Does a plumber have to replace a floor flange?


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Old 12-24-06, 09:29 AM
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Does a plumber have to replace a floor flange?

My floor is rotted under my toilet and I want to replace the subflooring. The floor flange looks okay, but it is a bit rusty and I figured I might as well replace it with a new one. I couldn't figure out how to remove it from the pipe though. In my do it yourself book it says to call a plumber. Is this something a professional needs to do?

Also, there was a bunch of wax or something under the flange. I removed it all because it was dirty. Can anyone tell me the name of this sealant or wax stuff so I will know what to look for at the store? Thanks.
 
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Old 12-24-06, 10:28 AM
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seal

I'm not one of the pro's one here, but until one answers you...

The wax is a beeswax toilet seal available at ANY good hardware or big box home store. They are very cheap. Clean the old wax from beneath the toliet and the flange, and make sure everything is dry before installing the old seal. Carefully carry, don't drag, the toilet over the flange when replacing.

Regarding the flange, if it is rusty, it may eventually break. Is it cast iron or steel? Fortunately, this is a very common problem, and there are replacement flanges that got over the top of the old one to make a permanent repair. A good hardware or Lowes/HD should be to help you select the proper fix for your situation. You want to do this right, a slow leak with only give you more problems to deal with sooner than later! In my case I have cast iron waste pipes, and I used a replacement flange that had a drop tube with rubber seals that I was able to force (with a lot of effort!) into the exist cast iron drain pipe. I wouldn't want to do it again!
 
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Old 12-24-06, 10:35 AM
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The wax is from the wax ring used to seal the toilet to the flange. This can be scraped off with putty knife and wiped clean with WD-40. Do the same to the bottom of the toilet.
 
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Old 12-24-06, 11:14 AM
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Sorry, I probably wasn't as clear with my description. I have scraped off all the old wax from the seal that was on the TOP of the flange, but between the top of the flange and the subfloor there was a ring of wax stuffed in there as well. I don't know if this was just to provide an additional seal between the flange and the subfloor maybe?

Also, now that I look at it, I guess the flange is okay, just dirty as hell. Not really rusty. I will leave it and just get flange bolts (closet bolts I think they're called). I'm kind of anal about having new stuff in my house and the old flange looked really dirty, so I was just thinking about replacing it.
 
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Old 12-24-06, 11:26 AM
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old wax

Someone could have left much of an old ring in place when adding a new one, causing a lot of the excess wax to squish out filling the area below. There is only one wax ring used, and it goes above the floor flange. Gently press the new preformed wax ring into the recess on the bottom of the toilet, and carefully place the toliet over the flange when replacing. Don't place the ring on the flange.

pete
 
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Old 12-30-06, 09:49 AM
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If you will slide some soda straws over the bolts before you begin the re-install it will make aligning the holes much easier, since you need to set the toilet directly down on the flange, no skootin, slippin, sliddin or nudgin allowed it needs to go straight down then sit on it and press it into place. Have a nice day. Geo
 
 

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