Flange clearance, wax ring type, newbie questions w/ pics

[Peterman]

Hi all, my first post and I already have questions However, before I begin I'd just like to say... what an awesome site! If only I'd known about this site BEFORE my wife and I started a bathroom remodel...d'oh!

Long story short, I recently remodeled my wife's bathroom which included installing a new tile floor. The tile was about 1/4" thick and installed on 1/4" cement backerboard. The previous floor was plain old linoleum. Due to the different flooring thicknesses, the existing closet flange would've been "recessed" about a half inch. Being the anal-homeowner type that I am, I decided to replace the closet flange rather than bridge that 1/2" gap. I cut the 3" ABS soil pipe and installed a new closet flange which mounted on top of the finished floor (see image below).



The flange is perfectly level, and very secure.

Question 1: Is this the *right* way to install the flange - I mean, on TOP of the finished floor? That's how it was on the old vinyl flooring, so in my case monkey-see-monkey-do. My father in law told me he's always seen the top of the flange "flush" with the floor...so I'm just asking.

OK, second question on this topic. I'm now ready to put the old toilet back in, but I realized that the flange is about 1/2" thick, and there's barely 3/4" clearance on the toilet (see images below). This means that my compressed wax ring will be barely 1/4" thick at the thinest point, which makes me wonder if it will leak.

Question 2: Is this kind of clearance normal? Is my closet flange too thick?





Question 3: And my final question...I have both a traditional wax ring as well as the "reinforced wax ring and gasket" with the built-in rubber thing. Should I just stick with the traditional wax ring given my limited clearance?

Thanks all!
-Pete

[TedL]

1. Perfect.
2. Also perfect.
3. Use the wax only.

Nice work!

[Peterman]

1. Perfect.
2. Also perfect.
3. Use the wax only.

Nice work!

** breathes sigh of relief **

Ah, this is good news! Thanks Ted! I just wanted to make sure I didn't screw anything up, looks like I'll install the throne tonight!

[jadnashua]

What you may want to do is set the toilet down as a trial without the wax ring and make sure it sits flat. If it rocks, mark where you need shims, and set them in place. Then remove the toilet, install the wax ring and then place it back down. Any rocking of the toilet after it is mounted will often overcompress the wax on one side and break the seal, so rocking is bad on a toilet.