What did my builder do?

[justcallmeglen]

Second toilet I've tackled and the first was easy. From this pic it looks the closet flange (cf) was cut too much and a PVC ring was glued to the cf and 90 deg fitting.

Last toilet I cut the cf away with the Reem cleanout tool so I could glue a piece of abs pipe to the fitting and the cf to the pipe, think I can do the same with this situation?

Oh, btw I'm replacing vinyl floor with tile so I want to have the cf sitting on the finished floor.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

What is below this bath? If it is accessible, sometimes it is easier to cut the drain and just reinstall a new closet bend and riser.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[justcallmeglen]

Kitchen ceiling below. Rather not mess with popcorn.

 

[Reach4]

Lots of flanges are below the level of the finished floor. Leave the existing flange if it is OK otherwise. I am not a plumber.

 

[WJcandee]

How much thicker is your tile than the vinyl? Generally, if we're not talking about a significant amount more, you can handle the issue of the lower flange with: (1) a extra-thick wax ring; (2) two stacked regular wax rings; or (3) double-stacked Sani-Seals.

I agree with Reach. The fact is that while the correct way is to mount the flange on top of the finished floor, the reality of interplay between the trades in construction is such that a huge percentage of flanges are mounted by the construction plumber onto the subfloor (as yours is), and then the tile guy comes in later and puts down the floor. It is always satisfying to do a remodel that is correct in all respects. However, if the Kluged setup in there is working, there is also the adage that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Just don't tile right up against the flange.) Doing it this way also means that it's gonna be a little easier for the next guy (or you) to retile the floor later.

On the other hand, if you're getting handy with that Rheem tool, and you're the kind of guy that likes projects like this, there's probably no harm in redoing it right. However, if you can't get to the closet bend the way that Cacher Chick suggests and actually replace it, you're probably still gonna be doing a bit of a Kluge here, so one Kluge is kind of replacing another...

 

[justcallmeglen]

So I unscrewed the flange from the subfloor and it looks like there is enough play in the pipe that I can fit the ditra and tile under it. Tough question to answer but how much can I raise it before I put too much stress on the other end? It raises up pretty easily.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

It's really a matter of feel. The pressure one can apply with one hand should not be enough to cause a problem.

 

[justcallmeglen]

I think I'll stick with putting the ditra under it, adding the tile feels too tight. Thanks!