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Ideally, how should the height of the toilet flange compare to the finished tile foor? Should the top of the flange be higher, lower, or even with the tile? If not ideal, what is an acceptable range of heights? Thanks for your help.
the flange should be installed on the top of the finished floor (tile, vinyl, wood).
as far as acceptable range, too high by even a little bit will prevent the toilet from setting on the floor (it will rock).
the lower the flange, the thicker your wax ring or rings will need to be. the risk here is that the flushing action of the toilet will gradually erode the wax, resulting in a leak.
i have replace dozens of floors because an improperly set flange resulted in slow leaks that went undetected for a long time and eventually rotted the sufloor.
Thanks for your reply. Just so I am completely certain that I understand your answer, I have one further question - when you say "the flange should be installed on the top of the finished floor" do you mean that the top of the flange should be flush with the top of the finished floor, or do you mean that the bottom of the flange should sit on top of the finished floor? In the installation in question, I have about 1" from the subfloor to the top of the flange, which should give me plenty of space to get the finished floor height just right, as long as I understand what "just right' is.
the flange should be installed so that the underside of the flange is resting on top of the finished floor. this will result in the top surface of the flange being approx 3/8 " above the plane of the finished floor (cast iron flanges and pvc/abs flanges are approx the same thickness). by "top surface" i mean the surface that the wax ring sits on.
it sounds like your flange has already been set in place prior to setting tile. if so, make sure the plumber supported the flange in its elevated position with small pieces of pipe set vertically under the screw holes. in this arrangement, as the screws are driven down into the subfloor, the columns of pipe transfer the torque of the screws down to the wood.
if you float mud on a floor that has had a flange preset by the plumber, be sure to pack mud with a margin trowel under the flange for added support.
My flange is mounted in concrete and is setting on top of what looks like a small hill, which "rocks" the toilet and it is rusting, is there anyway to correct this and how do I go about correcting?
That's exactly the procedure I suggested to my husband who was none to sure about it. I guess all men are not created creative (this goes for women too!) What would you suggest to use as a filler once the flange has been replaced? concrete,floor leveling material or something else?
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