Toilet flange repair option

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FullySprinklered

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Ok, about four broken flanges ago I tried something quick cheap and easy to deal with a "almost broken" toilet flange issue. The narrow bands of plastic on the outside of the slot, which holds the toilet bolts, had been deformed upward by over-tightening. There was water on the floor, and the customer tried to fix the situation by overly cranking down on the nuts. Customers tend to blame wax ring failure first. After fixing the leak between the tank and bowl, I didn't feel comfortable reinstalling the toilet as things were, so I put new bolts in (I like the nylon bolts), and screwed fender washers on either side of the bolts, inline with the circumference of the flange, if you will, the screws going into the slots, in other words.
The fact that there was wood under the flange made it possible to do this very easily. Slab would take more work.
Did another one yesterday; same situation. I find this technique especially useful when doing work for friends and family, and I'm not getting paid.
Plastic flanges totally suck, by the way.
 

Plumber69

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Plastic flanges are great, I do agree that with everything they use a harder thicker plastic. Toilets are meant to sit level with out rocking. Its always better to place the toilet on the flange with no wax to see if it rocks back and forth. Over tightening the bolts will warp the flange over many years. I think the flange is outdated and something new will come along soon.
 

FullySprinklered

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Plastic flanges are great, I do agree that with everything they use a harder thicker plastic. Toilets are meant to sit level with out rocking. Its always better to place the toilet on the flange with no wax to see if it rocks back and forth. Over tightening the bolts will warp the flange over many years. I think the flange is outdated and something new will come along soon.
If I ever learn how to post pictures, I'll show you something great. In regards to toilet flanges, that is.
 

Terry

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If I ever learn how to post pictures, I'll show you something great. In regards to toilet flanges, that is.

At the bottom right, you can click on "Upload a File" which allows you to use a picture on your computer.
Or if you see a picture on the web (not copywritten) on the web, you can do a copy and paste.

flange-repair-washers.jpg
 
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FullySprinklered

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At the bottom right, you can click on "Upload a File" which allows you to use a picture on your computer.
Or if you see a picture on the web (not copywritten) on the web, you can do a copy and paste.
Thanks, Terry. I'll try to F one up when I get time. Slammed lately.
 

hj

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quote; Plastic flanges are great,

Yeah, great if you like replacing broken ones, which I do not. The NEXT "good, or great" all plastic flange I find will be the first one. IF you are going to use one at least use the two "U" slots and not the curved ones. Once a plastic flange warps, my ONLY repair for it is to install a new one, NOT try to 'patch' the old one and reuse it. I am getting paid for my time, so there is no downside to doing it correctly, unless you are quoting a price for the job before you know what you are going to encounter and cannot change it.
 

FullySprinklered

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I have a first hour fee. After that it drops to a lower hourly rate. I make a lot more money doing more jobs than I do working more hours. I would never intentionally leave a customer with something that's not going to hold up.
That's why I'm so horrified about that brittle CPVC pipe I attached my water heater to on Saturday. I mean, what's the protocol for dealing with that?
 

hj

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I only have ONE fee, (which is what I tell a customer when he asks if that is my "best price"), but after the first hour, (less travel time), I bill by half hours, so I make the same regardless of how many jobs I do, or how long each one takes.
 

FullySprinklered

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I e-mailed the customer and reminded him to set out the water detector device that he'd purchased, and I let it go at that.

I'm adjusting my fee structure up a bit. For the first time in the ten years I've been in business, I'm routinely turning people away because of the sheer volume of calls we're getting.
 
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