batkins61
New Member
I have a flange that extends above the floor and isn't exactly parallel with the floor, due to both the floor and flange being slightly off level (in the opposite direction, naturally 
). A new tile floor was built around the existing flange and was expected to come up high enough to have the flange be at the right height. However, the flange ended up being slightly too high (about 1/16" - 1/8", at most).
The Toto I have will contact the flange at the rear. If I leave the front of the toilet edge on the floor, I can shim the rear enough to get the base off the flange. But, due to the angle, I end up with about a 1/4" gap between the floor and the rear edge of the toilet. I can place shims in several places and at various thicknesses to provide support. I have test fitted it and I can get it on the shims with no rocking, and it feels solid. Obviously, the toilet will not be resting on it's edge all the way around, but instead on shims in several places. Is that acceptable, or does that spell certain disaster down the road?
Lowering the flange would be a bear. The flange is either directly attached to the wye that enters the 4" stack (running horizontally under the floor at this point), or to a very short vertical pipe. Lowering the flange may not be as "simple" as cutting out a section of pipe and re-leading. It may require replacing the entire wye section of the 4" stack (which, at least, is in the crawlspace).
Given the huge difference in the two solutions in terms of time and cost, I'd obviously rather take the shim approach. Assuming the risk of damage to the toilet or loss of seal is small, I'd like to try the shims. Except for the potential cost of a new toilet, the cost of replacing the flange later isn't any more than doing it now. But, if the chances that this will break the toilet are pretty high, then I'll have to look into getting it done sooner rather than later.
Any experiences or recommendations would be most welcome.
Thanks!
). A new tile floor was built around the existing flange and was expected to come up high enough to have the flange be at the right height. However, the flange ended up being slightly too high (about 1/16" - 1/8", at most).The Toto I have will contact the flange at the rear. If I leave the front of the toilet edge on the floor, I can shim the rear enough to get the base off the flange. But, due to the angle, I end up with about a 1/4" gap between the floor and the rear edge of the toilet. I can place shims in several places and at various thicknesses to provide support. I have test fitted it and I can get it on the shims with no rocking, and it feels solid. Obviously, the toilet will not be resting on it's edge all the way around, but instead on shims in several places. Is that acceptable, or does that spell certain disaster down the road?
Lowering the flange would be a bear. The flange is either directly attached to the wye that enters the 4" stack (running horizontally under the floor at this point), or to a very short vertical pipe. Lowering the flange may not be as "simple" as cutting out a section of pipe and re-leading. It may require replacing the entire wye section of the 4" stack (which, at least, is in the crawlspace).
Given the huge difference in the two solutions in terms of time and cost, I'd obviously rather take the shim approach. Assuming the risk of damage to the toilet or loss of seal is small, I'd like to try the shims. Except for the potential cost of a new toilet, the cost of replacing the flange later isn't any more than doing it now. But, if the chances that this will break the toilet are pretty high, then I'll have to look into getting it done sooner rather than later.
Any experiences or recommendations would be most welcome.
Thanks!
