First I need to find out what kind of flange is on there. Is it one that attaches to the outside of the pipe or inside? Was primer used when they put the flange on? I read if they used primer the bond is a lot stronger.
If the flange is the type that slips into the drain pipe; and if primer was used, I may need to buy a 3 inch hole saw. If they did not use primer, I would try cutting a slot and chipping the old flange out.
I also need to look at the wood around the pipe to see how water damaged it is. Do I need to cut up a bunch of the floor and do flooring repairs? I won't know until I take a close look.
Hopefully I only have to go to HomeDepot one time.
I pulled the commode off, found that the flange we have does go around the outside drain pipe and they did use primer.
I stuck a rag down in the pipe to catch anything that might fall in. I cut the old flange off flush with the top of the drain pipe. Measured the inside diameter, and inspected the wood.
I replaced the flooring in most of the house except the restrooms, and kitchen a number of years ago. So I knew what to expect.
They used 2 sheets of particle board. It seems the bottom sheet they cut the hole for the drain pipe closer to the size of the pipe, and the top sheet was a lot bigger.I scraped a bunch on the bottom board and it seems I can work with that.
Ran up to HomeDepot to picked up a closet flange, and another wax seal. They did not have a flange that you glue to the inside of the pipe, they had a twist-set flange. So I got that.
Looking at the pipe and hole, I decided to put in some more wood so that the flange would have something to screw to.
We had a frozen pizza box that was made out of chip board. It worked perfectly to make the template.
Transferred the shape to some plywood. Cut it out with a jig saw.
I cut it big and trimmed to fit. The first time I trimmed it, I cut the inside hole to small. The flange did not sit flush.
Put the wood piece in, and screwed it down.
To put the twist-set closet flange in; you first have to hold it cocked and turn clock wise to get the seal to start rubbing against the side of the pipe. Once it starts catching as you turn it, you level it out. I pushed it down to rest on the wood and kept turning. Once I got it as tight as I wanted to go. I looked in my stash of screws and found some brass screws to secure it to the wood.
The wax seal I bought had a plastic funnel looking piece in it. That piece would not fit in the new flange. You can buy wax seals without the plastic piece, so I figured I did not need it. I scraped all the wax off and applied it to the commode.
Set the commode.
