High toilet flange problems

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Vicki Lee

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My son is remodeling the bathroom in his house. He ripped out the toilet and discovered that the original flange was corroded beyond hope. The original toilet sat upon a marble slab which he also removed. He installed ceramic tile right up to the toilet pipe. Now the pipe is sitting about 3/4's to an inch above the ceramic tile. Also, the replacement flange he purchased is too small for the pipe. Now he is out of the state on a work assignment and has asked me to finish his bathroom. The toilet pipe is glue in so I can't just drop it down flush to the floor. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to rip the tile off the floor or cut into the brand new basement ceiling to access the pipe. Can you help me figure out what I should do here?
 

hj

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flange

We might if we had a better idea of what you are working with. The flange should go over the pipe so the tile needs to be cut back from the pipe to make a space for it. We don't know what size pipe, or what kind of pipe you have.
 

Vicki Lee

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high toilet pipe more info

Ok, the white pvc pipe that is sticking out of the floor is 5 and 3/4 in diameter. I wasn't here when he ripped this stuff apart so I don't know how everything originally looked. The marble slab has rusted screws located around hole but I'm not sure what they were for as they are so rusted I can't even tell how big they use to be. At any rate, this pvc pipe is glued to an angled pipe which in turn is glued to a straight drain pipe that I can access in the basement. The ceiling under the angled plumbing is brand new. I am going to a plumbing supply store to look at flanges to see if they come in different sizes. I was wondering if I could saw through the original pipe and then somehow pry the glued part out so that I could replace it with one that will sit flush to the floor. Here's what I'm assuming so correct this if it's wrong. This pvc pipe must sit flush on the floor with a new flange around it not under it.
My son tiled up to this pvc pipe. I think he thought the tile and the new flange would be enough to compensate for the marble slab. (He was in a hurry as he had to get to an out of state work assignment.)
One other thing. Every single house in this area has this type of marble or stone slab under the toilets. Is this from some kind of code or is this just a builders preference?
I can take a picture of this and email it if you need more info. I've never done this type of plumbing before as any toilet I've installed all ready had the plumbing roughed in and ready to accept the toilet. Hence, I never paid any atttention to how the flange was placed or secure. Vicki
 

RioHyde

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What it sounds like is you have is a 4" riser coming up through the floor (measure the INSIDE diameter....I've never seen 5" PVC). If so, a 4x3" toilet flange will glue to the inside of the pipe. You dont need to remove the riser coming through the floor. What you need is an inside pipe cutter to attach to a drill. Stuff rags into the pipe so you dont lose the inside pipe cutter if it falls out of the drill chuck. You'll be able to "saw" through the inside circumfrence of the pipe in order to get it to the proper height for flange installation. After the flange is glued in (with a primer and solvent cement made for PVC) screw the flange down to the floor using brass or stainless steel screws.

Note: if the pipe is 3" you can still cut it the same way, but will need to chip out the tile around the pipe so the flange can glue to the outside of the piping. I say "glue" because that is what people commonly call it. What you actually do with the primer and the solvent cement is solvent WELD the pipe and fitting together. There are techniques for removing pipe from a fitting, but I wouldnt advise you to try it as it sounds as if you have absolutely no experience in doing this....no disrespect intended.

Good luck!
 

Vicki Lee

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high flange

Ok, now that I've been to the plumbing store, I see what happened. :p The pipe sticking out of the floor is actually the flange with the metal adjustable rim missing. My son says that part fell completely apart. I saw a lot of different size flanges at the plumbing store. So, if I saw off the part that is sticking out, I might be able to insert a smaller flange into the original pipe. Please correct this if I'm wrong. Even though I've never done this type of stuff before, I have worked with pvc pipe. If there is a way to remove the original flange, tell me. If I don't think I can do it, I won't. Once this is done........one way or another, how do I screw the new flange to his new tile floor? Does this require a masonry drill bit or is there a drill bit for tile? How long should the screws be?
 

hj

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flange

A plumber might be able to remove that old portion of the flange without damaging the riser pipe, but I am not sure if you would have the experience to do it. If you can cut the riser, and old flange, down far enough, and even that will be a "chore", then you should be able to find a flange that fits inside the 4" riser pipe and glues to it. You do need a carbide bit to drill through the tile.
 

Koa

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If you cut off the flange below the glue joint, you can buy a flange that extends down into the 4" pipe from Jtech. It extends down 5 1/2" and can be cut shorter. If you decide to use this flange, make sure you order the pvc one and not the abs. Check www.jtecprod.com/products.html.

The link doesn't appear to work. Try www.jtecprod.com. It's called a 3 X 4 adjustable closet flange.

Works now!
 
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