pfun100
New Member
I'm working on an upstairs toilet in an old house that originally had a lead closet bend. A plumber replaced the lead bend with a 4" cast iron pipe, cutting the vertical part shorter because there was tight clearance below the floor to a notch in a joist. They installed an outside clamping cast iron flange. First try after placing the toilet it leaked like a sieve, so they piled on a second wax ring, and then said it was done.
I'm now trying to fix this properly. Removing the toilet, I found that the top of the flange is a bit below the tile surface and not flat.
I plan to build up the floor/tile so that the flange can rest on top of the tile. I'm trying to decide which closet flange to use:
1) The outside clamping gasket arrangement bothers me, as any water/sewage that lands outside the pipe will want to flow downwards and might seep past the gasket. It seems more natural to have the flange empty inside the closet bend. I imagine that the outside clamping must actually work or they wouldn't be used, but would it in fact be "better" to have the flange empty inside the pipe?
2) The inside clamping designs that look possible are the Oatey 43539, the Oatey Twist-N-Set, and the Sioux Chief PushTite. The Oatey 43539 has hex bolts to tighten the gasket, which seems like it might provide a tighter seal, but they also are spots for stuff to hang up on, maybe making for clogs. Anyone have opinions on these three?
3) Because the bend was cut short, the curve cuts into the vertical line not that far down from the top opening. So the inside gasket style flanges may not be able to be placed far enough down--it might hit the bend. Anyone know of an inside style flange that has a short outlet? Alternatively, I was thinking that I might take one of the ones I mentioned in #2, cut a section out of the middle and glue it back together to make a short one. Does that seem reasonable?
4) An additional problem with one flange that I tried is that it would not fit into the pipe. Although the pipe is I think 4" lower down, near the top the wall is maybe 3/32" thicker, causing a narrower inside diameter, too narrow for the flange. Was this not the correct kind of pipe (closet bend) that they used?
5) If I stick with the outside clamping style, I'm thinking it may be difficult to keep the top of the flange flat to the floor, as the clamp wants to follow the angle of the pipe, which is not vertical where it clamps on, due to it being cut short. Any ideas on this?
Sorry for the long and picky list of questions, but I'm interested in the fine points, as viewed by people with experience!
I'm now trying to fix this properly. Removing the toilet, I found that the top of the flange is a bit below the tile surface and not flat.


I plan to build up the floor/tile so that the flange can rest on top of the tile. I'm trying to decide which closet flange to use:
1) The outside clamping gasket arrangement bothers me, as any water/sewage that lands outside the pipe will want to flow downwards and might seep past the gasket. It seems more natural to have the flange empty inside the closet bend. I imagine that the outside clamping must actually work or they wouldn't be used, but would it in fact be "better" to have the flange empty inside the pipe?
2) The inside clamping designs that look possible are the Oatey 43539, the Oatey Twist-N-Set, and the Sioux Chief PushTite. The Oatey 43539 has hex bolts to tighten the gasket, which seems like it might provide a tighter seal, but they also are spots for stuff to hang up on, maybe making for clogs. Anyone have opinions on these three?



3) Because the bend was cut short, the curve cuts into the vertical line not that far down from the top opening. So the inside gasket style flanges may not be able to be placed far enough down--it might hit the bend. Anyone know of an inside style flange that has a short outlet? Alternatively, I was thinking that I might take one of the ones I mentioned in #2, cut a section out of the middle and glue it back together to make a short one. Does that seem reasonable?
4) An additional problem with one flange that I tried is that it would not fit into the pipe. Although the pipe is I think 4" lower down, near the top the wall is maybe 3/32" thicker, causing a narrower inside diameter, too narrow for the flange. Was this not the correct kind of pipe (closet bend) that they used?
5) If I stick with the outside clamping style, I'm thinking it may be difficult to keep the top of the flange flat to the floor, as the clamp wants to follow the angle of the pipe, which is not vertical where it clamps on, due to it being cut short. Any ideas on this?
Sorry for the long and picky list of questions, but I'm interested in the fine points, as viewed by people with experience!
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