Toilet installed without a flange! Quick solution for cast iron in slab?

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your time and help. I'm in the middle of a tiling project in my upstairs bathroom, and my downstairs toilet started leaking. Arg, is it jealous? I want to finish my upstairs bathroom, and not loose too much timing fixing this toilet in my basement.

I removed the toilet which was installed on a concrete slab, and discovered that there was no flange? It looks like it may have broken off or crumbled off in the past. A previous home owner must have attempted to solve this with a thick wax gasket applied directly to the floor. Here's a picture:


Since I'm in the middle of another project and this toilet is in a partially finished area of my basement, I'm hoping that there is a quick but sound solution I can use to install a flange. If the best solution is to bust up the floor and install a new drain, I'd rather do it at the same time I finish the basement, which would include putting in a shower drain.

The cast iron looks corroded and rough, but do you think I can get away with cleaning up the inside of the cast iron pipe and using a compression flange like one of these?
J-Tec/Bruco 4" Cast Iron Closet Flange Replacement - Compression ABS
Oatey Cast Iron Twist-N-Set Flange

Thanks much,

Mike
Lynnwood, WA

BTW: The good folks at the johnbridge.com DIY tile forums recommended terrylove.com.

If it's a concrete floor and you just need to secure some closet bolts, you can rotohammer in a red repair ring.
If the bowl is loose because of the bolts not holding it down, then it will alway leak. Make the bolts secure and you should be able to keep a wax seal.

I have the same basic situation (mine wasn't leaking, though). Mine was on carpet and had a yellow plastic funnel/spacer on top of what you have in your pic with the wax ring on top of that. My floor is going to be thicker now (radiant floor heating + tile). I guess I'll need something like Terry's pic plus some flange extenders to make it work, unless there is another option.

I would NEVER use a flange which was not attached to the drain's riser pipe. Drill an annular ring in the concrete around the pipe, lead/oakum a cast iron flange onto the pipe, and set your toilet properly.

Hi Terry,

If I used the red repair ring. Would you use anything to create a seal between it and the pipe?

Mike

No, because the wax ring fits within the interior of the repair ring. It wouldn't matter if it was sealed or not. It's far beyond the perimeter of the wax.
The typical flange has a rotating ring that spins. It's only meant for holding bolts and for attaching to the floor. Nobody ever seals the outer ring that spins. It's well beyond the wax seal.

Ah, I get it. Thank you!