Toilet flange not flush to floor

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El Cheapo

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My toilet was leaking and I noticed the flange was broken so I’m replacing it. The old flange was sitting on a pretty uneven surface so I chipped away the tile mortar to create a flat subfloor surface.

The subfloor is about 1.5” below the finished floor. The waste pipe is 3” with a coupling. When I put a spigot flange on it, it can’t go far enough into the pipe to sit flush with the sub floor; there’s about an inch gap.

My plan is to put spacers under the flange so the flange will sit flush on the spacers.

See the attached video and please let me know if this approach makes sense or if I should be doing something else.

 
I know that. Were you able to watch the link to the video? The flange can’t sit on the tile in my situation.
 
Use spacers like you’re taking about to fill in the void if you’re on a wood subfloor.

on a slab I fill in the void with anchoring cement.

If the spigot is a little long I’ve trimmed them off some.

I understand the tile is not there for the flange bottom to sit on.....that’s why you use spacers, but the height of the flange should be “ the bottom of the flange sits on top of the finished floor “. In your case it’s tile.

Be sure to anchor the flange with screws.
 
Did you have a toilet there before hand? How was it connected?

Yes there was a toilet there previously with a spigot flange, this is a repair. Previously there were uneven mounds of mortar from the tile the old flange sat on and it was recessed from the tile, it was not sitting on the tile. This was from a previous home owner and I’m looking to fix it.
 
Thanks for the feedback Twowaxhack. I like the idea of trimming the spigot a bit. I think i may still need a spacer below it, does it matter if the spacer is wood or pvc?
 
Thanks for the feedback Twowaxhack. I like the idea of trimming the spigot a bit. I think i may still need a spacer below it, does it matter if the spacer is wood or pvc?
Pvc is best because if you have a leak it will not rot but if you never have a leak it doesn’t matter. I’d use pvc spacers in your situation.

A critical part is to anchor the flange solid. Make sure you do that.
 
Pvc is best because if you have a leak it will not rot but if you never have a leak it doesn’t matter. I’d use pvc spacers in your situation.

A critical part is to anchor the flange solid. Make sure you do that.

I ended up going with the wood (didn’t see your response). My thinking was if there was a leak it’d be affecting the wood subfloor too so what’s the difference - hoping for no leaks though.

I spent a ton of time with small composite shims under the custom spacers to get it perfectly level then secured it to the subfloor. Didnt overtighten. The flange is at the same height it would be as if it was resting on the finished floor. That baby is in there really solid and it’s a huuuuge improvement from the previous situation. Thanks for the advice and giving me the confidence that I was on the right track.
 

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