Bolts for toilet flange making toilet leveling impossible

[Texasborn9]

Hi Folks, new to this forum, but have an issue I can't seem to find an answer to. I paid a handyman to install a new toilet flange, mainly because I wasn't sure what I was doing. I knew I could do the rest so I just wanted him to do that. The pipe coming up is 4 inches, but because it was bent inside and he could not install a 4 inch PVC flange, he went to one that looks to be a 3 inch so that it would fit. He also used something called a hammer set bolt, but it appears that the bolt did not go deep enough before setting so he just bashed it as hard as he could until the bolt heads bent. The problem here is that now, the bent bolt heads stick up about 1/4 - 1/2 inch above the rest of the flange and I cannot level the toilet because of it. I have no idea how hard it would be to get the flange and bolts out of the cement to just get a new flange, and guess what? Handyman is nowhere to be found. What are my options here?

[jadnashua]

Post a picture of what you really have, and you'll get a more reliable answer. An internal flange will work on a 4" pipe. Anytime the pipe is not plumb, things get messy. In concrete, usually, you need to drill for an anchor (a lead one works, but there are other types). Sometimes, you get what you pay for...now, you've got to clean up his shoddy work. Hopefully, we can help, but we need to see what you really have first.

[Texasborn9]

I appreciate the quick response, I hope those photos help some. I had tried to put the toilet on and level it so some of the wax is still there and may make it difficult to see exactly what is going on.

[johnjh2o1]

It looks like he forced the anchor bolts down so hard that the ring was forced from the flange. The stainless part of the flange should be flush with the plastic section. Remove the anchor bolts and pull the stainless section up then get shims under that section before anchoring it to the floor.

John

[wptski]

I'm just a DIY'r but normally leveling is a problem with your floor and not the flange as it should have enough room on the outside to clear your bend screw/bolt. Not sure about the 3" flange though as it looks a bit small with a long slope to the hole. The trapway exit of your toilet should be flush with the outer toilet's edge or at the floor line. It might be hitting on the slope of the flange first.

[jadnashua]

How is the flange physically attached to the pipe in the floor? With pvc, it must be a solvent weld. There are some that use a rubber compression ring, but that doesn't look like one. That connection must be both gas and watertite.

[Terry]

That is the oddest thing I've seen for that purpose.

It looks like multiple spacers that are stacked.

The protruding anchor will need to be cut off.
I'm so sorry that he left you with an unusable flange there.

[JerryR]

Just replying about the hammer set pins.

Looking at the pictures it looks like he used 3 of them. Also none look like they were completely set which may be a good thing as they can be removed.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...ev4tpt&fr=ipad

You would have to pry the center pin out then the rest should be able to be pulled completely out.

After that you should be able to attach with Tapcons.

Jerry

[LLigetfa]

The bottom of that SS ring should be flush with the finished floor. As mentioned, the top should also be flush with the plastic section. If anything is higher than that, it could prevent the toilet from sitting right. If all of it is lower, then something else is to blame for your problem, like perhaps shoddy tiling.

[hj]

My initial reaction, since you say the pipe was "bent" is that he used a 3" flange and just set it into the pipe like a funnel and it is neither attached to the pipe, nor sealed to it. If so, tear it apart and have a plumber do it correctly.

[wptski]

I wonder if the OP is using a wax ring with a flange or funnel? There might be an added interference with that 3" closet flange used.

[johnjh2o1]

The flange is broken. The stainless steal section is separated from the PVC part of the flange.

John

[wptski]

The flange is broken. The stainless steal section is separated from the PVC part of the flange.

John

If so, is that the reason the OP can't level the toilet?

It does look like this one:,, http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...1#.UK5Zi5G3OTk

[wjcandee]

It does look like that flange, the Sioux Chief 888-GPM, because in the photo in the middle the ring clearly says "Sioux Chief". That would then be consistent with HJ's assumption that the flange used by the hack isn't actually secured to the waste pipe and thus could just be ripped out and redone correctly.

What's odd for me however is that if the pipe into which this is inserted is 4", I don't know why the pipe and gasket on the flange would stick in the hole such that the hack could apply enough force to separate the stainless steel ring from the rest of the flange. If it's sort of floating freely in there, it should just slide down further as he pushes on the steel ring. Unless, I guess, it is bottoming out on the bend below. In that case, you have all sorts of potential problems including: (a) a restriction in flow where the pipe and gasket meet the bend, and (b) a potential crack in the pipe below at the bend, given that enough downward force was applied to the flange (and thus transferred to the bend below) to separate the ring from the flange.

When you pull this thing back out, be sure to shine a light down there and check the condition of what I am assuming is the bend. Or scope it. The last thing you want is water pouring out below from a crack at the bend.

[wptski]

If the pipe was setting too high, hitting the bottom of the plastic piece, from what it looks like the steel is below the tiled surface. That would break the plastic piece from the metal rim.

A 3" inside a 4" pipe "could" mean, unless it's sealed some how, it isn't for gases.