Flanges? Boy do we need Stinkin' flanges! ;)

[sanaka]

Flanges seem to be a very poular topic around here, so here's my Q's, just to be in vogue (and sorry if these have been addressed before, I did look before asking, but not real extensively).

1 - I'm bulding a new house. 1 bathroom is on a slab. My plumber said to wrap the stub at the penetration to form a space around it. I did this, so now I have my 3" ABS stub sticking up and an about 5/8" space around it in the slab, a couple inches deep. I plan to leave this as a plain concrete floor. So it would seem that I need to cut below the slab floor level in order to glue the flange over the stub. How do I cut below flush?

2 - The other bathrooms are on wood framed floor. It's time to rough in the plumbing, but I'm not sure how thick the finished floor is going to be. I want to do a thin concrete overlay, but if I can't, I'll use some kind of vinyl tile type stuff. So final thickness on top of subfloor could be anywhere from 1/8" to 1/2". Do I absolutely need to ascertain the finish floor thickness first, or can I set the flange at say 5/16" over subfloor, then flex it up or down to the finished floor when that's done?

Thanks! Lovin' this forum and Terry's site!

Peace,
Sanaka

 

[Finnegan]

The flanges I use for 3" fit over the pipe rather than into it. They do not stick up much so that if you cut the pipe flush and attach the flange, it should not interfere with the toilet. If you want to cut it below flush, you can cut it flush with a reciprocating saw and then carefully cut from the inside of the pipe out to get you a little lower. Another option is to cut it flush and then use just a brass ring sliped over the pipe and screwed into the concrete with tapcon screws or anchors. However, you may want to raise your toilet up just a bit to allow for a future finished floor. You could just place it on a couple of tiles glued to the floor with construction adhesive.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Gary Swart]

If you had a 4" drain, you could use a flange that fit on either the inside of the pipe or the outside. However, with a 3" drain you should only put the flange on the outside. Going inside would restrict the diameter of the pipe too much. When I did this recently, I didn't have fancy cutting tools, so I used a grinder. The cut wasn't perfectly smooth, but it was very close to even. I used a rasp to clean the burrs off the sides of the cut so the flange would slip over the pipe and there was nothing on the inside to snag debris when the toilet was flushed.

 

[Jadnashua]

When I did my remodeling (same situation on new, I'd guess), I left the pipe sitting up a foot or so, and capped it until ready. It is always best to put the flange on top of the floor and anchor it to the floor properly. Depending on the flange you use, you may have to cut it below the floor level a little. I acutally used a RotoZip to do this. Just get all of the burrs off before you glue things together...

 

[hj]

flange

Install the pipe so it is either flush will the final finish floor or higher. Then at the proper time, glue the flange onto the pipe, it will slide down to the floor level. The cut the pipe off even with the surface of the flange.

 

[sanaka]

hj wrote, in part:

the flange...will slide down to the floor level...

See lightbulb go on in Sanaka's brain. See Sanaka whap forehead with palm. D'oh!

This solution (to both issues) is so obvious I just didn't think of it at all. I will look for such a flange. The ones I have, and am familiar with, have a regular hub in the bottom which stops the pipe at 1 1/2" But I'm sure one with no stop that simply slides over the pipe must be a common item as well.

Also, i was thinking that the flanges must be installed for first plumbing inspection, but I guess not, that wouldn't make much sense would it?

Thanks HJ!

Peace,
Sanaka

 

[hj]

flange

They are in the 4" size, which is all I ever use for the toilet riser, even when the lateral pipe is 3".