Toilet Flange Below Floor Surface

Oatey 1 2 inch toilet flange spacer.

Toilet flange below floor surface. A sign that the wax ring was not sealing the toilet from sewer gases or preventing water escaping from under the base of the toilet. The new floor can be upward of 1 in. In a typical toilet installation the floor flange that sits inside the drain opening below the toilet should be positioned so that its bottom surface rests flush against the finished floor or no more than 1 4 inch above or below the floor this ensures that the flange makes a watertight seal against the wax ring that fits between the drain opening and drain outlet horn on the underside of. If your floor surface is more than half an inch above the closet flange in my case 1 25 you must extend the flange so it s flush with the new floor surface.

In most cases the floor of a bathroom is tiled and in this case the tiling is done after the flange is installed. A closet flange extender or spacer ring s with flexible gaskets can do that job. The taller stack of soft wax also has a higher probability of failure. Since the flange stops at the surface of the floor the wax seal is further down from the toilet itself.

When you are replacing a wax ring check the toilet flange height in relation to your flooring. If your toilet flange is more than 1 4 in. When the toilet was removed the toilet wax ring was still in its original shape. Below the finished floor add plastic toilet flange.

Above the existing flange. Here you can see the results of a toilet having been installed on a toilet flange that is below the floor level.