The adventures of home ownership...I'm learning all kinds of skills.

I just installed a really nice tile floor that goes from the foyer into the powder room.

Previously, the toilet was leaking at the base. I figured it just needed a new wax seal. Upon further inspection, the flange appears to be in very bad shape...rusty, brittle, etc

I'm basically a novice at plumbing, but from what I read on the net, seems like it could be easy, or a nightmare...

Any tips?

Go back in with a pvc closet flange,might require some extra cleaning of waste pipe.especially if cast iron.
There is a bonding agent to marry the two together.
I have had to do in my 55 year old home ,some years back.

I had a plumber turn down that very job before, so, I learned a little something. Good luck, it has been 15 years since I did that now.
Have never done any finish flooring, except helped with tiling my laundry room.

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Any tips?

we had a similar repair, it went really really easy.

Called an expert remodeling guy we know.

Took 2 of 'em with special grinders & other stuff. Perfect job in about 90 minutes. $75 a deal at the price IMHO.

I put a new floor in my bathroom and discovered that a bad flange had rotted out most of the sub flooring right around the bowl. I had an eadier time with the plumbing. I had an old school led bend in the system so cutting everything out was a breeze. What kind of piping are you dealing with?

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Originally posted by SgtGold:
I put a new floor in my bathroom and discovered that a bad flange had rotted out most of the sub flooring right around the bowl. I had an eadier time with the plumbing. I had an old school led bend in the system so cutting everything out was a breeze. What kind of piping are you dealing with?

I believe it's cast iron. Looks to be the original from 1969.

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Originally posted by RAMIUS:

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Originally posted by SgtGold:
I put a new floor in my bathroom and discovered that a bad flange had rotted out most of the sub flooring right around the bowl. I had an eadier time with the plumbing. I had an old school led bend in the system so cutting everything out was a breeze. What kind of piping are you dealing with?

I believe it's cast iron. Looks to be the original from 1969.

The flange should be screwed into the floor. If there is nothing wrong with the pipe all you should have to replace is the flange.

Break out the old flange carefully.

Make sure you clean out all parts of the old flange or you will not get a good seal with the new one.

replace with one of these or something similar

https://www.amazon.com/IPS-861...ativeASIN=B005E2PK9K

Screw it down tight and you should be good to go.

If you have a cast iron flange, you can carefully break the old one off or melt the lead joint and lift it off. Measure the pipe diameter first and Google a repair flange the fits inside the cast iron stub, it will be plastic. Also get a ss flange ring to fit over the plastic flange for strength. Acquire all the parts before you start the repair to insure proper fit.

https://www.zoro.com/oatey-clo...9EAYYAyABEgJ7JfD_BwE

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Break out the old flange carefully.

^^This. Also, stuff the pipe full with a terry cloth towel before you start so you don't accidentally let any of the broken cast iron go down the pipe. Any broken pieces in the pipe will grab ahold of toilet paper and be a clog magnet.

Lots of options... but it really depends on what you have now and what shape it's in. We just did one two days ago.

One typically replaces cast iron flanges with the same. I guess you could use a PVC inside compression flange and bolt it to the floor, but I'm not enamored with that method.

You very carefully smack the flange to crack it, hitting on the inside edge of the flange, just past the lead joint. Careful not to hit the pipe in the middle. After you crack it in two points it should wiggle off. Then sometimes you have to cut the lead - with a chisel and hammer, usually straight down - and the lead will come off in one piece, sometimes two. Then there is probably some oakum wrapped around the whole thing.

The new flange drops right over the cast iron, you pack and pour, and you're done. Oakum packed with an 8 ounce ball peen hammer was how I was taught; the point being not too tight; water can cause it to expand and crack the cast iron, but I've never seen this happen. I usually leave about ¾" for lead. If the waste pipe is lower than ½" under the finished floor, you may want to use a 4" x 3" or 4" x 4" flange; the usual is a 4" x 2 ½" flange; I have one right on top of my packing tools box; the others are unavailable until Monday.

The flange, in America, rests on the finished floor. I *think* in GB the flange is supposed to be flush, but I'm not positive.

If concrete is poured around the flange it can be more difficult to remove because as you crack it, there is no place for the cast iron to rebound. I recently had to change a flange at a West Philly sports bar and went back with a 4"x4" for extra pipe to grab, because I do not screw the flange into the floor; the toilet's connection point is the flange, and the flange's connection point is a good lead and oakum joint.

So the 4x4 flange in concrete? Had to break out some concrete to get it to sit deep enough, but now the drunk college kids would have a hard time yanking the turd-cutter off the floor.

at my big kid's house I had to replace the flange

the pipe is iron (from the 40's-50's)

BE VERY CAREFUL

the iron flange fell apart for me...and my dad's a plumber and I knew what I was doing

put some rags in the pipe after you pull the toilet...FIRST

if its really old, there will be oakum and lead poured over that to center the flange

I used a screwdriver to chip out the lead and after THREE hours I got all the lead out and removed the flange...

Then replace the new flange with a PVC one from LOWES/Ferguson/Home Depot