild! lol. Did you google "perfectly installed toilet flange"?
In reply to jgrewe :
Well, every one I've ever installed was installed that way. And every one I've ever repaired was installed that way when I was done.
In reply to jgrewe :
Any plumber or person calling themselves one should be doing that every time
I don't claim to be a plumber, I've just set toilets in a lot of buildings built before PVC was a thing. How far are you going to dig into a building that has cast iron that transitions to copper with a fairly new tile job and a remodeled bath in an occupied unit below it? I have a building right now with 9 copper flanged toilet mounts that sort of float in a hole through the wood deck flooring. It was built that way 47 years ago.
I'm sticking with Dap Kwik Seal caulk to keep the toilet from moving.
In reply to jgrewe :
With all due respect, that is absolutely incorrect.
Caulk is NOT how a toilet is held in place. Caulk is not actually necessary at all in a proper installation. Caulk is how people make up for poor workmanship.
Just working with the hand you're dealt. New construction or major remodel and you can make things perfect. Codes, methods and materials change.
I've only placed maybe 50 or 60 toilets but not a "pro" by any means. Quiet a few have needed total rebuild of the flooring, when that is the case everything gets buttoned down. If it is just a toilet swap and the plumbing has been fine for 50 years it gets a new wax ring and filler hose and its done.
Yeah, not to pile on, but caulked toilets are one of my buttons. It's like finding 1/2" thick bondo. That said, no judgement to how others do stuff.
To OP: I love a nice, spacious, industrial bathroom with noisy washer/dryer to make operations more...covert.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
How is protecting the wood decking from all the possible ways water can get under a toilet a 'button' for you? Splashy kids in a tub, toilet overflowing, cleaning the bathroom, all those things will let water get under the toilet and rot the wood and in 5 years all those screws are just along for the ride. Adhesive caulk solves that problem and helps the flange do its job by keeping some of the stress off of it.
You guys can take pride in your NASA blueprinted toilet installs and I'll sleep well knowing my buildings aren't slowly getting screwed up by the average tenant that can break an anvil.
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