I'm working on a job in a 60's condo that has a cast iron toilet flange attached to the pipe of the same material. It is about 2" above the subfloor, somebody elses crapy botch job that I'm fixing, and I need to bring it down to the new level. How do I remove the flange without damaging the pipe to add a new one at the correct level? I have only worked with PVC, not familiar with cast iron piping. What options do I have other than putting two layers of 3/4" plywood down to replace the existing particle board that I removed (see picture of issue before removal of partical board)?

Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kevin,
Ya just happened to get a old timey plumber that broke in on cast iron and lead and oakum joints. Let me show you how to take the flange down without having to remove it. Take a small 2 X 4 block and place it as close to the pipe and away from the flange edge as possible. With a hammer begain to tap your way around the lead joint. The lead will loosen up and the flange will began to go down the pipe. Keep tapping arout the joint until t6he flange reaches the desired level. At this time it will be necessary to recaulk the joint After you recaulk the joint you will be left with a inch of cast iron sticking up. I take a adjustable crescent wrench and taking small bites I began to "nibble" the chunks off the brittle cast iron. After I get the pipe down to the flange I then run my caulking irons around the joint one more time to tighten it up and I'm ready to go. If the flange should break then you cut the lead ring in two and remove it. You may now set another flange. Good luck, Tom

Hi Kevin,
Ya just happened to get a old timey plumber that broke in on cast iron and lead and oakum joints. Let me show you how to take the flange down without having to remove it. Take a small 2 X 4 block and place it as close to the pipe and away from the flange edge as possible. With a hammer begain to tap your way around the lead joint. The lead will loosen up and the flange will began to go down the pipe. Keep tapping arout the joint until t6he flange reaches the desired level. At this time it will be necessary to recaulk the joint After you recaulk the joint you will be left with a inch of cast iron sticking up. I take a adjustable crescent wrench and taking small bites I began to "nibble" the chunks off the brittle cast iron. After I get the pipe down to the flange I then run my caulking irons around the joint one more time to tighten it up and I'm ready to go. If the flange should break then you cut the lead ring in two and remove it. You may now set another flange. Good luck, Tom

What if it's a metal flange, on PVC pipe (I think 4 inch) on concrete slab? I removed the ceramic tile, stained the slab, and now the flange is too high. I need to lower the flange, but it doesn't seem like the method above will work. I will have to remove the toilet to be sure. I installed the toilet last night, but it's too high, and rocks in the back and forth direction. It was late, and it wasn't leaking, so I left it until the next day, when I could Google for answers.

Hello,

I removed the ceramic tile and stained the concrete floor in my bathroom. I finally installed the new wax ring, and put the toilet back in, but now the toilet rocks back and forth, because it seems the flange is too high. It's a metal flange (cast iron?) on a PVC outlet tube. I think the PVC is 4 inch. I have no idea how it's bonded. It seems the flange needs to be lowered, but I'm not sure, and I'm wondering what needs to be done to correct the problem, and can it be a DIY job?

Thanks,
Kent.

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By the way, I wouldn't be opposed to buying a new toilet if I could easily get one at Home Depot that could accommodate the current flange height, and if it would save me money over hiring a plumber.

nuggetone
New Member Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 3


Lowering Flange On PVC After Removing Tile?

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Originally Posted by speedball1
Hi Kevin,
Ya just happened to get a old timey plumber that broke in on cast iron and lead and oakum joints. Let me show you how to take the flange down without having to remove it. Take a small 2 X 4 block and place it as close to the pipe and away from the flange edge as possible. With a hammer begain to tap your way around the lead joint. The lead will loosen up and the flange will began to go down the pipe. Keep tapping arout the joint until t6he flange reaches the desired level. At this time it will be necessary to recaulk the joint After you recaulk the joint you will be left with a inch of cast iron sticking up. I take a adjustable crescent wrench and taking small bites I began to "nibble" the chunks off the brittle cast iron. After I get the pipe down to the flange I then run my caulking irons around the joint one more time to tighten it up and I'm ready to go. If the flange should break then you cut the lead ring in two and remove it. You may now set another flange. Good luck, Tom

Tom,

What if it's a metal flange, on PVC pipe (I think 4 inch) on concrete slab? I removed the ceramic tile, stained the slab, and now the flange is too high. I need to lower the flange, but it doesn't seem like the method above will work. I will have to remove the toilet to be sure. I installed the toilet last night, but it's too high, and rocks in the back and forth direction. It was late, and it wasn't leaking, so I left it until the next day, when I could Google for answers.

Thanks,
Kent.

A metal flange on a PVC raiser. Interesting! What's securing the flange to the pipe?
If I'm looking at a lead and oakum joint then To remove a poured lead and oakum joint take a 3/8" drill bit and drill a few holes down past the lead and into the oakum.. Push a screwdriver under the lead ring and lever it up. Once it's free you can began to peel the lead ring out. Now pick out the oakum and you can pull the joint apart. Good luck

I'm working on a job in a 60's condo that has a cast iron toilet flange attached to the pipe of the same material.

nuggetone ,What if it's a metal flange, on PVC pipe
Am I dealing with two different askers here? Nuggetone and Trenllc.com ? And two different questions? If not please explain the difference between PVC and cast iron. I just gave up and merged the queations. Tom

Am I dealing with two different askers here? Nuggetone and Trenllc.com ? And two different questions? If not please explain the difference between PVC and cast iron. I just gave up and merged the queations. Tom

Sorry. I'm a separate asker. I came along looking for answers to my problem and found this post. When I say that I have PVC piping, I meant that it's plastic. It looks like a metal flange attached to plastic drain tube (I think 4 inch drain tube). The floor is concrete. It used to be tile, but I removed the tile, so now the toilet sits 3/8" lower than before, but the level of the flange hasn't changed.

Thanks,
Kent.

Another thing. I'm about to go pull the toilet back off to confirm this, but it looks like the jokers that built the house somehow skewed the flange off to the side by a couple centimeters, because the people who set the drain tube in the slab didn't get it properly centered between the tub and the cabinet. It that's the case, then I'm not sure I'll be qualified to re-install a flange.

I had a similar situation worked great!