toilet flange basement too high - need advice

I have a toilet in the basement that's been leaking (odor, water) over the past 14 years despite multiple wax ring changes. Now after replacing a toilet upstairs with the a Toto I know realize the basement flange sits about 3/8" to 1/2" above the floor. I assume this has been the problem all along.
HOWEVER, I have no idea how to fix a flange that is cemented (floor) and glued (into pvc pipe). The basement bathroom floor is vinyl on top of concrete.
Should I:
a) have a plumber chisel out the flange out of the basement floor and install a new one?
b) use a piece of plywood to cut in shape of the toilet base to raise the floor underneath the toilet
c) install a ceramic toilet floor to raise the bathroom floor to the height of the flange
d) use some type of commercial product???
ANy suggestions would be most welcome!!!

Your toilet cannot rock and maintain the seal with the wax ring. So, you've enumerated your options quite well. You can either remove your existing flange and replace it with a lower one--big project, or you can use various approaches to shim the toilet, such as using a plywood cutout or strategically placed shims + caulk to keep the toilet from rocking.

The tile floor might be a good idea too, but you'd need to use some thick tiles to raise the height by that much. Maybe with an additional underlayment + tile you can raise it that much. The condition of the flange is important. If it's all messed up, you would just want to replace it and lower the new one. Is it an old cast iron one or a newer PVC type?

a) have a plumber chisel out the flange out of the basement floor and install a new one?

The best and most expensive option.

b) use a piece of plywood to cut in shape of the toilet base to raise the floor underneath the toilet

easiest option, as long as the plywood does not get wet and deteriorate or create an odor.

c) install a ceramic toilet floor to raise the bathroom floor to the height of the flange

It might help to a degree depending on the tile's thickness.

d) use some type of commercial product???

There are commericial products, such as the "hole fillers" that fit under the toilet to raise it and cover up the tile opening when toilets are replaced.
ANy suggestions would be most welcome!!![/quote]

Verdeboy said:

Your toilet cannot rock and maintain the seal with the wax ring. So, you've enumerated your options quite well. You can either remove your existing flange and replace it with a lower one--big project, or you can use various approaches to shim the toilet, such as using a plywood cutout or strategically placed shims + caulk to keep the toilet from rocking.

The tile floor might be a good idea too, but you'd need to use some thick tiles to raise the height by that much. Maybe with an additional underlayment + tile you can raise it that much. The condition of the flange is important. If it's all messed up, you would just want to replace it and lower the new one. Is it an old cast iron one or a newer PVC type?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info everyone. The flange is PVC and it's in pretty good shape. The concrete underneath looks intact i.e. not flaking. I'll have to think carefully about how to deal with this problem but it has to be fixed now that I know why. I wish it didn't take me 14 years to figure it out.

Would it be fair to say it's a 2-3 day job for a plumber to chisel and cut the PVC flange out of concrete and install a new flange? He wouldn't have to dig out the entire line would he?

They make what is called a marble slab that is sold at most good plumbing supply stores. They are thick enough to raise the toilet off the floor enough to keep the toilet from rocking. This is what they are made for. It goes under the whole toilet base and has a hole cut out for the flange. They make them in white and almond for round and oval front toilets.

Just to follow-up since my first post. It took me months to figure out what to do.

After thinking about it, I'm going to raise the bathroom floor with self-levelling underlayment. Flange is lob-sided with approx. 1/2 inch one side to 1/4 inch opposite side. The bathroom is 4x7 feet.

Should I do the underlayment pour 1 vs. 2 pours to raise the floor to flange height? I apologize since it's not strictly a toilet question. Wish me luck since I'm not a handy guy.

A crooked flange will still be a crooked flange when you raise the floor height! I'd consider breaking a little concrete and straightening things out before I went to the trouble and expense of something like slc. SLC is a nice product, but it still won't fully solve the problem with the uneven flange.

using a level you can easily figure out whether it's 1/4" or 1/8" out of level. Or 3/16th". How to compensate is ultimately up to you, but I personally might not break it all up when wax rings could make up the difference.

I'd tile the floor. Good (search on PEI 5) porcelain tiles are 10mm thick, and with tile cement (which has its thickness too) you'd have a new floor at the right height and more.

David