So what am I likely up against here?
Unfinished basement below
Skip the plumber and call a realtor!
Yup here we go. That doesn’t look like a toilet flange to me. I’d be ripping out that cast iron and replacing it with pvc. You can cut it with a sawzall. Use a rubber boot splice. But don’t bury it somewhere.From below, this is what I have…
Depending on the era the house was built, that might be lead.
Looks more like cast iron.
Not looking to replace the floor at this point in time. Maybe later.
Do yourself a favor and completely uninstall that toilet, and inspect the flange. It might be cast iron which is why they did that.
Yes but use real hardware not tee bolts and real heavy duty washers. Make sure you have rubber under them. If the toilet rocks at all when you’re done, it will leak again.
New flange that fits inside the cast iron pipe?
www.oatey.com
I do like this idea, but I need to get this done today without complications. I am tempted to replace the ring and bolts and put it back the way it was. A previous owner of the house did this, 15 or more years ago (I bought it 15 years ago) and it just now started to leak. I saw water today for the 1st time.Ok, so here is what I would do. I would remove the Sioux Chief extender which was put in to raise the "flange" to the level of the tile. It looks to be screwed in to the subfloor judging by the screws you see from underneath.
It looks like someone just used a non-flange cast iron pipe. This isn't the end of the world but you need a replacement flange.
I used this in my basement where the cast iron flange was quite rotted and instead of cutting the concrete and replacing the cast iron flange and pipe I used this Oatey product. Actually it is the older version, this is the newer one.
Oatey® Twist-N-Set® Replacement Toilet Flanges | Oatey
Oatey® Twist-N-Set® Replacement Toilet Flanges are designed to replace broken toilet flanges, also called closet flanges, with a gasket that expands to fit inside of drainage pipe. The replacement flange installs easily without tools and features a smooth, unrestricted flow design. Oatey...
Essentially you remove that extender then install this until it is solid in place. Then screw it down into the subfloor. You might need to trim around the pipe to make sure the flange is flush with the tile. A little proud or recessed isn't a problem if you use an adjustable gasket.
Don't reinstall the toilet the way it was. It was done wrong and that Sioux Chief extender is NOT for keeping the toilet steady. It is just for extending an existing flange which I can't really tell if there is one or not.
You need to take a look underneath.
I get that it is not perfect but it held up for more than 15 years. I am tempted to give a try at putting ot back the way it was. If I were going to down the bathroom long term for a remodel, I would re-engineer it, hire professionals etc. but not at this time.That there is some Bubba work done by some weekend warrior or unlicensed contractor type. As others have said, fix it correctly or there will be other problems.
This is a good project to learn from OP…really not complicated nor hard…just take your time. Great excuse to buy many hundreds of dollars worth of tools too.
So it shouldn't take that much longer to do it right. That flange should be available locally. I think I got mine at Home Depot. It is very easy to do. You are going to remove that spacer anyway, might as well just insert the new Oatey flange and it will be done correctly.
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