DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Toilet Flange Dilemma

3K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  ben's plumbing 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all,

I have a dilemma with installing a toilet flange in a basement bathroom I'm adding. The neck of the toilet flange is 2-1/8" long. But I will only have about 1-1/2 inches to slide it on to the 3" pipe. The pipe is embedded in concrete except for the 1" of SLC I poured around it where I gave it plenty of room for the flange. And once I add tile, I'll gain an additional 1/2". So that's a total of 1-1/2" for the flange. Can I cut the flange neck down to 1-1/2"? Or do I risk breaking the pipe by chiseling out concrete (this scares me)? Do they sell shorter neck flanges? Any advice appreciated.

Also, I'm guessing I should avoid a flange that goes on the inside since it's a 3" pipe.

Thanks,
Jon

 
See less See more
1
#15 ·
jonhayden said:
I found a flange at Home Depot that slides inside, but has a gasket instead of gluing it in. You can see it here. What do you think about that?
I highly discourage inside flanges on 3" pipe.
Firstly, 3" is the smallest allowable size per code.
Secondly, as stated in a post above, often times the inside flange will not let the toilet seat properly. You won't know this until after the wc is set, then your back to square one- installing the proper outside flange.
Don't dodge 20 minutes of chipping time by getting the inside flange- it's not worth the risk-IMO
 
#4 · (Edited)
That's a tough call. If you chisel it will probably scratch or gouge the pipe and that won't be good. If you have a hammer drill you could cut the flange and put tap cons in the flange which should work. If you have a chipping gun or hammer drill with a chipping bit. I don't know. Your call. Wish I could of been more of a help.
edit-There might be insulation around the pipe where it comes through the slab under a thin layer of the old concrete if the house isn't that old. Just a thought.
 
#10 ·
edit-There might be insulation around the pipe where it comes through the slab under a thin layer of the old concrete if the house isn't that old. Just a thought.
Yeah, this was my fault :( I actually moved the rough-in and poured new concrete. I did wrap the pipe in sill seal, but I miscalculated how low to go on the pipe. It did a great job for the SLC, but barely touched the concrete.
 
#8 ·
I believe I went on the inside of a 3" pipe, if such a flange is available. It was something I left stubbed up and came back a number of years later and installed a toilet.

I don't know of any troubles with the installation. The 3" pipe probably drops right into a 4" because it is near where the sewer leaves the house and I had a length of 4" pipe there with a lot of stuff emptying into it.
 
#9 ·
On a 3" pipe--always use an out side flange---the inside flanges have a small opening--often the toilet outlet horn will hit the flange --and not allow the toilet to seat---get out your chisel---
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top