# Toilet Closet Flange broken, unstable subfloor



## soparklion11 (Oct 18, 2016)

I was advised to replace my toilet and in doing so, I discovered that the area around the flange consisted of some sort of mortar that was old and soft, so I removed it.  I would like to replace it with a Sioux Chief 4" PVC slip-in flange, but I don't know how to secure it properly to the floor.  As I am familiar, if it is not secured the toilet will transfer force to the underlying drain pipe and cause the pipe to fail.  Can I just pour some mortar in that space?  Or do I need to rip out the tile and replace the entire floor?

Thank You and God Bless.
SPL


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## Snoonyb (Oct 18, 2016)

Are you on a slab or wood floor?


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## CallMeVilla (Oct 18, 2016)

See this problem often.  What is below the tile?  Wood or a concrete slab.  If you are lucky, its on a slab and the damage is directly under the footprint of the toilet.  Remove the soft material and re-fill with Rapidset Cement-All to the margin of the new flange.  This cures very hard and provides a solid base.  You can anchor the flange using TAPCON screws with a bugle head (drives with a Phillips bit) .... of course you must predrill the holes into the cement.

However, if you have a wood subfloor, you will have to reframe and re-install the necessary plywood flooring.  Then you can shoot screws into the wood to hold the flange.


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## soparklion11 (Oct 19, 2016)

Is there an alternative to replacing the entire floor?  I'm not a huge fan of the tile, but I'm also not that interested in replacing it.

What happens if I just mortar into that area and screw the slip-flange into the mortar?


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## nealtw (Oct 19, 2016)

soparklion11 said:


> Is there an alternative to replacing the entire floor?  I'm not a huge fan of the tile, but I'm also not that interested in replacing it.
> 
> What happens if I just mortar into that area and screw the slip-flange into the mortar?



The question is  wood floor? concrete floor?


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## soparklion11 (Oct 19, 2016)

Yes, wood floor.


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## nealtw (Oct 20, 2016)

Test the plywood with a screw driver and see how solid it is. If it is solid you are likely good to go. If it feels soft and mushy you have some ugly work to do.


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## joecaption (Oct 22, 2016)

Picture would be nice.
Sounds like an old mud bed.
Any access under the floor?


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## frodo (Oct 23, 2016)

there are various ways to secure your toilet to the floor.

each one is for a different type floor.

if you would please, tell us what your floor is, 

is the sub floor concrete, or is the sub floor wood

is your house on the ground or in the air 

is the pipe you currently have now.  pvc or cast iron.

if it is pvc. is it secure ?  or wobbly 

we can help,  need info to do it

PICTURE< PICTURE< PICTURE


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## soparklion11 (Oct 24, 2016)

Floor is plywood with tile, no cement board.

Iron pipe that does not move/give with pressure.

Photos attached.  Thank YOU!


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## nealtw (Oct 24, 2016)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKI3NC674MA[/ame]


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## soparklion11 (Oct 27, 2016)

I  have a 2" thickness of chalky material around the drain pipe. A thin layer of Concrete under it.


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## soparklion11 (Oct 28, 2016)

I have a 2" thickness of chalky material around the drain pipe. A thin layer of Concrete under it.


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## nealtw (Oct 28, 2016)

If you can dig out the softer stuff, you might get to where it is level enough so you could space up with wood like the video.


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## soparklion11 (Oct 29, 2016)

Would you recommend the lock-in PVC flange that they use in the video with allen screws applying pressure to extend the sealing gasket, or just a slip-in PVC flange from Home Depot by Sioux Chief?  The lock-in is significantly more narrow and I worry that it would be an impediment to flow that I would regret later.


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## Snoonyb (Oct 29, 2016)

There should not be an impediment to flow.

By example, measure the dia. of the WC outlet, the internal dia. of both the Sioux and the expandable closet flange suggested and I beleive you'll find that both are greater than that of the WC.


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## nealtw (Oct 31, 2016)

I would buy them both and see which one looks like it would work the best.

Chip out the soft junk drill holes thru the concrete but not thru the wood use pieces of pipe for spacers from the wood floor to the required depth, screw it in place and fill the void around and under the flange with mortar.


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