Mystery object around soil pipe in rough-in.

[stuntmonkey]

I'm finishing out a rough-in half bath in my basement, and I was hoping someone could fill me in on what the red plastic mystery object around my soil pipe is in the picture below:

Is it a sleeve that the original builder put in place to keep debris from getting wedged between the soil pipe and the concrete? If so, was it intended to be removed or cut away prior to installation of the closet flange? It doesn't appear as though the closet flange would fit around the soil pipe otherwise.

Originally, it had some concrete mounded up around it (see image below):

I knocked the concrete away thinking maybe they had already installed the closet flange (which the red plastic mystery object turned out not to be, since it doesn't have any holes in it for mount points). Bonus points if you can explain what the point of the concrete ring was.

Thanks in advance!

 

[johnjh2o]

There called a big red, it's used to leave a space around the pipe to allow the flange to slide over the pipe. Just remove it and install the flange. Just be sure to screw the flange to the floor.

John

 

[stuntmonkey]

Thanks so much for the quick reply, John! That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the tip on the flange, too - I'd read different opinions about how to attach the flange, but the prevailing opinion seems to be that the "right" way is to attach it through the finished floor into the concrete, rather than to attach it to the concrete then tile around it. Option #2 would probably result in the use of spacers to get it to the right level, which I'd like to avoid.

One quick follow-up - would you recommend using tapcons for installing the flange in the concrete?

 

[johnjh2o]

Tapcons work great. One more thing there are flanges with stainless steel rings that are far better then the standard all plastic ones. First one on page.
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/toiletflanges.html

John

 

[stuntmonkey]

Thanks again for the tip, John - I'll pick up one of the flanges you recommended. The difference only looks to be a few bucks between that and the standard plastic flange - might as well go with the nicer one.

I appreciate all the info - this is the first time I've put in a toilet, so I've got a lot more confidence now that I'm doing it right.

Brian

 

[johnjh2o]

Good luck Brian hope all goes well for you. If not just come back hear and I'm sure someone will help you out.

John

 

[phishfood]

Definitely go with the stainless ring. Won't rust out or crack. Worth the money.