We are in the final stages of building a full bath in our basement. Tonight we plan on getting the toilet installed. The bathroom was all roughed in when we bought the house.

On the concrete slab there is a white plastic "flange" for the toilet. It is completely closed off. I am guessing we need to break out the plastic center of the flange to access the soil pipe before setting the wax ring and the stool.

My concern first of all is what to break it out with and second, the flanges that I've seen on the internet all seem to have some form of metal on the top for the bolts to slide into. Ours appears to be all plastic.

Any info will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Jaimie

Hi Jaimie,

The plastic membrane covering the closet flange is there to contain the water when we fill the stacks for inspection. Jusr break it out with a hammer. Careful! Don't lose any down the closet bend.

"My concern first of all is what to break it out with and second, the flanges that I've seen on the internet all seem to have some form of metal on the top for the bolts to slide into. Ours appears to be all plastic."
This is the way all PVC and ABS flanges are made. Just quit tightning the closet bolts when you can no longer move the bowl. Good luck, Tom

Tom,
Thanks so much for the quick answer!

A quick other question... As we were painting the new bathroom last night, we noticed a hairline crack in the new whirlpool tub. It's only about an inch long and is located on the front "lip" of the tub but doesn't extend to the top deck of the tub. We are sure it is from when a friend who was helping with the electrical sat on the edge of the tub (not knowing it wasn't properly installed yet).

We have already placed a 5 foot long 1x2 under the front edge of the tub and then placed supports running to the floor to give the edge extra support. We looked at the store for some sort of repair for the small crack but couldn't find anything we thought would work.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again!

Jaimie

You have done everything to support the tub that I would do. I wouldn't worry about a hairline crack that's above the water line. Just keep a eye on it and if it starts to open up,(and I don't think it will) you can always finish over it. Regards, Tom

Great, thanks again!

Jaimie