Can't secure Flange

For some reason, the foundation pourers decided to create humps in the concrete around my toilet flanges so that the toilets can not sit flat. This has caused me significant hardship. Worst of which is the fact that the flanges have been rocked and pulled loose from the concrete. The concrete (slab) where the bolts would hold the flange on has been destroyed and I can’t figure out how to secure it. I’ve been told that cutting and re-pouring slab concrete is prohibitively expensive. I’m considering drilling the concrete at an angle out from the flange and trying to use a long concrete bolt and washers but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it flush enough. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Red repair ring

Terry said:

You could try a repair ring like this that has holes farther out. I drill the concrete with a 1/4" rotohammer and use a drop-in anchor.​

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Thanks for the quick response Terry.

I replaced the flanges once but I don't think I got the bigger ones you mentioned. I'm guessing a typical hardware store would have these (I can check this out). I think I've already got some metal drop-in anchors but I'll double check. Thanks again.

A hardware or building supply store will have concrete anchor cement. It is strong enough to patch the pulled out fastener holes and hold new anchors.

If you don' get the floor level, you will have trouble. You can use shims to steady the toilet. What type of floor covering are you using that they put in such a sloppy subfloor?

I ran across this the other day. might help with the leveling part

http://www.quickfixplumbingproducts.com/floor plate brochure.htm

Grind Hump

Flat workers often leave an uneven surface around toilet drains. You may want to grind the concrete down although this would require replacing your flange. I do not think that breaking out the concrete and replacing it is expensive. You can probably break it out with a small sledge and a concrete chisel.

Thank you all. This is a wonderful site!!!

jimbo said:

A hardware or building supply store will have concrete anchor cement. It is strong enough to patch the pulled out fastener holes and hold new anchors.
If you don' get the floor level, you will have trouble. You can use shims to steady the toilet. What type of floor covering are you using that they put in such a sloppy subfloor?

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I tried a quick-crete for this but I think it requires more drying time than I was will do give (wanted my toilet back). Maybe I should try again and be a little more patient. I also found and bought the shims. I used cedar shims last time but obviously that's not a good solution. The floor cover is vinyl sheet (which I hate and plan to replace with ceramic or porcelin tile). The funny thing is that the slab is really flat everywhere except right around the toilet flange. For what ever reason, they created a 1/2 inch mound around the flange? Thanks a bunch for your help.

hudson75 said:

I ran across this the other day. might help with the leveling part

http://www.quickfixplumbingproducts.com/floor plate brochure.htm

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That's an interesting idea. I actually couldn't find the repair flange that Terry pictured above. Even the manufacturer on the sticker doesn't list that part on their site though they have another product that seems to be for the same or very similar purpose. I wonder how the floor plate would compensate for woble? It seems that if you bolt it to an uneven floor that the plate AND toilet would then woble? Maybe I don't understand how it works? It might be worth a shot if standard repair methods fail. Thank you.

LonnythePlumber said:

Flat workers often leave an uneven surface around toilet drains. You may want to grind the concrete down although this would require replacing your flange. I do not think that breaking out the concrete and replacing it is expensive. You can probably break it out with a small sledge and a concrete chisel.

Click to expand...

Dang Flat workers!!! That's just what they did. I don't mind replacing the flange. That's pretty easy to do. I have some concerns about percussive removal of the slab though because the drain makes a ridiculously sharp turn right at the flange and appears to be made out of soft lead. I'm afraid I'd destroy it if I went after it with a sledge hammer. Grinding it down sounds like the best option but then the ring seat would be too shallow. Maybe I can do a little of both and try to re-form the ring seat. I'm guessing I'd need a dye grinder or something heavier duty than the standard tools I have. Thanks for your help.

unlevel flanges, unlevel floors, unlevel toilets, floor plates

1) Unlevel flanges aren't a huge problem if you use a waxless ring, (Fluidmaster waxless or Fernco waxless toilet seals) instead of wax rings. {I prefer them, and will never again use wax}

2) Level toilet which does not rock is not a problem at all if you set the toilet in a bed of white plaster of paris. The plaster of Paris fills and uneven/unlevel/irregular spots in BOTH the floor and the bottom of the toilet for a "rock solid" installation. You can either white silicone seal, caulk or paint the thin plaster of paris edge where it meets the toilet and floor, if you want to.

3) Unlevel concrete floor around flange ... who cares if the floor is unlevel? What you need is a level toilet which does not rock, which rocking breaks the wax seal. .... see # 2 and #1 above.

4) Toilet floor plates. I have three toilet floor plates I bought, all 3 were too short for my fancy toilet, Still, you would probably need plaster below and above them, to level/even out any irregularities. They give you something more to trip over in the bathroom. I suppose you could paint them with a porcelain type paint, so they don't look like cheap plastic, not sure.

I'd use a chisel and knock the high spots down then use some concrete patch and trowel over to fill the low spot left by the chisel. I see no reason to cut the slab clear out, it's only the surface that is the problem. Might use a grinder as well, but that gets a lot of concrete dust in the air really quickly!

When laying tile I had to repair a few areas where the mud bed (a 2" layer of concrete everywhere in the house) had to be repaired, anchored stuff such as folding door floor rings wouldn't hold anymore and so on. I did that with sand topping mix, plus some rebar in areas of heavy load. It was neither expensive nor difficult. The important thing is to get every last bit of loose concrete out of there. After pouring I made sure the new concrete does not dry too fast, either by placing a plastic sheet onto the area or by spraying every few hours.

As the previous poster said, grinding is a very dusty affair. Here is what I did: Good masonry disc in the angle grinder, eye protection for everyone (!) in the area, shop vac plugged into a different (!) circuit, and a second person held the shop vac hose near where the dust blew. The shop vac needs to have the fine bag and fine filter in there or it'll blow the dust right out again.

Regards, Joerg.

flange

Home Depot or Lowes has that flange, although the "lugs" around its perimeter are sometimes too wide for the toilet's recess. In a concrete slab floor, the flange is usually secure without screws or anchors.