Cracked PVC Toilet Flange

[diginside]

I was replacing a toilet in one of my upstairs bathrooms. After removing the wax ring, I noticed several cracks on the toilet flange as shown in the picture. There have been no leaks, to my knowledge, possibly due to the wax covering these cracks. I know taking this flange out may not be an easy task for a DIYer like me if it is glued to the pipe. Should I leave these cracks and put on an extra thick wax ring and move on with a new toilet? or give it a try but prepared to look for a plumber reasonably priced (won't be easy either)?

 

[Reach4]

You could consider the DANCO Model 10672X Hydroseat. It may fit your needs. Read up on it. You put a normal wax ring under it. I used to think you put another ring on top, but I see they are planning that you just put the toilet on top with no top wax. This would fit cases where the feet are going to be on top of the finished floor, and you can drill holes for screwing down the feet. You can alternatively use the holes not on the feet to hold it down. That way you don't have to drill your hard flooring. You don't have to be as careful with the shims, because adding shims does not stretch the wax.

A closet flange holds down the toilet. I am not sure that your flange can reliably do that. You can put a repair ring on the floor above. Pack in enough wax, with the top ring sticking up at least 3/4 inch.

PASCO 21013, Jones Stephens C85000, Oatey 42775, and Superior 21015 are repair rings with mounting tabs outside. These sit on the finished floor, and screws hold the repair ring down. The screws can go through the repair ring legs (requires drilling the tile) or can go through the holes that are more inside.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[diginside]

Just went to home depot and got a Danco 10672X. It seems I have to cut the floor tile in order to fit it in, quite a bit of work. Can I just apply some glue over the hairline cracks?

 

[RubyToeBeans]

IGood luck!

 

[Breplum]

NO

 

[Reach4]

Just went to home depot and got a Danco 10672X. It seems I have to cut the floor tile in order to fit it in, quite a bit of work.

Do not cut the floor. The four legs/ears should sit atop the tile.

You may have to drill holes to clear screws, or you may be able to use the interior holes without drilling the floor.

Ceramic tile is fairly hard to drill. Porcelain tile is really hard to drill. If you use the interior holes to hold the Hydroseat down, what will that go into? Wood subfloor? Concrete? The material and dimensions will determine what screws you need. A Home Depot review says "The screw holes will accommodate no larger than a #10 screw size."

 

[diginside]

Ceramic tile has mortar underneath, then the wood subfloor. If I set the hydro seat above the tile, the rubber boot would barely extend into the vertical pipe. The wax ring that's supposed to be under the seat may not touch the bowl part of the flange, I am afraid. The old flange is apparently a bit tool low and creates a challenge here. Anyway I ended up not using the hydro seat but applying some clear PVC cement over the cracks and then putting two wax rings for the new Kohler toilet to sit on the tile properly. In other words, if I use only one wax ring, even extra thick, the toilet drain hole would not even touch the wax but leave a gap for the water to seep through. I know I might have done something tacky. In a year or two, I'll likely remodel this bathroom and deal with this flange again, hopefully with a permanent solution.

 

[Chucky_ott]

Are you certain those are actual cracks? Clean it up real well and check closely. Plastic parts that are manufactured by injection moulding sometimes have knit lines where the plastic joined during manufacture. At the surface, these look like cracks, especially when filled with dirt.

 

[diginside]

Good question. When I touched and felt them, I could not tell if they were crack lines because they seemed smooth. But that's after I applied some pvc cement. I ended up using the Danco Perfect Seal toilet wax ring so I could at least install the new toilet. I could uninstall the toilet and double-check it but I guess I'll do it in a year when I remodel this bathroom. Hopefully what you said is true. Thanks for the response.