Dealing with toilet floor flange in remodel

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wwilson1

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I’m working on a bathroom remodel. The last couple evenings I’ve been chiseling/scraping a 3/8†layer of glued down particle board off of the ¾†plywood sub-floor. I found a pneumatic automotive chisel works good. I’m having a problem removing the toilet floor flange to get to the particle board under/around the flange.
The toilet floor flange is attached to the particle board. I removed the screws around the metal ring of the flange and expected to be able to pry/lift the flange off to remove the particle board (which is chiseled away up to the point of going under the flange.) The problem is even prying on the tin metal lip of the flange enough to start to bend it I cannot get it to lift off. I have no idea how these work, but I assumed it would not be glued or anything like that. Are they threaded on or anything like that? Any suggestions? I’m afraid if I break it or bend it up too much I’ll have a heck of a time replacing it. Or it will develop a leak if I damage it.
Thanks, Wayne
 

Jadnashua

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If the house if fairly old, and the flange is metal, it could be attached with a lead/oakum connection between the cast iron pipe and the flange. You wouldn't pry that apart, either...
 

wwilson1

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jadnashua said:
If the house if fairly old, and the flange is metal, it could be attached with a lead/oakum connection between the cast iron pipe and the flange. You wouldn't pry that apart, either...
The house was built in 1979. The pipe and flange look to be black PVC and the part that is screwed down is painted-pressed-sheet metal. The particle board around the base is soft (ruined) due to some sort of leak in the past. Part of it is now gone due to it being pulled out as I removed the hunks of particle board. The flange is not sitting on a sturdy base. So it looks like I'll...
1. Have to at least dig the particle board out from around the flange and
2. Fit some plywood (3/8) the same diameter from the pipe to the outer edge of the flange.
3. Screw the flange down to the plywood.
4. And finally run my hardybacker up to the edge of the plywood (flange.)
5. Once I install the tile it will be maybe 1/4"+ above the lip of the flange...

Please feel free to throw in ideas/corrections, I'm a 1st timer on this kind of project.
Thanks for the input so far. Wayne
 

SteveW

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If I were you, I'd call a plumber to remove the flange. As mentioned by hj above, plumbers have special tools (including a cool pipe cutting tool which cuts from the INSIDE of the pipe), not to mention the expertise, to do the job right (and save you a lot of time and headaches in the process).

Just my 2 cents as a fellow DIYer.
 

Gary Swart

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An alternative would be to cut the pipe so the closet bend and flange can be totally removed. Finish getting the new floor ready, then use new pipe and fittings to install a new flange. To me, this would be much easier and less costly than paying a plumber to salvage the old flange. It sounds like you have ABS drainpipe. That is a different chemical makeup from PVC, but similar in working with fittings, etc..
 
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