Toilet Flange - Partially fixed??

[Hook]

The toilet in our downstairs bathroom was wobbling a bit. I figured that maybe the bolts were loose and tried tightening them, but it still wobbeled. I figured that with the movement the bolts may have slipped out of there slot. Went and got a new wax ring and bolts to repair it. Took the nuts all the way off, lifted up the toilet and found that the flange remained with the toilet and seemed to have broken off from the pipe. Withour going into detail, it was going to get fixed viw our home owners warranty. The tech has soldered on a replacement ring (brass) and left telling my wife that he needed some screws that he did not have with him, and that he would be back the next day to finish the job. In the interim, I guess he changed his mind and let the warranty company know that he would have to break the concrete to replace it, that is not a "covered" item.

I now have a soldered on flange. I would say the solder is about 75% all the way around. It is attached very solidly. I have no idea what made the guy change his mind, or what screws he needed initially to finish it. I am almost tempted to use it as is. The replacement flange ring is above the concrete floor with 4 screw holes. I am thinking of screwing it to the floor with some spacers for addition stability. I'm not sure the those would be the screws he was refering to or not.

Any ideas? The worst thing that could happen would be for it to break again, than I would replace the whole flange. This ring seems solidly attached with the solder. What screws might he have been refering to? Anyone familiar with this type of repair?

[Hook]

Well, according to the Warranty company, they said the quote they got from the repair company to complete the job was $1900! Granted there is concrete involved, but that is absolutely ridiculous! (to me anyways). The contract only covers up to $500 for this kind of work (broken plumbing). So I will take advantage of thier cash-out offer of about $440.

Thanks for the tip on the hieghts requirement. This replacement flange ring just clears the tile, so I think it will be OK. I'll check it out though.

Fortunately I have a chunk of brass tubing which I will use for the spacers. I'm going to have to check out what kind of anchors to use as the maximum hole I can drill is through the screw hole in the flange.

I'll have to go the silicone caulk route as, although I am an accomplished home fixit guy, I have never done that type of soldering.

Thanks for the feedback!

[BocesLib]

The problem maybe to do with the floor not being right up against the bottom of the bowl.

Over time and use the same thing MAY happen.

Make sure the floor is nice and level. If there is any wiggle room, shim it and get it right.

In the case that I had in my home, I shimmed it, screwed it down CAREFULLY and used the same sanded grout (that I used on the floor) to squeeze around the bottom of the bowl. Let it dry for a few days and its rock solid!

It'll be a slight pain in the ass to remove down the road, but with the way its installed I should never have to.

Tom

[Hook]

Well, according to the Warranty company, they said the quote they got from the repair company to complete the job was $1900! Granted there is concrete involved, but that is absolutely ridiculous! (to me anyways). The contract only covers up to $500 for this kind of work (broken plumbing). So I will take advantage of thier cash-out offer of about $440.

Thanks for the tip on the hieghts requirement. This replacement flange ring just clears the tile, so I think it will be OK. I'll check it out though.

Fortunately I have a chunk of brass tubing which I will use for the spacers. I'm going to have to check out what kind of anchors to use as the maximum hole I can drill is through the screw hole in the flange.

I'll have to go the silicone caulk route as, although I am an accomplished home fixit guy, I have never done that type of soldering.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Speedy Jim]

What a beautiful example of how worthless the warranties are.

I would be tempted to do what you propose, though it won't be the "perfect" fix and purists will object.

But first, look at the bottom of the toilet and see how much space there is from floor level to the "bottom" of the toilet. This is the depth that the wax ring would occupy. Now, subtract the height of the flange above the floor. If that difference is less than 3/8", you'll have a tough time keeping the wax sealed over time.

If the height looks OK, drill the concrete for expansion anchors or Tapcons. Use non-corroding fasteners. Fabricate brass spacers to fit around the screws, under the flange.

Either finish the soldering job or use a sealant such as silicone caulk to ensure no leaks.

PLAN "B": Rip out the existing flange. Use an "expansion flange" made just for situations like this:

have to do some investigating as to sizes and materials on the existing setup.

Jim

[Jeff Wisnia]

When I had the needed parts of a steel toilet flange set in a concrete floor rust out I did this:

Drilled two 1/2" holes about 2-1/2" deep into the concrete at the exact spots where the hold downs should go. (Made a scrap wood template marked through the toilet bowl's base holes and used it to locate the holes on the floor.)

Cut a couple of pieces of 5/16"-18 allthread to the appropriate length and secured them into the holes with Rockite (Expanding cement). I used the wood template to keep them located while the Rockite cured.

Put on a new wax ring and lowered the toilet over the protruding studs. Secured it carefully with nuts and washers using anti-sieze on the threads and shimmed and grouted it as described above by Tom.

Solid as a rock ever since.

Jeff

[Rick]

there

flange.

soldering.

You beat me to it-your first paragraph says it all!

I'm sure the poor guy probably got reamed by the boss when he got back to the shop and told the boss how much money he saved you : )