The height of the toilet flange is an essential part, so when you install a toilet in the washroom, keep this in your mind. If you make a mistake there, you can face leaking and rocking or breaking the floor in the future. A leaking foundation also rots the subfloor, leading to mildew and mold. So you don’t need to fix the issue as soon as you notice, but also know the perfect height of the toilet’s flange. I think the information in this article will help you there and remove all your confusion.
What is a toilet flange?
If you are new to this site, you don’t know what this flange is, its location, and its need. The toilet flange is mainly used to fit the pipe that connects a toilet with the floor of the home drainage system. It is also used to securely mount to the finished floor so that the bathroom can securely mount to the finished floor. With a defected flange, the toilet can’t fit with the drainage pipe properly. The toilet is attached directly to the floor or subfloor, but it’s not a long-lasting way. After using it for some years, you can face toilet leakage, water-soaked floors, etc. You need to repair the whole restroom and reinstall the toilet again.
How high should a toilet’s cast iron flange be?
Professional lumber can only measure the ideal size of your toilet’s flange. But if you want to know just for an idea, then the optimum flange height of the bathroom is ¼ inches above the finished floor. This range typically allows all kinds of wax rings to be used to ensure the water seal.
Always try to get help from the experts. A poorly designed or installed flange brings you a low or high posing issue in the bathroom. This leads you to some lousy odor or ruins your flow quickly. There are many types of flanges you can find in the market. And height also depends on this.
How to fix it when the flange is too high?
Fixing the wrong height flange is mandatory to work. If you face this issue, I think this method will help to get rid of the erroneous positions of the flange:
- Rising bathroom floor: this is the first step to fixing this issue. But before you start this work, keep in mind that it’s a time-consuming project. So if you are in a hurry, then think about another option. But if you get bored with your old floor, I guess time doesn’t matter. First, you need to remove the old flooring in this process. Then, raise how much it needs to attach the flange with the flooring drainage system perfectly. And it’s done. If you want, you can also do it by the plumber, and I think they can do this more accurately.
- Fill the gap using grout: You can go with this solution if you find a fast solution. At first, start to mix up the grout with the help of instructions it came with its box. You need four rubber shims to fix the toilet in the exact place. Then take the grout mixer and fill all the gaps between the floor and flange. Then keep the area dry for about 24 hours, don’t use the bathroom at this time. After that, remove the shims and tighten the nut that holds the toilet in its place.
- Install a new flange: this is the last stage to eliminate this situation. It would help if you changed the whole flange. And you can easily do this with the help of the internet. But if you don’t have an idea about this work, don’t try to solve this. Call the plumber; they can quickly help you out with this issue.
How to fix the height issue of the cast iron flange?
Many toilets use cast iron flange and repair this height is slightly different from plastic or another material flange. There are two ways to solve the issue you faced when you got the cast iron flange in the washroom. For the first method, you need to cut off the extra part, adding additional height. First, remove the toilet, shut off the water valve, and disconnect the water supply. Then remove the bolt that attaches the bathroom to the ground. Then you can cut off the excess tight or lower the flange from the last place because there is a plastic ring attached in this place. If it’s not coming out quickly, then cut the top of the flange with the help of a metal cutter. When you get the perfect height, but the toilet in the previous place.
The way to solve the issue is to put some piece of wood under the flange. First, you need to remove the toilet from the old place. Then cut a wood piece at the same height as the flange and put this under the flange; after adjusting the size, reattach everything just like before. And I think it’s also a straightforward way to solve this issue.
How to remove the old cast iron toilet flange?
Removing a cast iron flange is just slightly different from replacing common toilet flanges. It would help if you had some equipment to succeed in this job, like a screwdriver, wrench, and pliers. After you got all the essentials, let’s open the flange from the toilet:
- Remove the bolt from the bathroom that attaches it to the flooring drainage system,
- Loos the nuts of the flange with the help of a wrench,
- After loose, it, use pliers to remove the flange from the drainage pipe,
- You may find dirt in there; clear the space before you reinstall the system again.
- After your job is done, reinstall the flange with the help of pliers in the drainage system at the perfect height,
- Reattach the nut on the flange using a wrench very tightly,
- And at last, tighten the screw of the toilet that holds it to the floor. And your job is done.
When you read all the steps, you may find this is an effortless job. But if the toilet is ancient, then it’s tough to remove it from its last place. Then you may use any oil as a lubricant. And if you can’t pull that, call the plumber to help you out with this issue.
Install New Cast Iron Toilet Flange (Video):
Bottom Line
When the toilet is installed at the perfect stage, it’s effortless to maintain this. If you install this higher, there is a leakage in the middle of the flange and floor drainage system that easily damages your floor and ends up with a gross toilet. So try to fix this as soon as possible.
Hi, this is Robert Crossan, the owner of this website, has 17 years of experience in the installation, maintenance, and repair of toilets and plumbing systems. After completing the Level 2 Basic Plumbing course in 2005, I started working in both domestic and commercial buildings as a professional plumber. So I can figure out the core difference between different toilet models and brands. It also helped me monitor their work performance and setbacks.
