Britana
New Member
Greetings all.
First off, thanks Terry for creating and maintaining this forum. This is my first post, but I read a lot of what is posted here to get ready to replace a toilet. After reading your reviews, I went with the Toto Ultramax II with CEFIONTECT. I wanted the Soriee, but my water supply was only 6 inches off center and I don't think I could squeeze it in.
I am a novice at plumbing. To make a long story short, our toilet started to emit a sewer gas smell, was "leaking" around the caulked base, and (after looking closely) leaking into the ceiling below. I decided to pull it and, bluntly, it wasn't pretty under there. It appeared that the wax ring had failed and I had hoped that was the end of it. But, after studying some more, I found my flange (the top) is sitting 3/4" below the floor level and the wax ring was a standard thickness - I'm surprised it lasted the 7 years it did! The best I can figure is that the flange was roughed in before the ceramic tile was laid and no one bothered to fix it.
So, I understand that I need to raise the flange so that the bottom is roughly at floor level or the top is about 1/4" above floor level. I went to Lowes and purchased the only flange enxtender kit they had - made by Oatey. The link is: http://www.oatey.com/Channel/Shared/ProductGroupDetail/720/Closet+Flange+Spacer+Kit.html
If I use this kit, including the rubber washer, and the extender flange, the total combination rises to about floor level. If I add another set of washer and extender flange, I am about 1/2" high. I don't like either of these solutions to be honest since one seems too low and one too high. I also understand I can simply "stack" the flanges on top of each other and have read to either use PVC adhesive (the purple stuff) to secure them or to use silicon caulk between them. My first questions is which would be the best solution?
Second, this kit seems to indicate that I should use the second washer between the flange and the toilet. I am inclined to use a wax ring instead. Is this a good idea?
Thanks,
Eric
First off, thanks Terry for creating and maintaining this forum. This is my first post, but I read a lot of what is posted here to get ready to replace a toilet. After reading your reviews, I went with the Toto Ultramax II with CEFIONTECT. I wanted the Soriee, but my water supply was only 6 inches off center and I don't think I could squeeze it in.
I am a novice at plumbing. To make a long story short, our toilet started to emit a sewer gas smell, was "leaking" around the caulked base, and (after looking closely) leaking into the ceiling below. I decided to pull it and, bluntly, it wasn't pretty under there. It appeared that the wax ring had failed and I had hoped that was the end of it. But, after studying some more, I found my flange (the top) is sitting 3/4" below the floor level and the wax ring was a standard thickness - I'm surprised it lasted the 7 years it did! The best I can figure is that the flange was roughed in before the ceramic tile was laid and no one bothered to fix it.
So, I understand that I need to raise the flange so that the bottom is roughly at floor level or the top is about 1/4" above floor level. I went to Lowes and purchased the only flange enxtender kit they had - made by Oatey. The link is: http://www.oatey.com/Channel/Shared/ProductGroupDetail/720/Closet+Flange+Spacer+Kit.html
If I use this kit, including the rubber washer, and the extender flange, the total combination rises to about floor level. If I add another set of washer and extender flange, I am about 1/2" high. I don't like either of these solutions to be honest since one seems too low and one too high. I also understand I can simply "stack" the flanges on top of each other and have read to either use PVC adhesive (the purple stuff) to secure them or to use silicon caulk between them. My first questions is which would be the best solution?
Second, this kit seems to indicate that I should use the second washer between the flange and the toilet. I am inclined to use a wax ring instead. Is this a good idea?
Thanks,
Eric