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Replacement toilet flange for Iron

15K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  buletbob 
#1 ·
Hello

I have 4" iron pipe in my bathroom. I just removed the toilet to put down a new floor and found rotten underlayment and a ruined drywall ceiling beneath. I am replacing all of it.

The cast iron flange was both crooked (about 1/4" tilt from front to back) and rotated about 5 degrees off parallel with the wall so the toilet always was crooked in the room. Otherwise the flange itself was in perfect shape.

After many minutes of drilling and prying and several snapped drill bits, I was able to remove the lead and lift off the flange so I can get the subfloor fairly tight to the pipe. The flange remains in excellent condition.

I am not excited about trying to re-lead this thing myself. So, I can either call a plumber to do it or I can go with a replacement flange. Oakey makes one that slips into the pipe and has three screws that you tighten and pull up the bottom and compress a rubber ring for a tight fit. The flange is then screwed down to the subfloor. The only problem with this unit, as I see it, is that it is all PVC.

Does anyone make a replacement flange for 4" iron that has a stainless steel ring? Or is the all PVC model good enough?
 
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#2 ·
I don't like those expanding ones. I'd use a donut gasket in the cast iron hub and install a PVC flange into it. You can use a PVC street flange or a regular PVC flange with a small piece of pipe glued into it depending on the height you need. If you're bent on keeping it cast iron use the donut gasket, a short piece of cast iron pipe, and a cast iron compression flange.
 
#4 ·
Yeah, I keep reading that in these posts.

The old flange is still in great shape once I scrape off a little more old oakum. I just don't have the lead melting capabilities. I could put something together with an old camp stove but I don't have any iron pots lying around that I want to fill with molten lead.

Still, the thought of tackling it does intrigue...
 
#5 ·
Marlin:

When you say "donut gasket", do you mean one of these?

http://www.fernco.com/Donut.asp

Rqb407:
You asked: "Does anyone make a replacement flange for 4" iron that has a stainless steel ring? Or is the all PVC model good enough?"

Millions of homes have PVC floor flanges. If they weren't strong enough, then millions of people would be complaining about them. I don't hear any complaints.

Besides, with either the Oatey product or Marlin's idea, you can replace the floor flange easily from above, and so if and when the PVC flange breaks, you can replace it in an hour or two.
 
#9 ·
I should have been clearer about what is left in the floor.

There is a piece of pipe about 4.5" OD -- 3 7/8” ID that is slightly lower than the finished vinyl floor. It's actually the short end of a cast iron elbow that is about 15 inches long out of the wall and about 7 inches tall up into the floor.

The outside of the pipe seems to have a series ribs on it that I assume were to help with the attachment of the original iron flange.

I like the idea of the durability of the red metal flange that ron the plumber mentioned above. Does that thing have a name/brand?

2 more questions:

1. Is a flange like that one reasonably easy to remove in about 10 years when I expand the bathroom and go to a ceramic floor?

2. “it slips over the outside of the pipe and bolts tighten up the gasket around it, better then the one the slips into the pipe.” Why is it better to go around the outside of the pipe than inside it? Wouldn’t having all the pieces fit inside of the next minimize leaks? Toilet goes INTO flange goes INTO pipe = no leaks, right? I’m not arguing here—just curious.
 
#10 ·
Hello

I have 4" iron pipe in my bathroom. I just removed the toilet to put down a new floor and found rotten underlayment and a ruined drywall ceiling beneath. I am replacing all of it.

The cast iron flange was both crooked (about 1/4" tilt from front to back) and rotated about 5 degrees off parallel with the wall so the toilet always was crooked in the room. Otherwise the flange itself was in perfect shape.

After many minutes of drilling and prying and several snapped drill bits, I was able to remove the lead and lift off the flange so I can get the subfloor fairly tight to the pipe. The flange remains in excellent condition.

I am not excited about trying to re-lead this thing myself. So, I can either call a plumber to do it or I can go with a replacement flange. Oakey makes one that slips into the pipe and has three screws that you tighten and pull up the bottom and compress a rubber ring for a tight fit. The flange is then screwed down to the subfloor. The only problem with this unit, as I see it, is that it is all PVC.

Does anyone make a replacement flange for 4" iron that has a stainless steel ring? Or is the all PVC model good enough?
I haven't see one in stainless steel but did use one of cast iron. same principle.
 
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