broken flange in toilet

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MonaMontana

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My husband and I are remodeling our upstairs bathroom and he is trying to replace the toilet. The old one is out and he was going to put the new one in. However, he discovered the flange is broken and he is having a hard time getting it out. He said it is cemented to the pipe and he can't get it out. Is this something he can do himself or does he have to call a plumber? If he can do it himself, how does he do it? How does he attach the new flange to the pipe?
Thank you so much for your help.
Mona Whiteman
 

Basement_Lurker

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If the flange/drain is made out of plastic, then yes, the best bet would be to call in a professional.

How is the flange broken? If you are only trying to replace the flange because the t-bolt slots are broken from a previous improper installation, you can get a metal repair ring that gets screwed over top the existing flange.
 

Redwood

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If the flange you have is a flange that had a steel ring rust out there are stainless steel replacement rings available to replace a steel ring on both pvc and abs flanges.
 

MonaMontana

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thank you

Thank you both very much. I just now saw your replies and will tell my husband and hopefully, that will solve the problem. I will let you know.
 

MonaMontana

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It is more complex than I thought. I just now went and told him your replies and he said that he tried the replacement flange, well he got the stuff for it, but it didn't work or wasn't going to work because the flange is cracked into the PVC pipe below it and he needs to fix it at that level. He said he thinks he can fix it if he takes pictures of it, goes to Lowe's or Home Depot and gets what he needs, and borrows his brother's pipecutter. I would still like advice as to whether this is a do-it-yourself project or if it is one where a professional needs to be called in and what the approximate cost might run.
 

Gary Swart

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Given your husband's obvious lack of experience, I would suggest your best course of action would be to call a plumber. A plumber will know how to remove the flange and have the tools to do it. Your husband might or might not succeed, and in the process of trying could very well cause damage that would cost a great deal more to repair than just having a professional do the job. How much depends on local plumbing rates and any problems that might be encountered so it's really impossible to even give a ballpark guess.
 

hj

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flange

I don't know what kind of pipe cutter he is going to borrow, but if he is going to get advice from Lowe's or HD to repair this, you might want to start looking for a good plumber in your area to correct the problem he may create.
 

Gear Junkie

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Call a plumber and don't worry about price. A bad toilet flange can cause thousands of dollars of damage if improperly installed. You trying to save hundreds of dollars now might cost you thousands later.

Also, don't look in the phone book, ask friends who they use. Word of mouth is the way to go.
 
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