With a little knowledge and preparation, virtually anyone with the right tools can replace a toilet flange on a concrete floor.
There is no need to spend a lot of money paying for professional repair services. To fix a broken toilet flange in concrete, follow these steps:
1. Turn off the water supply
The first step is obviously to turn off the water supply. Do so at the shut-off valve located under the toilet tank.
You then need to flush the toilet and keep holding the handle down to drain all the water from the tank. Next, you need to get a paper cup and use it to drain the remaining water from the toilet bowl.
2. Remove the old supply line
The next step is to remove the toilet floor bolts. Make sure you do this evenly from side to side. Never remove the right bolts and then the left bolts.
Doing so increases the risk of breaking the toilet. You also need to lay down towels to pad the bowl on the floor. Now is also the time to remove the old supply line and discard it.
3. Remove the toilet
Once you have removed all the toilet flange bolts, the next step is to place the toilet on the towels. Bend at the knees and lift the toilet up.
Avoid tipping the toilet on the side and gently place it on the towels.
4. Remove the old wax
Now you need to wear rubber gloves and use a scraper to remove the old wax from the wax ring and the old toilet bolts. Put the remnants in a trash bag.
To replace the rusted toilet flange you first need to remove the broken or rusted areas using a hacksaw. Slip your repair flange spanner under the toilet flange but replace a toilet bolt in the concrete floor through the hole in your spanner for easy toilet reinstallation.
5. Replace the toilet
You need to clean the area around the bottom of the toilet and then place a new wax ring on the repaired flange.
Pick the toilet up again and line up the replaced toilet bolts in the concrete floor with the sides of the bowl then place the toilet down gently onto the repaired flange. Press to the floor before securing the toilet flange to the concrete floor.
6. Tighten the bolts
Tightening of the bolts has to be done even on the right and left sides in reverse order. Don’t tighten one side then move to the other side. Doing so increases the risk of breaking the toilet bowl.
You can now install the new supply line to the toilet tank and turn on the water and inspect for leaks around the bottom of the toilet bowl as well as at the valve. If there are no leaks, caulk the area around the bottom of the toilet to complete the job.
Check this too: How Long Does Caulk Take to Dry
These steps will teach you how to install a toilet flange on concrete. There is, however, no harm in hiring or consulting a plumber to answer questions like does a toilet flange need to be screwed to the floor and does a toilet flange go inside the pipe? Don’t rely on guesswork.