Toilet Surprise

Hi there,

Sometimes there is more than meets the eye when looking at a toilet.

Last Friday, all our warnings to clients about "possible broken toilet flanges"  (the things to which we seal and bolt our toilets) came true.

We lifted the old toilet to replace it with a new one that our client had purchased.

And here is what we found......

As you can see (in the photo), we have taken the liberty of taking it apart, cleaning it up, cutting the pipe below and setting it beside the toilet hole.

The picture might have looked a lot more disgusting if we did not clean up the old wax seal (which is kind of brownish yellow in colour and gooey looking)

In this case, the toilet flange was not screwed down.  It was only held in place by the tile itself and the lead bend / stub that actually folds over the flange.  If you look at the left side of the photo, you will see a half flange and a missing chunk of  metal.  That is where the bolt would go to keep the toilet attached to the floor and the toilet drain pipe.

The next picture is that of the new toilet flange that is on its way to being installed.  All we have to do is knock out the middle and screw it down (and attach it to the old copper drainage pipe in the basement).
--- and leak test it, of course (very important).

See the slots on the right and left of the flange.  These are where the T-bolts for your toilet are suppose to be installed. 

Needless to say, a basic toilet replacement turned into something more.  There was no way for our client nor ourselves to know this before the job started.  That is why we will warn you (at the time of our free estimate) that the price of a toilet replacement could increase (more time, tools, and parts are required), if we find something like this.


Anyways, that's enough about plumbing for today.

Thanks for reading,

Jay Bortnik
Journeyman Jay Plumbing
780-266-3939