Flange height / new tile floor

Hey there-

Our toilet leaked to the point that the subflooring needed repair. The original flange rusted through & is no more. The plumber told us to tear up the floor, put in new subflooring and then to call him. We decided to put tile in this time instead of vinyl.

I was about ready to put down the hardiboard, everything's cut, and then I checked the height of the toilet pipe. Whoops. I don't think there's enough clearance to put a new flange over the new floor.

Also, I am operating under the assumption that we don't need to cut the pipe back and glue in a new flange ... that there are two piece flanges or inserts that can be used. The pipe itself is fine, just the flange rusted off.

Ultimately, I probably need to raise that pipe about 1/2". Do I have any options other than to cut the pipe and glue in a new flange?

Kevin in Seattle

There are flange extenders, sort of like big washers. These should work if there is anything useful left of the old flange. Ideally, the tile should go UNDER the flange, and the new flange sit on top of the finished floor. Then, if there were a leak, it would go on the floor rather than into the floor. I think you'll find that there are other types of repair flanges that may bolt on, but that depends on the diameter of the existing standpipe (is that the right term here?) and what it is made of. One of the pros will pop in here eventually and probably give you some other ideas. As they say, there's more than one way to skin the cat...