I couldn't find this question so I am posting a new one. However thank you to Tom-speedball for many tips that have helped me understand my older toilet plumbing!

So I have added about a 1/2" tile around an older cast iron/lead okum flange. I purchased a closet extender kit to raise the flange to the proper height but I am concerned about a couple of things.

1) After looking closer I found the current closet flange is not fixed to the floor. There were extra bolts on the old toilet that were used to fix the toilet to the floor but the new toilet has only one set of holes for the closet bolts. I haven't looked too closely but I was planning on just screwing the cast iron flange into the floor. Is it okay if the screws only hit the subfloor or should they hit a joist? I am not sure if there are any joists that close to the flange. Also how do I re-seal the lead-cast iron joint after lifting it to screw into the floor?

2) Can common extension kits be used on an existing cast iron/lead flange? If so, do I need to seal the joints between the spacers and the flange? The kit I purchased is here:

"PRO-KIT™" CLOSET FLANGE EXTENSION KIT W/ 1" CLOSET GASKET (Bagged)
1290033 1" Deluxe Closet Gasket, ABS Spacer Ring 10 061788900333
Space Ring sealing Gasket
2 - 3" Brass closet bolts, nuts & washers
http://www.plumbingmadesimple.com/pdfs/install.pdf (page 3)

And oddly it uses a rubber sponge gasket rather than a wax ring. Is that okay or should I get a wax ring? Also there is a lot of wax goop on the cast iron/lead flange. I am guessing I should remove all that before adding the extension rings?


Thanks a bunch for any help...

First off, we don't usually screw a cast iron flange in a caulked lead joint to the floor. (is yours so loose you can pull it up?) Please explain what you've done so far and we'll take it from there. Regards, Tom

You can screw the ci flange to the subfloor, no need to hit a joist. Most likely, your flange only has two holes for anchoring. As Tom said, usually no need to screw cast iron flange to floor, but any extra anchoring of flange is a good thing.