Toilet flange height

17 years ago

After a bathroom remodel including tiling over my slab my toilet flange is level with the tile surface. Do I need to add a flange extender or can I use one of the longer wax ring assemblies to compensate for not having the flange sitting on the surface?

Rick

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Comments (7)

lazypup
17 years ago
You need to add a flange extender. Code requires the underside of the flange to be flush with the finished floor.

While the use of oversized wax rings is commonly done by DIY'ers it is at best a makeshift solution and should not be considered a reliable means to the end.
homebound
17 years ago
How does one properly attach a flange extender (especially when there's no wood below the old flange to drill into)?

Thanks.
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bushleague
17 years ago
Homebound what is supporting the wc and the floor beneath it?
lazypup
17 years ago
First set the closet bolts in the existing flange in the normal manner. The buildup flange is then laid on top of the existing flange with the rubber seal side down so it will seal between the buildup flange and the existing flange. The watercloset is then mounted on top in the conventional manner and the bolts from the existing flange to the watercloset bowl base hold it sandwiched in place.
homebound
17 years ago
Well, it's a 100 yr old house. The cast iron wc is not supported at the flange, though it's very rigid. Perhaps there's a horizontal arm that is braced between the joists, and the whole thing is resting on that, but I can't tell. Anyhow, it's rock solid.

As for flange extender... there's no gasket or anything that came with this thing, and I got it at a plumbing supply house (Oatey white extender).

I just got back from HD to try to get one. They didn't have gaskets nor gasketed ones of any sort. The "master plumber" who had been at this house also left an extender there which also is just black hard plastic - same thing.

So I'm thinking of either applying some wax between the flange and the extender, or maybe even plumber's putty (what do you think of that?) Perhaps some silicone is another option.

One more thing: HDepot had a fluidmaster product for low flanges that was a "wax-less" gasketed assembly that fit's into the drain, which also has a thin rubber gasket at the top. The toilet just sits on this thing, and they claim that it's for low flanges and uneven or tiled floors. Anybody tried this thing? BTW, the ones they had on the shelf were apparently returns (retaped shut), and you could tell that most buyers couldn't figure out what to do with the extra O rings that came in the boxes - the directions on the box don't even mention how to use them (it's not at all obvious with this contraption). Thoughts on this "waxless" thing? I'm afraid to try.
homebound
17 years ago
After a quick 'net search I realize that I bought a piece of junk extender. (Thanks a lot to that plumbing supply I mentioned, too!)

This is what I'm looking for now:
http://www.quickfixplumbingproducts.com/closet%20flange%20extenders.htm
homebound
17 years ago
Since there may be other flanges in old houses out there that no longer sit on any subfloor (leaving a gap to the floor below), I thought I'd share this solution.

In case there were an eventual leak at the wax ring, and because the subfloor does not extend under the flange in my case, I decided to make a large gasket that would extend to the floor. This same gasket would go between the flange and the flange extender. This way, if there were a leak, it would be visible on the same floor and not find it's way downstairs. (I got the gasket material at an auto parts store, which I'll silicone to my cast iron flange.)