Install Toilet Flange

Help!

I have just finished tiling by bathroom floor and am onto the toilet install. I have cast iron drain pipes with about 12" of lead. I'd like to install one of those quick compression flanges that fit inside of the lead pipe, but, over fifty years, the lead has moved into more of an oval (I'd say about 4 1/4" by 3 7/8").

What are my options?

The compression sealed flanges like the twist-and-seal aren't designed for lead...I don't think it will work well. The lead is probably sealed to a brass sleeve that fits into the cast iron hub. Assumig you have access from underneath, I'd rent a snap cutter, cut the cast off behind the hub, use a no-hub connector to some pvc, and glue up a new elbow and flange to put it all back togehter again. You may need a diamond bit to drill holes to anchor the flange properly through the floor into the subflooring.

the drain pipe is in a slab.... no access at all. can i have a plumber re-lead a flange on? the lead is a bit torn up for the first three inches down... just a couple holes.

Have to wait for a pro's opinion on that one...it would have been better to address before you had a new tile floor installed.

nativetxn said:

the drain pipe is in a slab.... no access at all. can i have a plumber re-lead a flange on? the lead is a bit torn up for the first three inches down... just a couple holes.

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You might be hard pressed to find anybody that can work with lead. I have not met many plumbers that know how to work it. You might need to open the floor.

I'm not sure if your state is anything like my area, but finding the lead bars for wiping lead may be the first challenge to overcome. Most of our suppliers stopped carrying lead solder bars.

The repair flanges that they used to make, had a 2" long collar that the lead could bond to. If the lead solders and repair flanes are still available, a good plumber should be able to build it up enough to make it work.

Personally, I would have gotten the lead out before the new floor.