A flange from the 60's

Hello,

I pulled old BLUE toilet, must be original, from house built in mid 60's. The flange looks like it is part of drain line unless not seeing fasteners? The line and flange look like cast Iron? Did they weld flange and line together in those days? Anyway the flange where it meets line seems corroded, not sure how deep corrosion is yet. I guess only way, short of removing and replacing entire line (which would be MAJOR project) would be to use a saw and cut line with existing flange off and hope there would be some meat left on cast iron line to accommodate a new flange. Does this sound correct fix/situation? Is this common with houses built during 60's. Thanks for any input,

ednorton

If it's like mine, it's leaded in. However my flange is brass, and the closet bend is lead. If you've really got cast iron, you could probably melt the lead with a torch and pull the flange. Then maybe clean it off and use a twist-and-set style (that fits into cast iron), or a clamp-on style that fits on the outside... unless you want to try soldering on a new flange.

With my situation, I know I'd melt the bend along with the solder holding the flange in, and I'd be unlikely to be able to solder another flange on, so I think I'll be trying Terry's suggestion referenced in the following thread, which I guess would be another option for you:

https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?34981-Another-Broken-toilet-flange-thread

The flange is probably NOT corroded to the point where it needs replacement, but if it is, a plumber can remove it and install a new one in a very short time, assuming it is not poured solidly into a concrete slab. It would NOT require any floor removal or sawing of pipes. It is seldom a DIY project, unless you wish to make a big deal out of it.