Best way to raise a toilet for tile?

13 years ago

I'm installing marble tile with backer board, so floor will raise about 3/4". I see Home Depot has two types of extenders. One has plastic spacers and a large foam donut, and uses no wax. The other one has hard plastic spacers with gaskets between them, and needs a wax ring. Is one better to use than the other?

The other issue is that I get a slight leak from time to time, which shows on the ceiling of the floor below. I noticed when I removed the toilet that the wax ring was off center by about 1/2". It appears the holes for the bolts in the toilet base are not lined up with the center of the hole in the toilet. Wondering if that could be part of my problem and what I could do about it short of replacing the toilet?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide,

Featured Answer

homebound

13 years ago

You can cut the pipe from the inside. There's a bit that attaches to the end of a drill w' a circular/perpendicular blade. Reach in, cut, then drop in (glue) a new one after the floor is layed.

Comments (9)

homebound
13 years ago
It's best to raise the flange, and if you have PVC or ABS, it's not that hard.

On the other hand, assuming the existing flange is resting on the original floor, you could install a couple spacer rings (HD has them) onto the existing flange, making sure to add some wax or silicone between the layers and then screwing them down snugly. Keep in mind that the flange should end up at the level at which it would rest on the finished floor. If it's still a little low, you could install the toilet with a jumbo wax ring.

One other way might be drop in a flange w/gasket, that slides into the existing hole, but you need to make sure the gasket is snug (seals out the gases) and that it rests solidly on the new floor. HD has that, too.
ronaka
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the tips. It is ABS, but it would not be that easy to cut the floor out to get down far enough to cut off the ABS and then install a connector. I'm guessing it goes directly to a 90 deg. elbow. This is a second story bathroom over a finished living space with a stipple ceiling. I really don't want to cut into that if I can help it.
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ronaka
Original Author
13 years ago
"You can cut the pipe from the inside. There's a bit that attaches to the end of a drill w' a circular/perpendicular blade. Reach in, cut, then drop in (glue) a new one after the floor is layed."

Yes, that would seem to be the best way. I've found that the existing flange is not flat, and has been distorted up in the area of the two flange bolts.

The ID of the pipe is 3", and I have about 3" of pipe showing on the inside between the 90 deg elbow and the glue joint for the existing flange. Is that going to be enough? Will I not have to put a coupling in, and an extension pipe up to the new flange?
ronaka
Original Author
13 years ago
I went to Home Depot and did some measurements of fittings. Concluded that cutting from the inside was not an option as there would be no exposed pipe left. The other option was tearing the floor up, and time may tell that would have been the best.

I decided to replace the 1/4" plywood shim under the flange with a 1/2" complete split ring piece of plywood. I also discovered the existing flange is of the type that rotates. So the flange width that actually seals is much smaller than it appears. I am going to silicone seal the hard plastic extender flange to the top of the existing flange and screw everything to the floor. I'm quite confident I can get the thing leak free if the top wax seal works.
tim45z10
13 years ago
Get the wax ring with the rubber piece attached. It will help direct flow beyond the siliconed part.
Ron Natalie
13 years ago
WHen I redid my bathroom we went up about 3/4" because of the underlayment and the ceramic tile. I used two of those plastic closet flange extenders stuck down with plumbing sealant. It's been over ten years and no problem.
how2do
11 years ago
It has been my experience that when confronted with a low toilet flange that using 'extra' wax rings or one of those so-called extenders that that is a recipe for leaks down the road. I found this product, Set-Rite, about 4 years ago and it works under and over an existing flange. I spoke with the inventor on the phone and he is a builder who designed this toilet flange extender kit to eliminate plumbers having to come back and drill through the finished flooring when installing the toilet flange. They have a YouTube video that is on their website and I bought a few kits because they are Code Approved and promise a water and gas-tight seal....

Here is a link that might be useful: Set-Rite Products
mrfixit2013
9 years ago
Go to any good plumbing supply house, tell them what you are doing and measure or bring a piece of marble with you. They will get you the exact size toilet flange with the proper height