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Is your toilet wobbly? Learn here how to replace a broken toilet flange. If your toilet wobbles and is not solid on the ground, it could be that the toilet flange is rotted or broken. fun. Let's see how to repair the toilet.
You can fix this. I did. And if you follow our how-to toilet repair photos here, you'll be a DIY home repair expert, or at least you'll be able to replace a broken toilet flange.
Rusted toilet flange, this one separated completely from the waste line.
First remove the toilet. Turn off the water line, flush the toilet, and remove the water line from the bottom of the toilet tank. Have bucket handy, as water will come out of the tank. Sponge out as much water from the tank and bowl as you can. A handyman trick is to use a wet dry shop vac to suck all the water out of the bowl and tank.
Remove the nuts on each side of the base of the toilet. These nuts-bolts attach the toilet to the flange. You may have to use a saw to cut the nuts off, which is ok, because you are going to put in new toilet bolts and nuts. The flange, when brand new, is attached to the waste pipe. Many times it rusts or snaps off. Tilt the toilet on its side and move out of the way. Have a helper assist you in moving the toilet, they are heavy and bulky.
Use a putty knife to remove the wax ring residue from the exposed flange and inspect the flange and surrounding area. What is key here is if the wood subfloor is rotted. If this is the case, you will have to cut out the surrounding subfloor and replace it with new plywood, then fix the flange.
Thankfully on this home improvement project, the subfloor was fine, just the flange fell apart. Go to your hardware store and buy a Super Ring Replacement Toilet Ring. There are several models by different suppliers, don't buy the cheapest one, its your toilet, remember...
Also at the hardware store buy new toilet mounting bolts, they usually come in a package with the nuts and washers.
use wax from the wax ring to get them to stand up straight
Put the toilet mounting bolts in the flange pointing up, and use some wax from the old wax ring to hold them in place. Place the super ring replacement toilet ring over the waste line, making sure the mounting bolts are in the same place as the original bolts were, one bolt on each side of the flange.
Screw the new flange into the subfloor. You may have to use a hammer drill to drill through existing tile flooring or cement substrate. Set the new toilet wax ring onto the flange on the base of the toilet, and guide the toilet back onto the super ring, making sure the toilet mounting bolts are lined up with the mount holes in the toilet base. The super ring toilet ring allows for you to adjust the location of the bolts.
Press down on the toilet to seat the wax ring, wiggle the toilet back and forth to get it to set down and seal. Cut off the the bolts about ½" above the toilet base. Spin on the mounting bolt nuts, and tighten them, but be careful not to over-tighten, as you will crack the porcelain toilet.
Re-attach the water supply line, turn on the water valve, flush the toilet and check for leaks.
So there you go, not as complicated as you thought. The biggest red flag is if the subfloor is rotted, because then your simple home improvement project has become a much bigger deal.
Matt Mertz
Well explained each step. I've followed this and repaired my broken toilet. Thank you so much for sharing this 😉 specially video helped me a lot. 🙂
Joel
When my toilet flange was broken I didn't have the courage to replace it so I called a plumber to do it for me. I never thought that you did it so easily. Great job.
Sespe
Thank you!
Greg
would love to watch the video, since Im still uncertain about some of the steps from reading the text. But the video links to this page: https://gardenfork.tv/category/gf-tv/do-it-yourself which is just all the videos. When I search for "flange" the result takes me back to this page. Where is the video?
Eric
Hi Greg, there isn't a video for this post. The links say "Watch More DIY Videos" and link to our archive of DIY vids. I guess one could infer there is a video from that phrase, but there isn't one. thx!
Marianne Sena
I bought a mobile home and in the hall bathroom they had layed 12x12 tile. My plan was to replace everything but when I got to the toilet it wasn't attached at all. They laid the tile and just sat the toilet on top. How can I stableize it with tile underneath. Thanks
Eric
Hi Marianne, the toilet needs substantial support from underneath. Ideally thick plywood. Maybe a neighbor with carpentry skills could help? thx!
Derek
What happens if you cannot remove the old flange? I did everything that's was obvious. Remove toilet, unscrew old flange but it's not coming away. Why? Is it glued in. How do I remove it if it is?
Mike Owens
Most of this is okay but sometimes you have cast iron, abs or pvc and those flames don't always come off. In these instructions the closet bend (the part the flange surrounds) is lead. Lead after a number of years becomes like tissue paper. As a plumber I recommend replacing that because when it goes bad, and it will in a big bad way, it's gonna cost you thousands in water damage restoration and then replacing the flange. Don't always jump onto these DIY pages. That's the reason we obtain and maintain licenses.
pathtosuccess.net
This page really has all of the information and facts I needed concerning this subject and didn't know
who to ask.