I was getting set up to supplant my toilet and noticed that some of the YouTube videos I consulted didn't employ screws or bolts to hold downwards the toilet flange. I have a concrete floor and am not looking forrard to drilling new holes, so I plant it intriguing to come across some use a blazon of epoxy instead of screws and bolts. But is information technology safe to not use screws or bolts?

Does a toilet flange need to be screwed or bolted to the floor? Yes, you have to spiral or bolt the toilet flange to the flooring. If you exercise not, you risk not securing the toilet enough to prevent rocking that may damage the wax seal, the drainage pipage, or the floor. A bad seal between the toilet and the flange or the flange and the pipe tin cause leakage, which will impairment the bolts that concur the flange to the pipe or allow horrible smells to seep into your bathroom.

And so, what is the proper style to install a new toilet flange? I'll share with you all I learned. Hither is how to exercise it.

Supplies You'll Demand to Secure Your Toilet Flange

To become your toilet flange installed properly, you are going to need the right supplies. Hither is a list of the things you should gather, either from your tool shed or your local hardware store.

  • Toilet Flange: There are all dissimilar styles, and materials flanges are fabricated out of. Make sure yous are using i that is proper for your situation, not just the cheapest one at the store. Inquire a specialist at the shop if you have any doubts.
  • Wax Band: This connects the flange to the toilet, so no h2o leaks out.
  • Drill (or hammer drill): You are going to need a drill of some sort. If you are installing into a cement floor, it is best to get a hammer drill. Y'all should have no problem renting ane if yous don't have i of your ain and aren't looking to buy one.
  • Drill $.25: Obviously if you are drilling you are going to need $.25, merely if you are installing into concrete or a tile floor, you are going to demand carbide or diamond-tipped bits
  • Cooling Oil: If y'all are drilling into concrete or tile, this will help prevent your drill from overheating.
  • Hardware: To install into a normal sub-floor, you just need normal screws or bolts, just once again, if you are installing into concrete y'all are going to need special hardware> There are a few choices you tin can go with. Tapcon screws are a very pop choice merely atomic number 82 anchors can be easier to install.
  • Putty Knife: You will need this to scrape away lingering wax from the previous seal.
  • PVC Primer and Mucilage: You need to adhere the drainpipe and the flange.
  • Toilet Flange Spacer: You volition only need this if your flange sits nether the finished flooring. Information technology is important that the flange is high enough for the wax seal to piece of work properly. A spacer volition allow you to bolt the flange to the sub-floor and withal prepare the wax band where it needs to be.
  • Silicone Caulk: This is only used with the toilet flange spacer. You lot will need information technology to seal the spacer to the flange.

Bolting In The Flange

Once you lot take the toilet separated from the erstwhile flange, installing the new ane is rather easy. Information technology is basically merely a matter of cleaning out the onetime parts and properly fastening the new ones. To install your new toilet flange one time y'all take your toilet removed:

  1. Clear the sometime wax from the base with your putty pocketknife.
  2. Have off the old flange. This may require some prying and snapping of the flange as it should have been glued to the drainpipe.
  3. Once the area is clean, castor primer and glue on the surfaces of both the flange and the piping.
  4. Drop the flange into the piping until the flange sits on either the sub-flooring or the finished surface.
  5. If the flange is resting on the sub-floor, now is the time to put on the spacer. Encompass the undersurface of the spacer with silicone caulk and place the spacer over the flange, lining up whatever screw holes.
  6. If you are installing into a wood floor, screw the flange and/or flange spacer into the floor.
  7. If y'all are installing into concrete and in that location are no holes already in that location for you to secure the flange with, use your hammer drill and carbide or diamond-tipped bit to drill the needed holes to secure the flange to the floor. Be careful not to angle towards the pipe; any damage to the pipe will price yous time and significant money.
  8. If you are installing into a tile floor, use a normal drill setting with a carbide or diamond-tipped bit that has been dipped in cooking oil. Twist the drill back and forth a few times to prevent slipping. Start drilling on the lowest speed setting your drill has until the bit bites into the subfloor, and so speed upwardly until you reach the desired depth.
  9. Once all of your holes have been drilled, change out your chip for a screwdriver zipper or apply a screwdriver to drive Tapcon screws, or whatever type of fastener you lot are using, into the flooring.
  10. Once the toilet flange has been secured to the floor, put on bolts to attach the toilet to the flange, place the wax ring in the proper position, and put the toilet back in place.

Important Things To Consider

Properly installing your flange is an of import task. Any curt cuts or mistakes that y'all make can pb to damage to the floor, the drainpipe, or the toilet. Here are some other important considerations y'all make before or while installing your toilet flange.

  • Use all pre-drilled holes: the flange manufacturer pre-drilled a certain number of holes to secure the flange to the floor. That is the number of screws or bolts that they felt are needed to give the toilet bolts the back up they need. Utilize all of the holes when securing the flange to the floor.
  • Don't be inexpensive: there are enough of low-cost plastic flanges, but many plumbers will tell you that the plastic flanges tend to break. Also, flanges with cheap metal tend to rust. Endeavor to discover a quality flange with a stainless steel ring, and you most likely won't have to supplant it for years to come.
  • No college than ⅛": Remember, never ready your flange under the level of the finished floor. There are products on the market place that tin assist you raise the meridian of the flange. Likewise, y'all need to make sure that it doesn't stick out any more than ⅛" above the finished floor. If the flange is either too depression or too high. The was seal volition non compress right, and your toilet will leak, causing impairment to your floor and releasing swage smells.

So, don't try adhering your toilet to the floor with agglutinative or epoxy. Your toilet is not something to accept short cuts on with the installation. Y'all need to use screws or bolts to secure the flange to the floor, or you take chances damage to the toilet, the drainpipe, or your flooring, leading to more costly repairs. Follow these like shooting fish in a barrel steps, and you should accept no bug

Learn More

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