# Toilet flange



## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

How do you guys set, on top of tile flush with tile or flush to cement floor I always set on top of tile. My boss said to glue on cement and the tile guy will tile right to it so whose right


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Flange rests on finished floor.


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

That's what I thought as for my bosses theory he saystoilet won't rock if you do it his way.


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## Jchar5147 (Aug 16, 2011)

I set on top of finished floor and anchor the flange. No rocking issues.


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## The real E.P. (Aug 9, 2011)

The flange should be flush to just above finished floor


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## TX MECH PLUMBER (May 27, 2011)

Flange sits on finished floor... I install flange after tile is laid ... And if the tile guys good it won't rock but most I see do rock so then I shim it then hide shims with caulk, and wipe down with wet sponge .... Iv even used a penny or two for a shim when I was in a bind !!!!


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

that's how I do it to tex its aficial my boss is a dumb ass and istill can't type worth a **** on my phone


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## The real E.P. (Aug 9, 2011)

How thick are your flanges?? Our abs ones are about 3/8 thick


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## abudgetplumb (Aug 22, 2011)

we're taught to set at finished floor height if it's tile floor we don't use caulk anymore, we use existing grout, looks way better also helps if flange is too high


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## TX MECH PLUMBER (May 27, 2011)

abudgetplumb said:


> we're taught to set at finished floor height if it's tile floor we don't use caulk anymore, we use existing grout, looks way better also helps if flange is too high


Grout?? What if it has to b pulled later ??


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

revenge said:


> That's what I thought as for my bosses theory he saystoilet won't rock if you do it his way.


 
When the floor isn't flat, is what causes rocking. Not the flange height unless its way too high....

Set the flange on top of finished floor....


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

Kick the **** out of toilet I have pulled a few like that with grout what a pita and most the time the metal ring on flange is gone


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

I use plastic chims usually on back side of toilet,cut flush to toilet then dap in.


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## 100 Watt (Aug 11, 2011)

Around here most of us set the flange when roughing in. Therefore it gets set on top of the plywood. This is on new construction. We never know what the flooring may be. Tile, hardwood, vinyl? We just use a jumbo ring and maybe a thin ring as well. Never had any trouble. 

We use a TKO flange, so we are ready for testing and not hoping a plug doesn't let go and loose the test. One plug in the sewer is OK, 4 or 5 plugs in every closet elbow sux.

I know some of you will flame me saying it's terrible, but hey it works for me. Everybody does it thier own way.


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## gitnerdun (Nov 5, 2008)

Another vote for the obvious, set it on the finished floor. Be sure and tell your boss how to do it, then let us know what he says then.


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## hroark2112 (Apr 16, 2011)

100 Watt said:


> Around here most of us set the flange when roughing in. Therefore it gets set on top of the plywood. This is on new construction. We never know what the flooring may be. Tile, hardwood, vinyl? We just use a jumbo ring and maybe a thin ring as well. Never had any trouble.
> 
> We use a TKO flange, so we are ready for testing and not hoping a plug doesn't let go and loose the test. One plug in the sewer is OK, 4 or 5 plugs in every closet elbow sux.
> 
> I know some of you will flame me saying it's terrible, but hey it works for me. Everybody does it thier own way.


This is why I always stub up 4" and install the 4X3 closet flange after the floor is finished. I know it's not broken, I know it's at the right height, and I know it's anchored down properly. 

I trust tile guys as much as I trust sheetrock guys not to put holes in shower pans.


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## cityplumbing (Jun 12, 2010)

I always have set my flanges on top of the finished tile. When your customer decides to change there bowl years from now they don't have to worry about the new bowl matching the old bowls base.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

TX MECH PLUMBER said:


> Grout?? What if it has to b pulled later ??


I think he is talking about running a bead of grout at the base of the floor like you would with dap. 

I've done it a few times with the same grout color that the bathroom has. Did it to my home toilet and upgraded toilets last summer, didn't have a problem pulling it and the grout chipped up a lot easier than peeling dap off the floor.


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## bizzybeeplumbin (Jul 19, 2011)

I rough in the riser, wrap it a couple times, now if the tile guy is smart, he tiles around it, I come back, remove the foam wrap, use my Ridgid inside cutter, cut the riser and install my flange, then drill in the tile and screw the flange tight to the tile, a regular wax sets in perfect. Never going to leak.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

100 Watt said:


> Around here most of us set the flange when roughing in. Therefore it gets set on top of the plywood. This is on new construction. We never know what the flooring may be. Tile, hardwood, vinyl?


I set my flanges on the plywood deck too, but I almost always space them up on 3/8 ply rings. It's a good compromise spacer thickness for various types of floor. Every so often when I need some ply rings I'll mark out six or ten and cut them all out and chuck the extras in the fitting box for next time.



> We use a TKO flange, so we are ready for testing and not hoping a plug doesn't let go and loose the test. One plug in the sewer is OK, 4 or 5 plugs in every closet elbow sux.


If by TKO you mean closet flange with test plate, then ya, me too. Though I have really good test equipment, three inch plugs can be "dangerous". The fewer the better.


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## Plumber Jim (Jun 19, 2008)

If tile will be going in I use a sioux chief spacer under the flange at rough.


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F. ? either way will work. Set it on the sub floor, set it on the tile. Which ever is easier at the time. :thumbsup:


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

futz said:


> I set my flanges on the plywood deck too, but I almost always space them up on 3/8 ply rings. It's a good compromise spacer thickness for various types of floor. Every so often when I need some ply rings I'll mark out six or ten and cut them all out and chuck the extras in the fitting box for next time.
> 
> If by TKO you mean closet flange with test plate, then ya, me too. Though I have really good test equipment, three inch plugs can be "dangerous". The fewer the better.


Yes Futz. It took me a minute, but I believe "TKO" stands for "test knock out"...


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

abudgetplumb said:


> we're taught to set at finished floor height if it's tile floor we don't use caulk anymore, we use existing grout, looks way better also helps if flange is too high


 Exactly how does it help if the flange is too high?

Seriously.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

I'd tike to thank all you new construction guys that set the closet flange on the plywood when thick tiles are going to be used...:yes:

Thanks for using the painted steel rings and double wax rings as well...:yes:

Oh and those steel screws or, better yet drywall screws top off a super installation! :yes:

You've helped my bottom line quite a bit over the years..... :thumbup:


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

You a grout bed for toilet, I saw one goofy ass plumber do it he used paster paris. He made a bunch in a 5 gal bucket threw it on floor a worked it up to flange. After he did all that junk he waited 15, 20 minutes for it to get hard enough to set toilet on top. Then he did away with access While he was jerkin around with that one, i pulled the other two toilets and peeled out old flange and glued two new ones and bolted to floor.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

When I was in Ohio we set the flange on the wood floor. Not much Mexican tile was used back in those days. Generally speaking the tile was ¼ inch thick. Here in Florida they use the thick tile and the flange must be on top of the finished floor for the best results.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> Exactly how does it help if the flange is too high?
> 
> Seriously.


 
Give it a second base for the bowl to rest upon. For a very long time during the boom years the only closet flanges available here were too thick and would not allow the toilet to sit properly on the floor. Instead of replacing the flange plumbers would get grout from the flooring contractor.


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## greenscoutII (Aug 27, 2008)

Redwood said:


> I'd tike to thank all you new construction guys that set the closet flange on the plywood when thick tiles are going to be used...:yes:
> 
> Thanks for using the painted steel rings and double wax rings as well...:yes:
> 
> ...


Sadly, during the boom years the builders put so much pressure on the plumbing contractors to keep the cost down and get the time in each house shorter that this kind of thing happened all the time.

Yes, I set flanges on the plywood. I knew it wasn't the best way to do it, but that's what I was told to do..... At some point I realized that my work is my legacy and I was going to take the time to do it right every time, to hell with speed if the quality isn't there.

I love new construction, but I hate cutting corners. What I hate even more is getting yelled at for taking enough time to do the job right rather than just slapping it together.

One shop I worked for kept a chart of who was hitting their production goals and another chart for call backs. I had trouble meeting the production goals sometimes, but I was damn near NEVER on the f'ed up/needs fixed chart......

OK, rant over. Yes, setting the flange on the finished floor is the superior way to do it......


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

revenge said:


> You a grout bed for toilet, I saw one goofy ass plumber do it he used paster paris. He made a bunch in a 5 gal bucket threw it on floor a worked it up to flange. After he did all that junk he waited 15, 20 minutes for it to get hard enough to set toilet on top. Then he did away with access While he was jerkin around with that one, i pulled the other two toilets and peeled out old flange and glued two new ones and bolted to floor.


 




Being born and raised in NY I have to tell you that's the way it's done up North. 

Here in FL I pulled up a W/C in a commercial restaurant because the person in charge had a malfunctining pressure-assist toilet and told me to just replace the W/C. I thought I'd be in and out of there quickly....:no: I had to break the porcelain in order to pull up that W/C. When I got that toilet up I saw plaster spread all around the PVC flange. The toilet was set in a bed of mortar. A 350 pound woman could have done backflips on that toilet and it would never have rocked or moved. I know for a fact that the man who set that W/C is from NYC, NY. The Bronx in fact.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Tommy plumber said:


> Being born and raised in NY I have to tell you that's the way it's done up North.
> 
> Here in FL I pulled up a W/C in a commercial restaurant because the person in charge had a malfunctining pressure-assist toilet and told me to just replace the W/C. I thought I'd be in and out of there quickly....:no: I had to break the porcelain in order to pull up that W/C. When I got that toilet up I saw plaster spread all around the PVC flange. The toilet was set in a bed of mortar. A 350 pound woman could have done backflips on that toilet and it would never have rocked or moved. I know for a fact that the man who set that W/C is from NYC, NY. The Bronx in fact.


 I'd much rather have to build it up than knock it down.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Tommy plumber said:


> Being born and raised in NY I have to tell you that's the way it's done up North.
> 
> Here in FL I pulled up a W/C in a commercial restaurant because the person in charge had a malfunctining pressure-assist toilet and told me to just replace the W/C. I thought I'd be in and out of there quickly....:no: I had to break the porcelain in order to pull up that W/C. When I got that toilet up I saw plaster spread all around the PVC flange. The toilet was set in a bed of mortar. A 350 pound woman could have done backflips on that toilet and it would never have rocked or moved. I know for a fact that the man who set that W/C is from NYC, NY. The Bronx in fact.


I have had to set a toilet in a grout bed and the woman went 350 while on a diet...

After breaking the plastic flange, I installed a cast and lead pinned down, after the third flange she broke, I set it in a grout bed and told her I would be back the next day. 

Ball game over...


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## Toan Nguyen (Aug 19, 2011)

I agree with TX Mech Plumber , flange sits on finished floor .I got so many service calls when some one remodel bathroom with new tile floor but not raise the flange up . Problem is the home owner smelled sewer gas or see color build up around the stool base some months later.


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## mccmech (Jul 6, 2011)

cityplumbing said:


> I always have set my flanges on top of the finished tile. When your customer decides to change there bowl years from now they don't have to worry about the new bowl matching the old bowls base.


???. Even if the flange gets set on the sub-floor, the toilet always gets set on the finished floor. Tile does not get installed around the original bowl ( in most cases) so ya should never have to worry about matching up bowls.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Plumberman said:


> I have had to set a toilet in a grout bed and the woman went 350 while on a diet...
> 
> After breaking the plastic flange, I installed a cast and lead pinned down, after the third flange she broke, I set it in a grout bed and told her I would be back the next day.
> 
> Ball game over...


 She sounds kinda hawt.

Got any pictures?:laughing:


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> She sounds kinda hawt.
> 
> Got any pictures?:laughing:


Lol

She's a big un


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## PlumberShep (Sep 22, 2010)

I always set mine to finished floor.After setting the W.C. I level it with a couple of shims.I then mix plaster of paris to a medium consistency and work it in along the base.After a couple of minutes I pull the shims and touch those spots up with the same.I always leave an open spot at the rear of the base so any leaks can be detected early on.For commercial installs I use grout as it stands up well to heavy mopping.
I cant recall ever being called back for a leaking base or a rocking W.C. since I started doing it this way some years ago.
A 4lb carton of plaster of paris is around $6 and I can get around 50 installs per carton.A tube of tub and tile caulk is around $1.50 to $2.25 depending on what quantity you buy it in.


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