Insanely Corroded Toilet Flange

[Zack Posz]

Hello,

This is my first time replacing a toilet. We just moved in to this house as well. When I removed the toilet the flange and the bolts were extremely corroded. The picture below was after I was waling on it with a hammer to knock all the corrosion free. There was easily a few mm build up around it. I tried everything I could to remove this but I cannot get it out. Any help would be greatly appreciate. The house is from the 70s and would not be surprised if that's when this was last changed.

 

[John Gayewski]

Looks like you broke the flange. You'll need to either replace the flange or anchor the toilet to the floor directly (assuming what's left of the flange is solid enough to prevent movement).

You should clean a toilet flange with a wire brush and not wail on it.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

This is my first time replacing a toilet. We just moved in to this house as well. When I removed the toilet the flange and the bolts were extremely corroded. The picture below was after I was waling on it with a hammer to knock all the corrosion free. There was easily a few mm build up around it. I tried everything I could to remove this but I cannot get it out. Any help would be greatly appreciate. The house is from the 70s and would not be surprised if that's when this was last changed.

I would not remove. I don't see that it is broken, but if it is, a repair flange can probably be used.

To clean further, I would scrape the flats with a wood chisel, and dig out with a flat blade screwdriver. Use a vacuum cleaner, preferably a shop vac, to pick up what you scrape.

A wood carving set or small gouge might be better than an old flat blade screwdriver, but you already have some old flat blade screwdrivers. https://www.harborfreight.com/wood-carving-set-11-pc-62673.html

Is the wall behind the toilet nearest to the top of the photo?

How far from the wall (not the baseboard or molding) to the center of the closet flange?

 

[Zack Posz]

I was planning to replace it, thinking that it would come off easily which is why I used the hammer. The flange has definitely been broken. The outside edges of the slots the bolts slides in have been broken off. How do I go about replacing the flange? I'm guessing it will have to be cut away as I don't see any screws going in to my floor (which is concrete as this is the finished basement).

Is the wall behind the toilet nearest to the top of the photo?
How far from the wall (not the baseboard or molding) to the center of the closet flange?

That is correct. It looks to be about 1.5 ft.