offset closet flange piping issues

Not sure which forum since it's a Toilet/Plumbing question, not one or the other.

We're redoing the powder room on the first floor of our house. Because we got rid of 3(!) levels of flooring in there, the toilet now sits about 1.5" lower than it used to. To complicate matters, the toilet uses an offset closet flange because it sits over a joist.

The problem: the offset closet flange/90 degree street elbow (3" PVC) hangs about 1.5" too low now. And unless I can make water flow uphill I'm in trouble. I guess I should have measured before I installed the new floor/toilet. D'oh!

I had a great idea - use a 3" short-turn 90 degree street elbow to raise the piping a bit. But no one seems to sell such a thing. The best I can do is use a 3" short-turn regular elbow but that's still too low.

Do I have any options besides cutting into the stack in a different place and running a new branch? I would just move the toilet but without the closet flange it sits too close to the sink.

How about some pictures? 800 pixels or less.

You COULD have several options, (probably none of the ones you are describing), but without seeing what you are working with, we cannot tell you what they are.

Here's some pics. Basically, with the floor lowered, the street elbow hangs an inch and a half too low. The cast iron pipe is pitched a little steep (hard to tell from the pictures) so I can cut that off at the hub and that'll give me a half an inch or so but I'm still an inch short. I have to use the offset flange so I'm not sure what I can do if I can't find a short-turn 3" street elbow.

OK, more info. I found a short turn 3" street elbow at grainger.com (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/MUELLER-Short-Turn-Street-Elbow-3GUW3) but the picture looks strange. One side of the fitting looks wider than the other. I got the spec sheet and it's a 3" female connection on both ends - maybe the camera lens was a fish eye or something?

Another possibility: I found an Oatey 45 degree closet flange at Lowe's which doesn't drop down as low as the offset flange. I would have to chop up a little more of the joist but that's probably ok since it's the top of the joist. The weird thing about that one though is that the inside diameter of the opening at the top seems much smaller than the other flanges. Why does it reduce it so much? Here's a link to it on Oatey but you can't see the inside of the flange (http://www.oatey.com/Plumber/Shared/ProductGroupDetail/360/45°+Swivel+Closet+Flange.html) I'll take a picture tonight of the one I picked up.

Does anyone have experience with a 45 degree closet flange? Does it restrict flow? I don't really want to have to get out my toilet snake every time some unsuspecting guest decides to take a crap in the powder room!

IT is a STREET elbow so one end is fitting size, and the other is pipe size so they ARE different dimensions. A 45 degree flange is MUCH more preferable than an offset one.

hj said:

IT is a STREET elbow so one end is fitting size, and the other is pipe size so they ARE different dimensions. A 45 degree flange is MUCH more preferable than an offset one.

Click to expand...

True - it's a street elbow. But the picture makes it look like it flares out to 4" or something weird. Just a weird camera lens I guess. How come a 45 degree is preferable? Because offsets always eventually leak?